Thanks to the vision and talent of Note Design Studio, The Office Group has turned an early 1900s Grade II listed building near Red Lion Square in London into minimalist and multifunctional workspaces. Called Summit House, the project still features the distinct art deco aesthetic with a striking yellow-tiled façade in contrast with the pre-functionalist style of modernism called Swedish Grace so dear to architect and Note founder Johannes Karlström. The team of interior designers, led by Karlström, has fashioned warm and tactile interiors inside an edifice previously destined to nondescript office functions with lackluster décor details. 

Note Design Studio, hailing from Stockholm, rejected the idea to deliver bland minimalist aesthetics so typical of contemporary workspaces, opting, instead, for a warm, timeless character to all environments. 

Break out areas with olive green wall finishes are interrupted by wood and brass shelving inserts with round wooden tables surrounded by CH23 chairs. “It’s lightweight, durable, and surprisingly comfortable, which means it’s suitable for the kind of environment where people sometimes need to sit for long meetings,” Karlström explained regarding this specific model created by Hans J. Wegner in 1950. 

The Summit House’s rust-colored reception, its focal point a tiered wall that recedes to frame a Birdseye maple wood service counter, is sidelined by a black CH33 chair. The area is an explosion of textures and grains with the lobby’s swirling, eye-like markings juxtaposed to cream, dark orange and brown terrazzo floor tiles set in geometric patterns.