How to Design a Room That Blends Work, Life & Style

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From the street, Avenue Interior Design’s new studio in West Hollywood could pass for another polished creative office. But step inside, and the room unfolds more like a private retreat than a traditional workplace. Sunlight floods through expansive windows, softening across linen curtains. A modular sofa anchors the space, draped casually with a throw that wouldn’t look out of place in a boutique hotel. On the shelves: books stacked beside artifacts collected on travels, the kind of layered storytelling that feels both personal and inspiring. Beyond the glass, the Hollywood Hills roll upward, a reminder that Los Angeles has always been a city of reinvention.

It’s here, in this single room, that co-founders Andrea DeRosa and Ashley Justman are rewriting the definition of the modern office. “We wanted to create a space that reflects the way we live now,” DeRosa says. “Not just a place to sit at a desk, but a room that encourages connection and comfort.”

The Rise of the Hybrid Home

That balance between function and leisure is the essence of what designers are calling the hybrid home. It used to be that rooms had one role. The office was for work. The dining room was for eating. But those borders have collapsed. Now, the same square footage has to flex for working, lounging, entertaining, and unwinding. And the best-designed spaces don’t feel chaotic. They feel intentional, layered, and surprisingly calm.

DeRosa and Justman’s new studio shows how it’s done. Their background in hospitality design with projects for Montage, Hilton, and MGM Resorts comes through in the details. The lighting is cinematic, shifting in warmth as the day moves from meetings to evening brainstorms. The seating is layered and low-slung, just as ready for a client presentation as an impromptu cocktail hour. Even the accessories carry weight: artifacts gathered from their travels double as conversation starters, while well-thumbed books invite anyone to pause and flip through.

(Avenue Interior Design Studio)

This room also feels like part of a much bigger conversation. Design is moving toward spaces that are tactile and calming. You see it in material drenching, where entire rooms are wrapped in a single texture, or in the return to regional and reclaimed materials, which give homes a sense of authenticity and history.

The Avenue office feels informed by these movements, yet it is distinctly its own. This hybrid room serves more than one purpose. It’s both a workspace and a place to relax. A reminder that thoughtful design doesn’t just accommodate our routines. It expands them.

Designing the Room That Does It All

Choose a Strong Centerpiece

If you’re trying to capture this balance at home, start by thinking about flow. A hybrid room shouldn’t feel like three different rooms crammed into one box. It should feel like one space that shifts naturally with you. Anchors are the first step. In Avenue’s studio, it is the modular sofa that works equally well as a meeting backdrop or a lounging spot. At home, the anchor might be a sculptural chaise that toggles between reading nook and guest perch, or a console table that can be both entryway catchall and impromptu buffet. Even a set of lightweight pedestal tables that cluster as a coffee table but separate when you need extra surfaces can quietly transform with your day. The trick is versatility without the clutter of obvious multi-tasking furniture.

Define Space Without Building Walls

From there, it is all about zoning without walls. At Avenue, shelving filled with books and objects creates a subtle division between work and conversation space. At home, a rug can instantly signal a lounge zone, while an accent wall can make different functions feel distinct without breaking up the whole.

(Avenue Interior Design Studio)

Let Light Lead the Mood

Lighting might be the most powerful tool of all. In Avenue’s studio, the atmosphere shifts with the sun: bright and clear in the morning, warm and enveloping by evening. At home, the same thinking applies. A floor lamp can anchor a sofa corner. Slim sconces flanking a desk keep focus sharp without glare. A row of dim-to-warm bulbs overhead can shift the room’s tempo from work to relaxation without moving a single piece of furniture.

Subtle Cues for Well-Being

Wellness, too, can be built in quietly. At Avenue, the wellness cue is texture: velvet upholstery, woven textiles, surfaces that invite touch. At home, it could be a ceramic bowl of essential oils perched on a shelf, or a linen-covered bench that tucks resistance bands away inside. These gestures do not announce themselves as fitness zones or meditation corners. They simply fold into the space and enrich the rhythm of the room.

(Avenue Interior Design Studio)

Keep the Room Speaking the Same Language

The easiest mistake in a hybrid room is the patchwork effect, a mess of mismatched personalities fighting for attention. Avenue’s studio avoids this with a consistent palette: warm neutrals, natural wood, grounded by black accents. The same principle works at home. Choose one grounding color, maybe charcoal, a dark navy, and let it repeat in subtle ways across zones: the edge of a frame, the base of a lamp, the legs of a chair. Carry texture through, too. And art is one of the strongest connectors. A single oversized canvas spanning both sofa and desk ties the room together in one confident move. This is where maximalism has something to teach us.

The most compelling version is not about excess, but about meaning. As designers like Justina Blakeney show, when you layer a room with objects that matter, you get spaces that look personal and feel even more so. Hybrid rooms thrive when every piece feels intentional, not obligatory.