Notice of controversial opinion: I miss the office. So much so, in fact, that my revisionist sense of history has managed to erase all memory of the boring carpet tiles, bad bathroom fixtures and those hideous ceiling tiles that so often define corporate spaces. Getting back to the office, however, required more than opening doors and reissuing key cards. He asked companies to consider a more fundamental question: What exactly is worth giving back?
For McLeish Orlando Lawyers, a boutique law firm in downtown Toronto, the answer wasn’t another elegant but casual lunch. The company was recruited Studio Ha/Wa to transform an underutilized 530-square-foot breakout space into a 685-square-foot living room designed for the full spectrum of office life: morning coffee, quiet retreats, impromptu meetings, shared meals, after-hours gatherings, and the daily social glue that’s often harder to forge through Zoom.
Located on the 18th floor of a high-rise office tower, the new lounge combines a former lunchroom with an adjacent office to create an open, multi-level environment that feels closer to a hotel lobby or members’ club than a conventional corporate amenity. It is a very timely proposal. As workplaces continue to recalibrate their relationship to personal culture, Studio Ha/Wa’s design offers a number of useful takeaways for organizations hoping to make back-to-office spaces less transactional and more magnetic.
Start with a space that people actually want to use
The original lunch was cold, utilitarian and limited in what it could offer employees beyond a place to eat. Studio Ha/Wa’s first move was therefore conceptual rather than decorative: it shifted the room’s identity from a break area to a social hub. Here, a lounge zone offers softer seating for chatting or decompressing. Banquets host informal gatherings. Dining halls support lunches and group work. and a kitchen anchors the room with the intimacy of a shared domestic ritual.
Think in zones, not rooms
Instead of dividing the living room into rigid compartments, Studio Ha/Wa used a single layout with separate dining, kitchen and living areas. The strategy preserves attractions and traffic while allowing each area to maintain its own pace. Here, spatialization can be defined through furniture groupings, lighting, material changes and subtle changes in scale. In the law office lounge, perimeter banquettes help save space and the center clear, while rectangular dining rooms can function independently or join together for larger gatherings. Counter stools hide under the island when not in use and nesting coffee tables can expand or contract depending on the group.
Give the ceiling some credit
One of the most powerful lounge gestures is above eye level. A previously dropped acoustic tile ceiling was replaced with a split-beam white oak ceiling that introduces warmth, movement and visual rhythm while concealing the mechanical systems above. The oak also establishes a unifying architectural language throughout the living room. It wraps around columns, continues through the kitchen mill and works in conversation with the porcelain floor below. It’s a reminder that ceilings are too often treated as necessary infrastructure rather than an opportunity for atmosphere.
Let Durability do the heavy lifting
A workplace lounge should feel relaxed, but it can’t be sensitive. Studio Ha/Wa balances the softness of a residential-inspired palette with materials made for commercial use: porcelain tile flooring, quartz countertops, leather stools, vinyl banquettes and premium fabrics. The color palette of the lounge helps to enhance this balance. White walls, tonal grays, black accents, and warm oak form a neutral base, while green bouclé armchairs, camel velvet swivel chairs, sage vinyl banquettes, rust leather stools, and artwork by Toronto artist Alexander Jowett bring personality without overpowering.
Also make the kitchen work after hours
The kitchen is designed to do double duty: useful during the workday, but discreet enough to recede when the living room becomes an event space. Built-in appliances are behind matching oak panels, microwave drawers are set below counter height and an appliance garage hides the everyday array of coffee makers, kettles and toasters. At the north end of the room, full-height Calacatta Gold tile creates a focal point instead of upper cabinets. The warm and cool veining of the natural stone unifies the living room palette, while its curved profile adds texture and depth behind the sculptural AND Light column pendant.
Style with constraint, then add character
Studio Ha/Wa approached the living room as a residential interior might, combining new and vintage accessories, original artwork, sculptural vessels and coffee table books chosen to resonate with the people using the space. But the style remains refined and not overdone.
Designer Erin Hannon-Watkinson
“The intention of the space, although designed to be multi-functional and within a corporate environment, was ultimately to be a retreat for the law firm’s staff and attorneys,” says Erin Hannon-Watkinson, founder and creative director of Studio Ha/Wa.
To learn more about Studio Ha/Wa, RDG Millwork and MForm Construction Group––the partners behind the project––visit studiohawa.com, rdgl.ca, mformcg.comrespectively..
Photo by Niamh Barry.
