Melbourne is the city where you can grab a flat white, a tram ticket and a tote bag full of produce from the local markets, on your way to a catch-up about the new gallery opening or footy scores. It’s a creative city that seamlessly blends imagination with daily life.
In a place with such a strong cultural pulse, it’s perhaps not surprising that Melbourne is also obsessed with the idea of a “lifestyle office”. A work environment that is more than just a desk, but an extension of the Melbourne way of life.
Full of interesting design quirks and spaces that are suited to both focus and friendly catch-ups, these are the kind of offices we can get behind.
What Is a Lifestyle Office?
Melbourne has never been shy about mixing work with lifestyle, and the rise of the lifestyle office proves it. From plush lounges to ergonomic setups, office furniture Melbourne suppliers are creating spaces that feel more like home than a 9–5 grind.
So, what exactly makes an office “lifestyle”? Let’s break it down.
Defining the Concept
It’s when you can drift from an early morning Zoom meeting to a flat white downstairs without missing a beat. It’s the look and feel of open and light-filled spaces that don’t feel like corporate ‘boxes’. It’s reflective of the city’s cafe culture, creative collectives and love of design.
A lifestyle office takes into account elements of furniture, space planning and amenities to make the working day feel more natural, social and flexible. Lounge seating for informal catch-ups, communal tables for collaboration and quiet areas for when head-down work is required. For Melburnians it means a workplace that lives and breathes with the way people want to work. Connected, inspired and striking the perfect balance between hustle and comfort.
Key Features of Lifestyle Offices
A lifestyle office reflects not only design aesthetics, but also functionality to suit the way people work these days. These are some of the common features, and why they’re important.
1. Flexible Layouts
Fixed, uniform rows of desks and swivel chairs are a thing of the past. Lifestyle offices often feature flexible, reconfigurable spaces that can easily be adapted for both individual and team work, through the use of moveable partitions, modular furniture and multi-purpose tables, that can easily be scaled and changed as your business needs change.
2. Comfortable, Design-Led Furniture
Style meets ergonomics in a lifestyle office setting. In Melbourne, furniture suppliers have become more design-centric, offering the dual benefits of style and support for office workers. Lounge chairs for informal discussions, adjustable height desks and ergonomic chairs for good posture and statement pieces to reflect your brand identity and office culture are some popular examples.
3. Wellness-Inspired Features
Melbourne’s lifestyle offices often have a strong focus on employee wellness, taking into account factors such as indoor plants, quiet spaces, natural light, air quality, temperature, acoustics, lighting, and even colour psychology to create a low-stress, higher creativity environment for employees to work in.
4. Integrated Technology
Technology in Melbourne lifestyle offices is integrated to facilitate everyday tasks seamlessly, often with hidden cabling, wireless charging and easy AV set-ups so it’s there when you need it but doesn’t get in the way when you don’t.
5. Areas That Foster Connections
A coffee station, communal kitchen or informal lounge space can also encourage conversations and social connections that can lead to collaboration – a core component of Melbourne’s workplace culture.
Why Is Melbourne So Drawn to Lifestyle Offices?
Melbourne has always had a way of turning the everyday into an experience, from its laneway cafes to its design-forward retail spaces. That same mindset has found its way into the workplace.
Melbourne’s love affair with the lifestyle office comes down to more than just looks – it’s shaped by the city’s unique lifestyle hubs, the influence of its thriving local business and startup scene, and the design trends woven into its streets and skylines.
The City’s Unique Work Culture
Melbourne’s work culture has always been about more than just the hours you put in. There’s a strong sense of collaboration, a respect for creativity, and an understanding that flexibility fuels better results.
Meetings might happen in shared studios, heritage buildings, or light-filled converted warehouses (spaces that reflect the city’s blend of tradition and innovation). It’s a culture that values the quality of ideas over formality, making lifestyle offices feel like a natural extension of how the city already works.
Influence of Local Businesses and Startups
In Melbourne, you’ll find local businesses and startups are largely leading the shift, with big ideas and a collaborative attitude to match. They’re setting the benchmark for how workplaces can and should be, championing office spaces that are an authentic extension of who they are and how they work.
Style and community aren’t just buzzwords. They’re a top priority for many of these local companies, who are embracing workplace environments that reflect their core values, and inspire creativity, flexibility and connection.
Take the local hype for example, when South Melbourne’s George Hotel recently reopened. Melbournians are proud of their local meeting places, just like that pub, and lifestyle offices know that creating spaces people can’t wait to be a part of is key.
Impact of Urban Design and Architecture Trends
Melbourne has always struck a balance between respecting the old and embracing the new when it comes to urban design and architecture. This same ethos is now being applied to the design of offices, with many current projects in the city looking to the future, yet maintaining a deep understanding of what makes Melbourne tick.
Whether the project is the renovation of a heritage building or the construction of a contemporary skyscraper, many of the same ideas are present: large expanses of natural light; plenty of greenery; use of materials that feel warm and natural, adding texture and tactile elements to the working environment.
These trends are making for offices that are less about simply creating a space for work and more about elevating the well-being and inspiration of its occupants. They are dissolving the lines between indoor and outdoor, work and play. It’s little wonder that lifestyle offices in Melbourne are reflecting that same design ethos.
Is the Lifestyle Office Here to Stay?
You are perhaps wondering, is the lifestyle office a trend or a permanent fixture in the world of work? As work styles adapt and transform to incorporate elements of hybrid working as a staple in the Melbourne work culture, it is becoming more critical than ever for organisations to do more than just expect their employees to return to an office space; they need to provide a workplace that they want to return to.
The lifestyle office, focused on comfort, flexibility, and connection, aligns seamlessly with the tenets of hybrid work. It supports collaborative work on office days, without detracting from the freedom and autonomy of home working.
It’s safe to say that we can expect the workplace trend of lifestyle offices to evolve and expand as organisations continue to experiment with reconfiguring the workplace for a more balanced and modern work lifestyle.
