'Design Star: Next Gen': Creating a Transformative Office Space

Seven contestants remain in the high-stakes competition on Design Star: Next Gen. In this week’s challenge, the designers are tasked with designing a home office that can transform seamlessly into a party space for happy hour and evening entertainment.

The notion of a “transformation” takes on a double meaning in this episode. The designers are asked to design an office that becomes a party space, but are also required to make cross-functional furnishings that can shift, flip or rotate to work in both the office and entertainment stagings. Transformative pieces require the designers to demonstrate their engineering strengths to concept and produce functional, flexible pieces.

Black walls, white shag carpeting and a hand-painted mural differentiate this home office. Coordinating wall-mounted transformational desks with industrial stools offer sturdy work surfaces. Comfortable seating is an inviting counterbalance for at-home Zoom calls or client meetings. A statement light fixture and wall pendants echo the curves in the mural on the back wall.

Arianna’s transformational desks transform into pieces of wall art to provide more floor space at happy hour, while a bulletin on her right wall adapts to become an accessible bar. The high-tone palette and cohesive details in the room demonstrate her ability to elevate her “glamma meets drug lord” brand.

Justin’s office space was customized to emulate an artist’s studio. Centered in the room is a drafting table that transforms to demonstrate functionality whether the artist is working, or entertaining. In line with his personal style, the room is incredibly elegant, with a clean modern desk across the back wall, and a mix of rattan and leather seating.

Whether or not you have a strong point of view on where the drafting table is best situated in the room’s design, Justin proves its purpose when he demonstrates how it unfolds to become a large coffee table. He models how it easily transforms to transition the room from a workspace to a space suitable for entertaining. Not visible in this photo, Justin had a second transformation in the space – a desktop that folds up to reveal a dart board.

His room may not present as “the party vibe,” but happy hour entertaining styles do vary, right? While identifying with a personal brand that’s inherently chic and elegant, he demonstrated how an office can be simply transformed with functional, creative features.

Carmeon’s attention to detail was evident in the design of her luxurious office space. With jungle green walls, contrast white accents and plenty of texture thanks to the live plants, cowhide rug and oversized pendants, this well-accessorized space is a perfect reflection of her brand.

The multi-zone space provides plenty of room to work, and secret storage to contain activities and barware that can be used when the room transitions to a party space. The inset green accents in the large table can be removed to become functional trays for entertaining, and media integrations make it a lounge that’s both family-friendly and professional.

Bold use of color and pattern were well-received in Eli’s office space. He incorporated a patterned wallpaper featuring palms, ferns and philodendrons, and leveraged its palette into hand-painted accents throughout the room, including on the desktop and across stackable stool seating.

The double desk along the back wall of the room offers plenty of storage, and open shelving with decor transitions effortlessly for happy hour ambiance. Handprinted geometric details on the desk present like bold terrazzo from afar, and help the space to feel modern.

Eli’s desktops transform to allow the work surfaces to pivot into the center of the room where they form a large table for entertaining. The stackable stools can be configured to serve multiple purposes in the space. The large, black storage unit has doors that slide open to expose barware and complete the party room vibe.

Designed to channel the vibe of an enthusiastic fashion publicist, geometric patterns and colorful accents are featured from the ground up. Peti strived to create a space that was fun and collaborative, with comfortable seating and a whiteboard for brainstorming ideas and mapping concepts for clients.

To transition for party time, Peti’s whiteboard transforms by folding flat into a raised, multicolor dance floor. Located beneath a disco ball and beside the bar cart, the detail in the dance floor is a reflection of her youthfulness and creativity.

Winner of the previous challenge, Chris had first dibs at furnishings for his space. To add character to the office intended for “a young stockbroker,” he leveraged the back wall of the office as a bulletin-style vision board that transitions into a truly fun feature.

With emphasis placed on rich jewel tones, leather furnishings and functional organization, Chris chose bold colors and layered different textures for a touch of maturity. Instead of a conventional desk, a large, oval dining table was repurposed as a generous workspace.

The back wall of the room is painted blue and designed to incorporate texture with board and batten-like construction. Sconces flank the functional bulletin board.

Though the back wall may seem like an unusual focal point in this room’s design, it’s the space where Chris incorporated his transformative element – an actual Ping-Pong table. The table folds down on hinges and exposes a mirror, paddle and net storage, and exposes a shelf that can be used to store the classic red cups and beer for the young stockbroker’s next beer pong tournament.

Tony adhered to his own aesthetic in this challenge, incorporating his personal interests to create a space for sewing and creativity. Aligned with the “streamlined androgyny” theme, a sewing machine is centered in the room, and a workstation with a vanity mirror offers a well-lit area for hair and makeup.