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32 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / SEPTEMBER 2017
T he lexicon of architecture and interior
design is specific: smooth and taut, a little
slick and flashy, occasionallymarkedwith
a touch of irony, and always cloaked in style. At
least that’s the way we see it.
So, it comes at somewhat of a surprise that one
of the most prevalent terms gaining traction today
is “resimercial.” It’s an uninspiring term, the lazy off-
spring of “residential” and “commercial.” Its origins
are unclear, and many industry leaders are loathe to
use it in any context. But its meaning obviously carries
enough import to qualify it as more than just a trend.
Resimercial conflates what’s in the home withwhat’s
in the office. More precisely, it signals the migration of
the home-style design aesthetic to the modern work
environment, the intent of which is to make the office
feel less “office-like.” This means bringing the homey,
cozy, comfort of home into the office – with friendly
price points.
The product range runs the gamut: mix-and-match
clusters of sofas, lounge seating, sectionals, guest chairs,
credenzas, lighting, book shelves and more. The design
combinations are endless and innovative like their
home counterparts. These pieces reveal no hint of
utility, the arrangements of which resemble a well-ap-
pointed apartment or home living room rather than
an office space.
“This was bound to happen, given the desire by
younger generations to create a more welcoming
workplace,” said Brooke Wolf, principal at Merchants
Office Furniture, a Denver-based contract furniture
dealer. Merchants is making a splash in metro Denver
as exclusive reps for West Elm’s “Workspace,” a collec-
tion of residential-inspired furniture and other house-
hold pieces redesigned and remanufactured to with-
stand the rigors of the office environment.
In 2014, West Elm partnered with Inscape, a long-es-
tablished Canadian company known for its benching,
systems, storage and other adaptable office products.
By NeoCon 2015, West ElmWorkspace with Inscape be-
came the only residential outfit to send a fully integrat-
ed line of home-style products to market.
It’s not that larger contract manufacturers have been
unaware of the pull for a residential aesthetic. Many
have been churning out beautiful contract-grade piec-
es for years. It’s just that they were not designing collec-
tions en masse through a residential prism. But they
are now.
“What we are talking about here is the merging of
work and home lives,”Wolf explained. “Taking the com-
fort, familiarity and richness of the home and offering
that same personal and casual component in the office.
It’s a simple concept really, and yet it’s an entire aesthet-
ic that did not exist until recently.”
Millennials certainly have been hurrying along
that notion. And why not? Their group – the largest of
America’s workforce – still has the most leverage in to-
day’s office design, which means furniture makers as
well as everybody else in support must respond to their
requirements just to remain relevant.
From the vital perspective of recruitment and reten-
tion alone, employers must be acutely aware of work-
place design and how their space performs. But that
might not be exclusive to millennials anymore.
“It’s always attributed to the millennials, but I’m not
sure that’s the case,” said Mark Kinsler, president of
Kim Hoff
Design
Director,
Kieding
ELEMENTS Office Design
Making office space feel homey and cozy makes use of familiar residential furniture.