Art, Objects, Snacks: Inside the Home Offices of Seven Australian Creatives

Where you work matters. The space you spend your days in influences everything from productivity and focus to creativity and inspiration. It makes sense, then, that a home office should feel as considered as any other room in the house.

As WFH days have become part of everyday life, at-home workspaces have evolved beyond purely functional set-ups. Collectible design objects, artwork and furniture by local makers sit alongside the everyday tools of the trade.

We asked seven creatives to open the door to their home offices – from a study lined with books to a sunny workspace inside a boathouse. They reveal what’s usually on their desk, the music they’re listening to while working and their go-to desk snack.

Elise Pioch Balzac, founder and creative director of Maison Balzac

Tell us about your WFH set-up.

My office is nestled in our boathouse right by the water. I love how it’s disconnected from the main house and fully surrounded by nature: water, bush, sea eagles, cormorants, sailing boats, clouds, sky. There’s always something happening in front of my window, which can be distracting but mainly calming and grounding. I sit at the travertine round table, in front of one of my most cherished pieces of art: Le Marin by Anatole Soungouroff, bought at auction in France when we lived there. To my left is the concealed kitchen – so handy because I can make tea or lunch whenever I need a little break. There are no books or screens apart from my laptop and phone and there are two roof windows that frame the sky, the sun and the leaves above me.

What would we usually find on your desk?

When I work from home, I love a tidy and minimal desk – the opposite of my desk in the office. I only keep a handful of objects around me: my Apple Air laptop, iPhone, a Muji notebook and pen, my sketchbook, colouring pencils and a cup of tea. Ideally, I’ll have a vase with flowers – sunflowers are a firm favourite.

What are some cherished pieces around your office?

The Soungouroff painting is my treasure. I love its timeless beauty and all the memories it carries of our life in France. Behind me, I also have a small lamp from the ’50s sourced from a French flea market.

This year, I continuously kept on my table two coffee table books on Elsa Schiaparelli to draw inspiration for our 2026 collections. The first is Shocking: The Surreal World of Elsa Schiaparelli by Thames and Hudson, and the other is Schiaparelli and the Artists by Rizzoli.

Is there a soundtrack to your workday?

Yes, I livestream FIP, an eclectic French radio station that I adore. Sometimes I need to start the day with Debussy’s Clair de Lune, then I’m in a very good disposition to work.

Describe the vibe of your office in one word.

Serene.

Desk snack?

I have to have desk snacks, I can’t live without them. That includes pistachios, ham, grapes, strawberry clouds lollies or Kinder Surprise.

Charles Justin, co-director of Justin Art House Museum

Tell us about your WFH set-up.

Although the room is classified as my study, it has more the character of a library with floor-to-ceiling books on three walls. It also has my desk and a sitting area to read, occasionally watch TV and view videos from our art collection. Opposite my desk is a fabulous photographic artwork by artist Penelope Davis showing abstracted books, which was always intended to be a key part of our library. There’s also a large window facing west, and each night there are spectacular sunsets. The furniture is mid-century modern, which we have collected over many years, including a chess table where I play chess with my grandkids.

What would we usually find on your desk?

I’m a retired architect, so my main activity is running Justin Art House Museum with my wife Leah. On my desk would be my Mac desktop, lots of paper and reference books, as well as photos of my family to remind me what’s important in my life. I would not call my desk pristine, however with the public viewing it every week, I need to keep it in reasonable control.

Is there a soundtrack to your workday?

I don’t tend to listen to music or radio while I’m working. There’s already a surfeit of visual stimulation.

Describe the vibe of your office in one word.

Immersive.

Desk snack?

Pollar Pie ice-cream.

Andrew Kirk, director of Mister Kirky Press Office

​​Tell us about your WFH set-up.

I love my desk. It’s an Italian Super 123 Metalsistem I put together. It’s a bit sharp at the corners but after a couple of nasty scratches, I’m used to it now. I have a little original Le Bambole sectional sofa by Mario Bellini from Studio Gardner and a very special all-birch 90th anniversary edition Artek Paimio chair. There’s also an Eileen Gray floor lamp, an Isokon Gull bookstand by Egon Riss (he had one on his desk too), a limited edition Artek x Anibou Stool 60 with a natural linoleum top, a Gervasoni Corker stool, a Savoy vase made for tulips, a Thonet S32 chair (I alternate between this and a Technogym wellness ball) and a USM tissue box – all from Anibou. Most pieces are from clients and friends. My task light is the Tab by Barber Osgerby for Flos. I have a lot of beautiful books but they are all in boxes waiting for a new bookshelf, which I haven’t found yet.

What would we usually find on your desk?

Artline 220 pens in an oversized Artline pen lid-shaped holder, a little Golden Gate Bridge rivet paperweight, my computer, iPad, a mouse and keyboard.

What are some cherished pieces around your office?

My Tom Polo Begin Again, a special commission from Roslyn Oxley9. And my Danny Morse Saxa Salt sculpture, Pink and Blue, from Chalk Horse Gallery. I first saw it at P Johnson in Paddington and asked if Danny could make another. I also have a very fun tiger rug from a Danish brand called Bongusta; a travertine ashtray from my mate Henry Wilson that now serves as a base for my disco ball; and then there’s my Brud Studia coffee table from Oigall Projects, which I love. It’s made from laser-cut aluminium slab sections that slot together. It’s wildly impractical but also perfect. I was their first customer and now we work together.

Is there a soundtrack to your workday?

Silence. Maybe the fan is on?

Describe the vibe of your office in one word.

Productive.

Desk snack?

No eating at the desk – I learnt this lesson very early on. I do, however, have a crippling addiction to AP Bakery’s hot cross buns with way too much butter, Snacka Changi’s salt and vinegar chips and full-fat Coca-Cola in the glass bottle.

Jonny Niesche, artist

Tell us about your WFH set-up.

Our spare room is so full of artworks that there’s no room to work from there. I like to work from the dining room table, surrounded by my favourite artists’ artworks. Anselm Reyle’s mirror foil and neon work. A beautiful Robert Moreland canvas work. A stunning Diena Georgetti painting. Across from me is a little bookshelf hutch full of my favourite art and cookbooks. My father made the dining room table for me as a wedding gift. We have a fluid brass cast chandelier by the wonderful industrial designer Marcelo Suro from Guadalajara – an edition of only three.

What would we usually find on your desk?

My laptop and phone and any number of art reference books at a time. I always have a notepad and sketch pad for ideas with a click pencil. And flowers from our friends Lucy Moon in Rozelle.

What are some cherished pieces around your office?

The chairs at the table are from Newtown furniture store Btwnlns. They represent a great Berlin design company called Out. We also have a rug we designed with Sandii Malka.

Is there a soundtrack to your workday?

I always love NTS Radio.

Desk snack?

I am a constant grazer. Love grissini with hummus or baba ganoush.

Simone Haag, interior decorator

Tell us about your WFH set-up.

My home office at Light Well House sits quietly within mid-century architecture. Brick and veneer are softened by a vintage tapestry sourced from Fundamente in the Netherlands, and the furniture is a collection of vintage pieces gathered over the past decade.

What would we usually find on your desk?

Always material samples, a stack of magazines and more ceramic pieces than are necessary.

What are some cherished pieces around your office?

The two visitors’ chairs would be up there. I found them at a flea market in Paris and they’ve followed me ever since.

Is there a soundtrack to your workday?

Quiet, completely quiet. That’s what I crave when I’m working from home, which is usually filled with the noise of family life.

Describe the vibe of your office in one word.

Considered.

Desk snack?

Loco Love hazelnut chocolate, dates with butter, and a black coffee.

James Vivian, dermal therapist

Tell us about your WFH set-up.

Our WFH set-up is a mashup of the music room, office and front room vibes. We have some of our favourite artworks from Australian and New Zealand artists: a small trophy painting by Troy Emery, a large work by Dane Lovett, a lilac lamp by Jordan Fleming, a chrome table lamp by Cordon Salon and a blue vase by Jessica Murtagh. Plus, our piano, and little trinkets and treasures we’ve collected or been gifted over the years.

What would we usually find on your desk?

I’m a pen-and-paper guy as much as possible, so pens, paper, Post-its and notebooks. I keep a water bottle, and running a business in 2026 means your computer and phone are sadly never far away.

What are some cherished pieces around your office?

I grew up playing piano and it was always a dream to have a home that could fit one of my own. We were gifted the woven fish trap from my parents for our wedding and I love Kate Just’s If God Hates Gays Why Are We So Cute? woven artwork that makes both a powerful historical statement and is also 100 per cent correct!

Is there a soundtrack to your workday?

At the moment I’m loving listening to the Hadestown soundtrack, which I saw on the West End late last year. It’s very me to listen to the same song or soundtrack over and over again until I have learned every word and cannot listen to it anymore.

Describe the vibe of your office in one word.

Wackadoodle.

Desk snack?

Celery and peanut butter.

Natalie Bloom, artist and founder of Bloom Cosmetics

Tell us about your WFH set-up.

I’m a graphic designer at heart, so I like to surround myself with objects and references I’ve collected over the 30 years since I founded Bloom. My desk is a vintage 1960s Arco office desk designed by Studio BBPR for Olivetti. I love the contrast of my Apple Mac sitting on something that has history. A hand-knotted, art deco Berber rug sits on top of the parquetry floor.

I’ve always had a large pinboard in every workspace and my home office is no exception. It’s covered in postcards, polaroids, prints, magazine tears, colour swatches, photographs, ribbons, coasters from restaurants and other keepsakes. My latest addition is a menu from La Colombe d’Or in France that I purchased on a recent trip.

What would we usually find on your desk?

I try to keep my desk minimal but there are a few constants: my Mac desktop computer, an open Moleskine diary, a Moleskine notebook and usually a Pantone swatch book. And there’s always a Bloom lip gloss or three within reach.

What are some cherished pieces around your office?

My most cherished piece is a cabinet that houses all the things I’ve collected over the years: paper samples, interesting tins, ceramics, vases, buttons, candles, paintings and packaging I’ve kept. It’s an archive of inspiration.

Is there a soundtrack to your workday?

When I’m working on Bloom, I like the quiet. I also use my office as an art studio for still-life oil painting and, when I paint, I’ll usually listen to French music or an audiobook.

Describe the vibe of your office in one word.

Sanctuary.

Desk snack?

I’m not really a desk snack person. I prefer to be focused, then stop for a proper meal.