Home Office Comforts – USM

Words by Camille Khouri

Swiss furniture company USM’s range of elegant home office furniture makes it easy to adapt to a changing world.

If there was ever a year to be creating high-quality home office furniture, 2020 would be it. Swiss furniture company USM has been in the game long before we all began working from home and shut the door to a pandemic-rife world, though. USM had its beginnings in 1885 as a metalworking company in Munsingen, Switzerland, which is where the company’s headquarters remain today. In the 1960s, USM evolved to design quality furniture, focusing on modular, steel framed pieces that could be adapted for different settings.

Employees of USM’s clients were the first to appreciate the benefits of the modular designs beyond the traditional office environment and began using the pieces in their homes. Today, USM’s current home office catalogue does not stray far from the company’s 1960s vision. Its pieces are minimal and elegant, with a refined aesthetic that does not look out of place in a room that is serving a dual purpose, such as the corner of a living space that is also doubling as a work area during business hours.

Steel framing is the consistent element, which allows the modules to be mixed and matched and also provides each piece with a sense of refinement.

Steel framing is the consistent element, which allows the modules to be mixed and matched and also provides each piece with a sense of refinement. Colours are bold – primary blue and froggy green – or toned down and modern in grey, beige or glossy white. These options depend on individual style as well as the type of work being undertaken (sometimes colour helps with inspiration) or the tones of the space they are fitting into, and the colours can be mixed thanks to the modular design.

Pieces are designed to be multi-functional and adjustable. A storage cabinet on wheels can be both a work or display surface and a place to hide away the day’s activities when the office transforms back into the living room. A table with adjustable height can serve as both a dining table and a desk.

USM’s modular furniture pieces are helping create home office spaces that are equal parts flexible, functional and stylish.

Having to work from home this year was not such a shock to Melbourne-based interior designer Ali Ross, as she has always kept a dedicated home office. With art and built-in elements of her home providing tonal depth, such as the black-painted fireplace in her home office, Ali chose a USM Haller system in white for office storage and display.

“USM is a product I have been specifying for years, so when it was time to renovate my own home, it was the first piece I bought for my home office,” she says. “It’s a highly functional and adaptable piece and one I know will stand the test of time. It keeps all my work-related samples organised and out of view and the benchtop is the perfect everchanging layout space.”

New Zealand interior designer Kristina Pickford also chose the USM Haller system in Pure White for the living space and bedroom in her inner-city apartment in Auckland. A glazed wall separates the two spaces, so the pieces reflect one another, with one serving the purpose of a home office and the other a bedroom cabinet.

Kristina’s apartment is in the historic Dilworth building, which was built in the 1920s, and the understated modern look of the Haller contrasts beautifully with the lofty ceilings and heritage interiors. “USM’s sleek and adaptable design is perfect for the home office providing a highly functional workspace without compromising good looks,” Kristina says.

In a year where one third of Australians are reported to be working from home, USM’s modular furniture pieces are helping create home office spaces that are equal parts flexible, functional and stylish.

USM is available through ECC New Zealand and in Australia through Anibou. The USM Haller System can be configured through the custom configuration tool on the USM website.