A Case Study in Unconventional Office Space

The husband-and-wife team of Juan and Loretta Forteza wanted a spacious office dedicated solely to their business when they moved their interior design studio from conventional office space to their vintage 1952 Cape Cod cottage in Palos Verdes.

But the biggest and best room available was a study in the middle of the house, a space the Fortezas also wanted to keep for dinner and entertaining after business hours.

Their solution was to convert the study into a 12-by-20 office that can double as a formal dining room that seats 16 guests. The room--which features a cream-colored French limestone floor--is so intriguing that the Palos Verdes Art Center has selected it to be featured, along with four other spaces, in a tour this Friday and Saturday titled “Inspired Spaces.”

“After 20 years of leasing space in conventional office buildings and having plenty of room to work, I couldn’t imagine working in the typical bedroom space or the cramped little places where lots of people put their home offices,” said Juan Forteza, whose clients include retailers Bijan and Avi, Singapore Airlines and the Palos Verdes Beach & Athletic Club.

The Fortezas removed the original mahogany book cases and other design elements in the study and replaced them with natural maple cabinets and three black-and-green speckled granite counters that serve as work areas, including one that holds a removable drafting board.

They removed the study’s existing wall-to-wall carpeting and replaced it with the limestone floor, then replaced the frame of an existing bay window with a limestone architrave matching the floor. They added a gray-tinted mirror across from the drafting table to make the office look even bigger.

When the Fortezas want to convert the office from working to living space, they move the drawing board to the garage and slip office supplies into the maple cabinets.

The counters can then be used as bars or buffets. Chandeliers that hang close to the 11-foot ceiling during the day can be dropped down at night as part of a sophisticated lighting scheme to help switch the mood from business to entertainment.

The only signs of business remaining are the Fortezas’ computers, which sit unobtrusively in the soft light.

“Most people don’t even notice the computers,” Juan Forteza said. “As we’re dancing on the limestone floor, they’ll ask me, ‘Where did you put your office?’ ”