A New Corporate Headquarters for Arteriors

Arteriors, a leading provider of luxury furniture, lighting, and decor, has opened a new corporate headquarters in Dallas, TX. The headquarters, which includes 35,500-square-feet of office space, was designed to be a place of inspiration and connection for staff. And with more than 234 products throughout the office, the design team also created an immersive, luxurious brand experience.

A safe and functional hybrid workspace, the office is anything but typical. It doubles as a showcase, highlighting the range of products available for residential and commercial settings. “We knew that we didn’t want to have a bland, white box with just cubicles. It was intentional to layer our merchandise in the space. Of course, there are workstations and it is a functioning office, but some of our pieces are found along major aisles. Informal areas have some of our best-selling chandeliers. It’s really a residential-office combination,” said Vincent Fuentes,  director of visual and branded environments, Arteriors.

At the entry to the new Arteriors office, products are displayed.
Photos courtesy of Arteriors

At the entrance to the office, 500-square-feet of dedicated space serves as what Fuentes calls a “mock showroom,” with the latest product offerings on view, which can be easily swapped out as  seasonal merchandise arrives. “We don’t have the whole line on display, but some of our best-sellers. The customer service team now has a reference point. They can step away from their desks to look at a piece or to touch it. It’s a selling tool and it makes engagement easier,” he explained.

Staff members at Arteriors wanted to be able to perform tasks in comfort, to replicate the feeling of working from home surrounded by their favorite objects. The colors and finishes found on signature pieces added a sophisticated touch not often found in work settings. “Our own products drove the color and material selection. We are getting into more color, but we wanted the headquarters to be a representation of the brand as we know it today. We’re known for our earthy naturals like brown, gray, and green. It’s a palette that complements our furniture. A lot of our pieces have oil-rubbed brass or wood. There’s this interplay that creates warmth,” Fuentes added.

The office doubles as a showroom, with a range of new products on view.

The design phase of the project began in 2019, pre-pandemic, yet much of the original vision aligns with how we are all working today. Before breaking ground, management invested in employee questionnaires and focus groups to ensure that the needs of the entire staff were met. It was determined early on that a layout designed to optimize cross-department workflows was essential.

“We are cognizant of the groups that work together the most, and that dictated the orientation of the departments within the space. The layout was very intentional. We were thinking about the lifecycle of our products; design is positioned adjacent to marketing and visual, and so on. The interactions between specific teams spark those natural moments of creativity,” Fuentes noted.

Signature lighting by Arteriors illuminates a main hallway.

Employees often conveyed the importance of bonds with colleagues. The designers wanted to deliver a space where relationships would be strengthened, even when COVID-19 became a factor. “One of the other big themes was collaboration. Once the pandemic hit, we didn’t want to strip away everything that we had planned and start from scratch. We kept touchdown spaces and those little lounge moments,” Fuentes said.

With more total area at the current headquarters than the previous site, Fuentes noted that a number of new rooms and sections were included, from more individual offices for privacy to open-concept stations and a wellness room. “We have the luxury of space now. We have more formal conference rooms, which we lacked at our old location. We also have several shared offices, and informal spaces for quick check-ins. It’s a place that’s conducive to spontaneous meetings.”

A collaboration space in the office resembles a hospitality setting.

The office’s technology infrastructure has been reinforced to adapt to hybrid working and keep employees linked no matter where they are. To optimize communication between people working from the headquarters and those at home, in-office phones have been equipped with extensions that can connect directly with individual employees’ mobile phones. Company laptops offer screen mirroring capabilities, and high-speed internet access is available at the workplace.

A stylish conference room boasts the latest technology to keep employees connected, no matter where they are.

“As a company, we have adopted a hybrid model, but it’s not effective if you can’t reach people. Our goal was always to enhance our technology, but the pandemic forced us to invest in it even more. All of our conference rooms, for example, have integrated screens, and meeting requests are automated. There’s certainly nothing like having everyone around the table, you just can’t mimic that experience. But we’re getting pretty close now, because it’s so seamless. We can all patch in no matter where we are,” Fuentes explained.

Fuentes said the latest equipment is used in combination with adaptable programming. “What works for one department, with Thursdays or Fridays off, may not work for another group, like design or accounting. I would say this is a trend that’s going to continue, the concept of flexible scheduling. Employees want to be able to work wherever is most convenient, and they can. We’re focused on performance rather than a set location.”

At the Arteriors headquarters, staff is surrounded by luxe furnishings that are not only stylish, but are also a positive reflection of the company. And that is perhaps the best selling point of all. “An office needs to be an extension of a brand, otherwise it’s just a shell. I think we’ve achieved that here,” Fuentes said.