Stow Brothers Estate Agents are a forward-thinking company with a fresh and straightforward approach to the property market. Like their unique style, their office design needed to be innovative and different.

 Trends in estate agent office designs have gone from traditional and conservative to ultra-homely and lived in. We wanted to create a space that felt welcoming and calming but special and luxurious at the same time. 

Their business style is contemporary and open, so we reflected this in their office. We created division between the 3 different areas (customer meet and greet, staff desk area and staff kitchenette/WC) but with an open feel. Archways create intimacy without being closed in, and the fluted glass panels allow natural light in whilst offering privacy for the employees to focus on their work or have their lunch.

We used wooden partitions, inspired by garden arches and pergolas. The archways create a vista, catching your eye and inviting you inside, perfect for an estate agent who wants to be welcoming and stop passing people in their tracks. 

Stow Brothers love to support and take inspiration from the communities they work in. South Woodford is a leafy area of London, bookended by green spaces. We wanted to represent this in the office design, bringing the outside in and creating a calming green oasis for their customers and employees to enjoy. The neighbouring shopping mall has lots of curved arches, so it was nice to give a nod to local architecture too. 

To carry forward this passion for their community, we worked with local businesses and tradesmen where possible. Gavin Coyle, a talented carpenter, brought our ideas to life, creating all the partitions and birch ply desk areas and we sourced all the planting for the biophilic design from a nearby store, The Everyspace.

The Stow Brothers’ mission is to make the experience of buying or selling a property as smooth and stress-free as possible. It was important that the meet and greet area felt relaxed, so we used bench-style seating for them to sit down and chat with their customers.

 Statement lighting was used throughout to create points of interest with rattan pendants above the meet and greet table and pendant lights complete with planters bringing beautiful texture and shapes above the workspace. 

Human connection is one of the company’s key values. Sometimes estate agents can be competitive and secretive with their peers, but Stow Brothers encourage their team to work together, talk and share information. We designed the central desk area with this in mind, a shared desk with employees facing each other, encouraging collaboration and good relationships. 

The kitchenette at the back of the space is a zingy yellow (one of Stow Brothers brand colours). This creates a fun colour pop through the fluted glass and gives employees an energetic and refreshing space to recharge on their lunch. 

It was an honour to design this welcoming space in the heart of the community.