Samsen is a minimal wine bar located in Stockholm, Sweden, designed by Note (design studio). As a specialist tech consultancy working with the likes of Klarna, Spotify and Nespresso, Samsen normally despatches employees to work in its clients’ offices – something that Covid-19 made impossible. They had been planning a home of their own long before the pandemic struck, with a vision of an office shaped by long standing workplace trends that embrace flexibility and employee satisfaction.

It became clear that, although the company didn’t need anything like a conventional corporate office, it did need a shared space that the team could come to whenever they needed, to use however they liked – whether as a space to work, hang out, or spend time with family and friends. Not just a practical resource, but an employee perk. With the founders of Samsen sharing a passion for wine and a determination that their space should look nothing like the traditional office, a wine bar seemed the perfect option.

The space is made up of two connected rooms – one houses a large communal table that can be used for dining or collaborative work; the other holds a bar lined with stools, a trio of café tables, and bespoke upholstered benches beneath two large windows. This set-up allows for multiple seating arrangements to be employed simultaneously – from group gatherings, to one-to-one chats and working in isolation – and ensures the atmosphere is vibrant and bustling even when relatively few people are on site.

Built from chunky slabs of limestone, the bespoke bar backs a tall wine fridge also designed by us. The space houses a number of other Note designs created especially for Samsen, including a statement yellow shelving unit on the wall, the integrated window benches, and the large yellow communal table, which is surrounded by black chairs from the Candid collection that the studio designed for Zilio A&C. Above the table, Rich Brilliant Willing’s Palindrome lamp in bent tubular steel adds a sculptural element. In the adjoining space, the bar stools, café chairs and tables have been sourced from Mattiazzi.

Photography is by Joakim Johansson

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