May 3, 2026When you think of a writers room for a television show, you might imagine a scene from 30 Rock, men and women sitting on and around sad office furniture in a drab space with white boards on the walls. In short, the kind of place where creative brilliance happens in spite of the environment, not because of it. That’s pretty much the opposite of what Los Angeles writer and producer Lauren Morelli, whose credits include Orange Is the New Black, had in mind when she asked Stefani Stein to design a writers studio for her production company, Sweatpants Inc.
“The starting point was Lauren’s relationship with books and storytelling,” Stein tells Introspective. With that in mind, Stein gave one wall of the sitting area — situated within a commercial office space that the designer utterly transformed — over to built-in bookshelves, which provided ample storage and set the mood. “The library wall became the catalyst and emotional anchor of the room, shaping everything from the layout to the color story,” she says. “We designed the space around the experience of being surrounded by books and ideas.”
Against a neutral backdrop, Stein layered richer hues, mustard in a pair armchairs, for instance, and pops of carmine. “Color is a source of joy for Lauren and a guiding force in my work with her,” Stein says, adding, “The hues are earthy and nuanced, with intentional red moments that bring energy and emotion.”
One such moment is a Branko Bahunek oil painting of a woman in a red dress, which Stein found on 1stDibs and hung on the bookshelves above a curvy Lauren sofa from her furniture collection, August Abode. Other August Abode pieces in the room include a free-form walnut-and-marble Griffith coffee table and, next to the sofa, a checkered maple Gardner chest, which Stein incorporated to add pattern and structure.
In addition to the sitting area, Morelli wanted a place for meetings that didn’t feel like a typical conference room. Stein created a breakfast-nook-type space, complete with cushioned banquette. “It was important to her that the space be both aesthetically minded and comfortable enough for long meetings,” the designer says. She outfitted it with a Barrington dining table and pair of Mariposa chairs, from August Abode, plus a JDP Interiors Fan chandelier, which she found on 1stDibs.
“The challenge was translating Lauren’s very personal creative rhythm into a functional environment,” Stein says of the project. “She needed privacy, comfort and focus, but also a space that could expand to support collaboration.” For the record, Stein thinks the team nailed it. “I love that this space feels unmistakably like Lauren. Books everywhere, color with depth, layers of art and texture and a sense of intention in every corner.”
