Love it or hate it, you'd have to be living under a rock to not know about the hit MTV show, The Hills. Following Lauren Conrad, a fashion design student and reality TV royalty, the show hits on some really cool interiors—in homes, bars and restaurants—but what really caught our eye was the computer lab of her school, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Designed by architect Clive Wilkinson, the lab on her Los Angeles campus gives us some inspiration to realize that technology-infused areas don't always have to look so stuffy.

If you don't have a lot of home office needs (Read: You don't have a lot of peripherals), then you can get really creative with your space.

Your "office" could just be a well-wired lounge chair like on the "pool deck" of FIDM. Or take a cue from the cushioned pool and turn a comfortable padded nook into your dedicated laptop space with a few breakfast trays.

And if you're in the market for a desk, consider this alternative: Buy a spacious coffee table and some low ottomans or floor pillows for a very zen-like office experience like the laptop stations of FIDM's lab offer.

[ via Clive Wilkinson ]