Finishing out a home office/library for a doctor. I have wide latitude on the design … “make it nice” is about all the direction I have. Money is not a concern, as long as it’s well spent (nothing lavish).
My thought is to finish it like an old style doctors office. Wood floor, tin ceiling, half glass door with frosted glass and his name lettered on it. What else would be appropriate? Maybe beadboard halfway up the wall.
I’m sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Replies
Don't forget the skeleton in the corner, a row of apothecary jars and a display of archaic surgical instruments.
When you do a kitchen design, you sit down with the family to find out how they use the kitchen, what kind of cooks they are etc. etc.
I'd do the same with this doc; there are lots of different ways to design a work space, and the best for a given client really depends on what kind of activities he uses the space for.
For instance, here are a few questions I would ask:
1) Will you use this office for doing your professional reading? Do you prefer to do such reading at the desk, or in a reading chair? If the latter, what kind of table space do you need around the chair?
2) what do you need for shelf space for your journals, professional books, personal reading matter?
3) What will the desk be used for? Paying bills? Writing research articles (which would require lots of space for resources books to be spread about).?
4) Do you need a space for writing in long hand, or do you do all your writing with the computer? How should the computer be best integrated into the desk area?
5) What do you want in this space in the way of A/V stuff. Are you okay with shelf speakers, for instance, or do you want them built into the walls/ceiling, etc.? How about a TV/VCR/DVD?
4) As far as the "look" of the space is concerned, I'd get him to clip some pics of spaces he likes, and the "feel" he would like to have in this office.
hope this helps.............
-- Bertrand Russell
Where did he/she study...maybe more like a college library. Rent Harry Potter for inspiration. Raised panelling up the whole wall to plate rail height. Work a caduceus symbol or school crest into the mantel or a more prominent bookcase. You might ask to see the furniture that is going in the room. Give you an idea if the tastes are more Norman Rockwell, exclusive men's club, refined and elegant, urban chic, etc.
Id second the panel walls, even if its to the char rail. If they want to save, there are some nice millwork companies that make a false panel system that you measure and they send as a package like custom cabinets.
Stain grade, have them pick the hard wood they prefer, and maybe add in a few pieces of exotic if you can. If its not sprayed, do a rub out on the finish, like waxing a car, it makes a killer difference.
-zen
Hi, I'm not a memebr of one of the building trades, just a homeowner who wants to be educated about a product/service before shelling out the bucks.
Re: "Finishing out a home office/library for a doctor. I have wide latitude on the design ... "make it nice" is about all the direction I have. Money is not a concern, as long as it's well spent (nothing lavish)."
This sounds like a recipe for disaster! You need to get the doctor to give you detailed specifics regarding;
How the office will be used - - reading reference and research materials, writing scholarly journal articels, reviewing patient's charts and records, seeing patients, etc. Will there be a computer (desktop, laptop, both?), printer, phone, fax, copier, or a multi-function unit? Furniture: desk and chair - size? type? other seating - size ?type? credenza (or other stand) for office peripherals - size? type? will it hold them on top or hide them when not in use? storage for books, supplies, etc. - free standing or built in? Don't forget about placement of all of the above in relation to: the doctor's workflow (like the "kitchen triangle"), where the outlets (electrical, telephone, cable, satellite dish) are, windows and doors (ingress and egress plus glare on a computer screen), etc.
Who will be using the office - - the doctor exclusively, or shared with another person (staff, family member, etc.)
When will it be used - - nights and weekends . . . consider lighting options (general lighting vs. task lighting) light from a window, skylight or doorway. Also, will it be visible from the rest of house (door always open) or segregated from other family activities (a private enclave)?
House style - colonial, ranch, contemporary? The last thing you want to do is to suggest and designa traditional room to go in an ultra-modern "minimalist" home decor (sorry, I don't know what that really means - I saw it in a magazine once), but I hope you get the idea.
The bottom line - have the good doc tell you what his/her idea of "nice" is. Possibly some photos from a design magazine or book (Taunton has and excellent book on home offices - I think it is entitled "Work Spaces" or something like that . . . check out their "Shop Taunton" link at the top of this page or your local library). Maybe incorporate the doc's hobbies into a theme for the room, etc.
These are just some of the things I would like to consider (or have suggested to me) before I spent my hard-earned money. Hope they help!
Wendell Bates
Well, I appreciate the responses, but most of you missed the question. Ralph & CapnMac were on the right track, with others. I was asking about how an old doctors office would look. I was not asking about how to design with a clients assistance.
Wendell, thasnks for your response, but thios is the wrong kind of answer:
sorry, I don't know what that really means - I saw it in a magazine onceI'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Ed,
That sounds like a fun project. I was just wondering from your last post if you are saying that you don't need advice on how to work out a design with a client because you already understand how that works or that he told you he wants you to "make it look nice" and you are not going to be seeking anymore input from him because you think that is enough and he seems to think that's enough. I'm going to assume that it's the first one, but just in case it's not I'll say for a start that it never works that way. You will need visual aids to make sure, in Dino's words that you and the client are talking about the same project. Live light enough to see the humour and long enough to see change.
-Ani DiFranco
In this case, all he wants is a place in the house to call his own, someplace where he can work on the pc, pay bills, catch up on reading, and close the door to keep the kids out. And a place to store his books and magazines. And a tv recessed into the wall.
He wants a wood floor, and a nice look. He's very laid back. I could do it with straight painted sheetrock wall and ceiling, add a little crown, maybe a chair rail, etc. and he would be happy. But I want to give it a little bit of a theme.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Ed,
As I'm doing the same right now for our office, the one thought I can relate is to make sure it has hard, smooth floors, at least around where the desk will be, so that a chair can roll around.
Everything else is up to the client.
Jon
Actually, I was thinking an extra-tall wainscoat/paneled wall. Which could be a framed panel wall with wall fabric in the panel "fields." (Craftsman, leapt to mind as a rich look).
I like the idea of a tin ceiling.
Oh, and when you play 20 questions with the doc, bring a note pad of grid paper, and get the dimensions of every thing on his "love me" wall. Then ask what he'd do to improve it. Maybe he has a 'better' advanced diploma or state license that he'd want front & center behind the desk. Maybe he wants the academic stuff here, and the credentials there.
While you are at it, see what he wants to see on the wall opposite of his desk. Family pics, PR shots, standing-with-celebrities photos, etc.
It could be that a nice long wall could have all the "love me" stuff over that nice elegant 52-54" tall panel toprail (which could get wider to be a curio/award shelf).
"Actually, I was thinking an extra-tall wainscoat/paneled wall. Which could be a framed panel wall with wall fabric in the panel "fields." (Craftsman, leapt to mind as a rich look)."For an old doctor's office (or should that be for an old office for a doctor) in that era I would think everything would be painted.I know that kitchens "cleanlyness" was a goal and tile would be used if not painted.But for the library look, based on Greene and Greene I would like to try using some leather wallpaper for the field in a wainscoated wall.I have not seen any samples, only pictures on the web, but I like the idea.Suppose to be thin, real leather on a paper backing.
for the library look, based on Greene and Greene
Yeah, that's the thing I was thinking, office = library, not office = consulting/rpocedure room. A spot for the desk, etc., per Ed's description.
There's some good fabric out there for a bit more "Macintosh" sort of look. Some paper, too, which can be easier to hang in this installation.
One of my thoughts was to a double-paneled wall up to a curio shelf top rail. A wood panel up to the chair rail and then a very rich paper (like a Sandringham floral View Image) in the upper panel.
Or a simple rice paper over some 1/2" foam, to make a neat "tack up" area in case the doc has chilluns or granchilluns of an artistic bent.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)