Dr. Laura Castleman’s first office didn’t look like a typical doctor’s office. She furnished the waiting room with blue-and-cream couches, oversized chairs and, instead of buzzing, overhead fluorescent lighting, she took a softer approach and lit the room with lots of lamps.
“I wanted people to feel comfortable,” the OB/GYN says of that homey, atypical medical office.
When Castleman opened her Troy, Mich., practice in 1999 she had an advantage. She shared office space with her father, Dr. Lawrence Castleman, an ophthalmologist and cosmetic surgeon. And the Castlemans consulted a residential interior designer to guide them in achieving the cozy style they both wanted.
Even if you can’t afford a decorator…
Startups typically don’t have the funds to bring in a specialist. Still, it’s important to choose your furniture, colors and accoutrements carefully because, like it or not, your space says something about you.
Consider these tips for designing a great office that sends a message of success.
- Keep it comfortable, advises Eric Cohler, a New York designer who has completed more than 350 projects, from studio apartments to hotel renovations. “If you’re comfortable, your potential client will be comfortable,” he says.
- Understand the power balance. In your office, you automatically have the upper-hand, Cohler says. Be careful not to intimidate – including how you light the space.
Author: Lynne Meredith Schreiber
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