A well-designed conference room sets the tone for every meeting, and this law office makeover proves that function and style can go hand in hand. When I met with my client, Lauren, it became clear that she wanted to have an office that would empower every person who stepped through the doors, including her staff, colleagues and clients.
Lauren owns and operates a law practice, Lauren Hunt, Esq., in Loudonville, NY, and serves families in the surrounding Capital Region area. When Lauren opened up her office, she reached out seeking advice on how to take the uninspired office space and transform it into a professional office that would reflect the personality of Lauren and her (all female) team and would be a place of positivity, peace and strength.
We got to work creating designs for every area of this office space. From reception area to conference room, the once utilitarian and generic office has been renovated into a professional office space equipped to meet the needs of Lauren, her team and clients. Let’s start with this conference room makeover, marked by rich color, custom furniture, and layered design elements.
A Bold Conference Room Makeover Begins with a Feature Wall
Making design decisions may begin with a several amazing ideas (which I love as a designer), but it is important to assess an overall plan and hone a design that keeps it focused. Tempting as it is to embrace every idea and try our hardest to make them work together, not everything can take center stage. Knowing when to remove something from a design plan is just as critical as knowing what to incorporate.
The conference room, like so many others, was devoid any character, and any visual focus was directed at the floor. Not exactly what you want everyone staring at! So to draw your eye up and create a new (and bold) focus, we decided to add a feature wall in our conference design. The wall would: Add Color, Add Texture, and Provide a Focal Point.
Adding Depth with a Geometric Pattern for Subtle Texture
This conference room is narrow which means we needed to be extra diligent with our use of space. And, since the purpose of this space is to conduct conferences and serve as a space for collaboration, it needed to include a large table and chairs. In light of these components, using the largest wall in the room was the smartest choice for our feature wall. Because the room is narrow, we knew we would not be adding a piece of furniture to this wall. And, rather than trying to source a large enough piece of art work or dressing the wall with a collage of pictures that may only clutter the room, adding visual interest with a geometric pattern and installing it to the whole wall would be a great solution.
We used a series of lines and a variety of spacing to create large scale movement and texture. By implementing both diagonal and straight lines, the design remained clean without feeling too stuffy or rigid. Everything was painted in the same medium turquoise – a color that represents both peace and wisdom, essential elements for this law office. Take a look at this side by side. By adding this geometric wall, the focus shifts from the floor to the bold wall. Plus, the overall look is totally elevated.
Custom Credenza: Stylish Storage with Personality
Having the right amount and the right kind of storage was also essential to this conference room. You can see in the before photo, the room was outfitted with a very small console table. Not only was this piece not very functional for this room, it was also completely the wrong size for this wall. This conference space would need a larger piece of furniture that would include:
- some open storage,
- a place for a small refrigerator,
- the ability to store materials needed for meetings that could then be easily tucked away,
- and a an area to accommodate a small coffee station for guests and clients.
This was a TALL order! Because we needed to find a way to account for each of these needs in one piece, the best choice was to custom build a credenza to perform the various functions. By customizing one piece of furniture, we could meet the functional needs and also address the greater design need for a larger scale piece of furniture to anchor the room. One bonus of working with us, we can design and build custom pieces for your business or home!
What Makes this Custom Credenza Work?
It is one thing to make a plan and it is another to make the plan work. Which is exactly how this custom piece turned out. The perfect blend of form and function not just as itself, but it works well for the whole rest of the room. But how?
- First, painting it in a soft white color supports the adjacent turquoise wall rather than working against it.
- Second, it was right sized for the room. We could build this to the precise measurements and anchor the space without overwhelming it.
- Third, a blend of functional and decor items in a cohesive color palette adds balance, functionality, and harmony to the design.
Bringing in Light and Personality to a Professional Space
When designing a professional office, conference room or otherwise, the finishing details really go a long way. Similar to our home interiors, our professional spaces should be well balanced with light and decor items that reflect who we are and the message we are trying to live out.
To achieve this, we added some additional lighting around the room to soften the overhead fixtures. Adding a variety of styling elements around the room enhance the design with personality, keeping it full of energy and …. A mix of blues & turquoise with gold accents ensure a harmonious look and feel. I especially love the simple arched mirror flanked with soft plumes. The mirror helps reflect light in this windowless room while the gentle sprays of grass soften the glow of light and help ground this corner.
Get the Look: Shop Our Conference Room Makeover
Many of the products we used in this design were sourced locally at Homegoods or one-of-a-kind places, and some were purchased a long time ago and are no longer available. I have pulled together some very similar items for you to shop from to get the look.
Custom Builds by FunCycled
Shop our selection of custom built tables, buffets, headboards, and more.
Custom Built Furniture by FunCycled
Arched Mirror
Artwork
Floor Lamp
Pampas Grass Plumes
Gold Tray
Final Thoughts
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Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)
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