Georgia Interior Design

Home Office Accessory: Model Ships

Our design team gets to do their fair share of home office business out here in the suburbs.  Perhaps it is due to commuters getting tired of the drive to Buckhead…we certainly saw an increase when gas hit four dollars a gallon last fall. 

Every so often we have a request for a sailing ship to be placed in an office as an accessory.  What could be more masculine?  Up until now, we have not really had a good source for quality ship models.  In about a week we will have a few on our showroom floor that I am really excited to show.  They were each handmade by John Hebeisen, a master woodworker from the Pacific Northwest, who runs a private shop on the banks of the Columbia River.  The detailing is exceptional, the hulls and decking are steamed and hand planked for example, with each ship requiring from 100 to 270 hours to build!

Now that’s a home office!

Elizabeth just completed a home office project and came back with some cool pics.  The client is really excited how it came out and so are we.  I don’t have all the photos and they are a little dark, but you’ll get the idea.  My guess is the client is going to have a hard time getting his guests to leave once they settle into these chairs!  The table is a Chinese drum that makes a great sound when you thump on it!

Design Sleuth-Home office furniture

“People spend more money on upgrades on a car than they do on home office furnishings,” Alan, the owner of DOTI at John’s Creek said when I mentioned home offices.  “It seems kind of strange when you compare the time that the average person spends driving a car every day versus the amount of time he or she spends working in their home office.”  I laughed out loud when he said that – ain’t that the truth!  Those  who have dedicated home office spaces often wish the spaces were more comfortable, functional, or stylish.  Those without a separate room for their home office often carve a workspace out of another room and then make excuses for the messiness.

“One of the most common mistakes that people make,” Alan said, “is that they buy office furniture based on price without seriously considering utility, comfort, and style.  People make do with something less than ideal even when they don’t have to.  A good designer can work with a client to find pieces that really work for them.”

According to Alan, a second mistake that people make is purchasing furniture that doesn’t fit the scale of the room.  People will buy a desk or a chair and once it’s installed they discover that the piece is either too big or too small for the space, or that it doesn’t marry well with the other pieces in the room.  “Mix and match is great, but if the pieces don’t work well together and make it easy for you to do your job, you’re going to feel uncomfortable spending time in the space.  That’s when you have people roaming the house with a laptop looking for a better place to perch.”

Not surprisingly, Alan said, a designer would prefer to be consulted before you design your home office, but a good designer would also be happy to design around your existing furnishings. 

According to Alan, Hekman http://www.hekman.com/ is a good company to check out for home office furniture with selections in a variety of price ranges.   Nathan mentioned Stanley http://www.stanleyfurniture.com/ as another option, especially for youth furnishings.
 
On Tuesday I’ll share some great ideas about how you can add a little whimsey and fun to your home decor.  Until then!

Deborah
A.k.a. Design Sleuth