office interior designer chicago
today is a total mad house here on the jobsite. we've got three huge trucks full of furniture. we've got the electricians whoare running wires through the furniture, i've got painters finishing up, and i've got decorativewall treatments going on. i have a lot on my mind…i'm kalyn rothaus, and that's me and my first building project. and my first power lunch.for as long as i can remember i've wanted to be a designer. and now here i am, creatingfunctional and fabulous spaces. this is my client mark alfieri, founder and chairmenof brandstar, and that's carmen his chief operating officer. they've asked me to takethis building and turn it into a modern and efficient workspace. it's going to be a challengebut in the end the new space will be functional
and of course it will most definitely be fabulous.(music). as a designer my goal on this job is to movea 135 employees from this 20,000 square foot space into a much smaller, 11,000 square footbuilding, and keep everybody comfortable and productive. last week we lit up the space.we turned our attention upwards to the ceiling. we installed the grids and light fixtureswith cutting edge technology including “daylight harvestingâ€, which automatically controlsthe lighting for maximum efficiency. we're in our second month of constructionand now it's time to move on to the next phase. so my design directive from carmen, the cooof brandstar, was to create this sort of equality throughout the entire building with the furnitureso that mark, the founder and chairman, sat
in the same kind of chair as a sales person.in fact, everyone sat in the same chair and had the same furniture.we've created an incredibly vibrant culture here where people really enjoy working togetherand i just didn't see any reason why the executive should have different chairs from the associates.we're all here, we're all human beings, we're all working for the same outcome.now that's going to be quite the change. mark's current office space is far different fromany employee, with its dark wood and dark furniture, huge leather sofas and lots ofpersonal items tucked away in all this old world storage space.it's all very old-school and my design challenge is to not only update and modernize the lookof the private office for brandstar, but create
a clean, modern, and high tech look that willbe uniform throughout every office space in the building. there were still requirementsfor a private office of course. they still needed a space for storage, a large enoughwork surface, an ergonomic chair and guest seating for private meetings and everythingflexible enough to include more or less people. to that end i've chosen a company called maylineto come down to florida and meet with mark, carmen and me to look over my design plans.ceo allan klotsche and his manager of sale services, jason dover, showed us samples oftheir e5 products line of modular office furniture that is designed to support a more open andcollaborative work environment. they have great solutions for work spaces, ergonomicchairs, and a wide range of materials to choose
from. but just to make sure that mayline wasthe right fit for our company i decided to pay them a visit at their manufacturing plantin cheboygan, wisconsin where i found a 100 year old tradition in pride and craftsmanship.allan, this is such an old building. there's still some old myaline paint on the exterior.how long have you guys been here? well the building has been here for almost100 years if you can believe it, but we've only been… we're the new tenants. 75 yearsago we moved in here. i think one of the things that's still so unique about mayline is thatwe manufacture our products here in the united states, right here in cheboygan.it's really important how things are constructed and made and i want to make sure that we arefinding the right product for this space.
i love that their products are made in theusa and so i'm here to see more. our employees take great pride in puttingthis product together, having it being american made and stamping that mayline name on it.and i think in the environment that kalyn is looking to putting together, that qualityis going to be an important feature. so i'm really glad that i came to their factorytoday to see how things are actually made and hand crafted here in wisconsin.a lot of strong wisconsin women are in this factory. i was very impressed by how manywisconsin women are making their furniture and so that was very fantastic to see. i'mfeeling much more comfortable having seen the factory and how things are made here atmayline. i still want to see what other options
they have available so i think it's importantthat i go to neocon this year… neocon is the country's largest national furnituretradeshow in chicago where mayline is one of its largest exhibitors. here, all of theirnewest office products are on display. you know i really want to make sure that we choosethe right thing for our space. it needs to meet all of the goals that we need for ourproject so i am here to make that decision. today i am meeting with jason and he is goingto show me a bunch of different products and new items, and new finishes and some of thesolutions that mayline offers. perfect! i think it's fantastic and i'm really happywith the privacy panel above. after seeing your factory and you know you guys takingthe time to really help me understand your
products and how they're made, i know thatthis is the right fit for us. so i am so excited! so my mind is made up. i think the e5 lineof private office furniture from mayline is the right solution for brandstar's new officespace. i signed the deal with allan and i am so excited. they did such a great job.their customer service was the best. you know, i think that our employees are going to beblown away with the options that they have. it will take about 8 weeks for delivery andwe've got a tight timeline to meet, but first thing's first. we've got a lot of space topaint before the furniture is ever installed and we've got to get started.we've got a nice color pop and that's a little too dimmed down. right, mute it.(music).
(music).so it's painting week at office spaces. i've brought in pheonix painting to paint the interiors.pheonix has worked on many large commercial painting projects before. so they understandthis scope of work and they understand my needs. i have a lot of detailed painting workto be done and they have experience doing large scale projects so i have faith in themto get the job done. i've dedicated the perimeter of the building to private offices where thewindows can bring a lot of the natural day light. here, i want to treat the whole backwall in an accent color. as you walk by all of the offices with the glass fronts you seea beautiful blue accent wall. i wanted to create that feeling of sameness throughoutthe building and create a rhythm.
the one thing that kalyn and i discuss a lotare color, the use of color, and how color affects moods and people and again it's aboutbalance. you want something that reflects the company in a very vibrant way, but isn'ttoo much and so that's the one… if kalyn and i discuss anything it's the use of color.so i'm going to show you two different accent wall options, two different colors.so again i wanted to bring that accent color, blue, into the space. from office to officeit's sort of unifies the different office spaces and also gives us some unity. so thisis the first color option. but let's talk about option number two. so this one is amuch deeper, richer blue. we want to create a nice color pop and that'sa little too dimmed down, right? muted?
so option one? everyone is happy with optionone? yes! absolutely.okay, good. i wanted each office to offer a creative way for the employees to expressthemselves. so each side wall of the office is first being painted white and then treatedwith a clear coat on top of that. so it will become a dry erase wall.so you can just, basically it's a dry erase board, but the whole wall is?the whole wall is. because you guys wanted to be more paperless, so this way if you'rehaving a meeting in your office you can write notes, you can… you know we have so manycreative types in the company… right, it's creative, it's collaborative,and it's paperless.
the other wall will have a black, chalkboardbubble that you can write on. so on this wall is is the whole wall a chalkboard paint or just an area? i have a little surprise with what we've decidedto do with the chalk board paint so it's a smaller area. it's not the whole wall.ok, got it. so it's a surprise. it's actually the graphic symbol for brandstar's“listn tv†logo. so i drew it in autocad and then pheonix paintingmade a template of the bubble and recreated it on the wall.we're going to be placing television monitors in that black bubble later, but mostly i thinkthe chalkboard bubble will just be a fun way for employees to express themselves in theirindividual space and personalize their office
without hanging a multitude of picture framesand clutter. event the simple thing like having the whiteboardpaint wall so that people could be in rooms and collaborate together with an outcome isextremely important in a fast-passed creative environment that we're in.i think mark and carmen were especially excited about this color scheme. it's green, it'sgood for the environment, and it's a fun way to express creativity, which is what thisplace is all about. today is a total madhouse here on the jobsite. any day for an interior designer that we're doing a furniture installation is abig day. but especially today with mayline here. we got three huge trucks full of furnitureand everything needs to go in a certain location.
we've got the electricians who are runningwires through the furniture, i've got painters finishing up, i've got decorative wall treatmentsgoing on. i have a lot in my mind and i have it all organized somehow, but it's been acrazy day. one thing about furniture installation iswhen you have this much arriving all at once, literally hundreds of boxes and even boxeswithin boxes that all have to end up in a specific location, organization is key orelse you'll end up with total chaos. what's really interesting is the way maylinepacks their trucks for delivery from wisconsin. the trucks are packed by room so that whenthe trucks arrive and unpack they can literally take furniture out and place it in the exactlocation where it belongs. the fantastic news
is that mayline has sent kathy aulik hereto help with delivery. she's the brains behind the installation. and she really helps tokeep things extremely organized by knowing exactly what goes where and how it's assembled.the challenge always is when you're dealing with this many pieces is to get the correctpieces in the right areas. there is approximately 1,000 pieces from hardware, to tops, to legs,to cabinets, to overheads, and all the electrical that is needed. it's probanly going to take8 to 10 installers 4 to 5 days to complete the install of all of the furniture.now as you can imagine there's a ton of cardboard left over from trying to get the product heresafely, but we've found a green way to deal with it so it doesn't end up in a landfill.that's why this guy is here. he is part of
the greener solution.so i am really excited! daniel is here, daniel suarez, and what he does, which i think isso wonderful and important for this project, is that he actually works with office furniturewarehouse to take all of the boxes, all of the waste and he brings them to miami to recyclewhich is fantastic because we are a green building and we're trying our best to be eco-friendlyand conscious so this is wonderful. muchas gracias daniel!amazing is the technology we've been able to get into this small little area…(music). (music).so it's day two here on the job site of our furniture installation with mayline and thereare parts and pieces everywhere! there are
desk legs over there, cabinets over here,but somehow, i am so glad that i have a big team who's helping me put it all together!of course any day that i am installing furniture is hectic because i want to make sure thatthe product i am receiving is perfect without any flaws and without any dings, that i'vereceived the right furniture and that it's all going in the right direction. our officefurniture installation is about complete. but we still have a few extra things to addthat are going to make this space extra special for the employees. in today's office environmentergonomics are so important for employee health. so many of us are at our desks all day long.five days a week and prolonged sitting can have serious health consequences. so i turnedto a company called ergotron for some products
that extend ergonomic comfort to the end user.ergotron is known for products that make an office space a healthier experience, especiallywhen using digital technology. things like ergonomic desk mounts for computers, tv mountsfor the wall, and sit/stand work stations for employees so they can get up from theirchairs and move their legs while working. branstar's it director, adam brown, is overseeingthe installation of these ergonomic devices. we're installing ergotron's wall mounts forthe tvs in each office as well as the arm mounts for desktop computer monitors. whati especially like is the small footprint taken out by these mounts. we're placing the moveableare mounts in reach of the employee, but at the same time at the back of the desk whichleaves a lot more space for the employee.
so what's neat about the ergotron productsis that it allows us to have flexibility on those desks. if you want to move your monitoraround, show someone that's sitting next to you, you can just grab the monitor, spin itaround and show it to somebody else. before we just had it sitting on the desks half-hazardly.you know, it also provides cable management which allows us to make the desk a lot neater.this is also installation day for the tv monitors which will be mounted in each private office.element electronics is providing these energy star certified monitors that they've shippeddown form their state-of-the-art factory in winsborrow, south carolina.so element brought on two different types of televisions for us. both are 4k resolutions,but they've brought on both 55 and 65 inch
tvs. this allows us to put the 55s in theareas that are a little bit smaller where you don't want to have something as largeas the 65, but still bring good resolution and high def that we need in those areas.what i really liked about the element tvs from a design perspective was its black borderbecause when you place it on the ergotron wall mount the tv almost disappears into theblackboard bubble which we've painted on the wall. it's all part of the design and i'veplanned to inspire fun and creativity in each office space.so with the element tvs and the “listen bubble†on the executive office's wallsit allows us to kind of hide the television when they're not on. really when you lookinto the offices you may not even know that
there's a television there, but once you turnit on it really focuses on the content and allows it to be a more vibrant color on thewall. and here's something else that's really neat about the element tv. i've run hdmi cablesfrom the desktop computer so that the television can also serve as an extra computer monitorfor more collaboration in the office space. anybody that's in the office can take thattv on the wall and move the content to it. and also since ergotron's mount has an armto it you can rotate the tv and point it in different directions so that you can collaboratewith the people that are in your office. really what's amazing is the technology. we'vebeen able to get in a small little area and how that technology will help all of our associatescomplete their job. so everything from having
a smart tv, to having an ipad at peoples fingertips in a smaller work environment with technology and systems and processes that allows themto do things quickly and together can increase the productivity and the speed of everything.i think the employees are really going to love this ergonomic technology we've placedin each office. it's going to be different for you withoutall the things in your office. it's very minimalistic. which is awesome!(music). (music).i'm about to take carmen and mark through the space and they've only seen the furnituresolutions through small samples, through our vimtrek 3d model. but i know when they seethis in person, it's so much warmer and, you
know, i'm excited for them to see to see it!i can't wait to see their reaction. i love it! wow look at this! sweet! it's beautiful.alright, come have a seat. i'll bring you over, we have to have a meeting. (laughter)come over here. let's talk about it! does it make you feel very presidential?i do! oh, do you need a tissue? hold on. let me get you one. (laughter).you know i've been questioned several times from people, oh well how are you going toadjust to this? to this environment? well i have to be honest with you i love it! it'sclean, it's sharp, it doesn't have clutter in it and i think it's perfect. it's exactlywhat i've been looking for. as you can see mark and carmen are reallypleased with the new space and even allan
seems impressed with how we've integratedhis mayline furniture into our design. most importantly from an office standpointi think we accomplished what you wanted. you wanted a really, nice, big work surface. youselected the gist chair. this is a great chair. this is actually the chair that i had in myoffice, and what i like about it, being a bigger guy, is that is adjusts in 5 differentways. not only will your works be functional, but they'll be comfortable.exactly! i know i'm biased, but i think it's a prettygood looking office. i would have to agree.i think you're all set to go! i really couldn't picture it in my head beingas nice as it turned out to be. so the folks
from mayline, again, they just really dida great job from beginning to end and everything in my office just fits! it's all well-coordinatedand it just feels like the place that i am supposed to be.the chalkboard walls and the dry-erase walls really came out well. i think they're notonly going to be fun, but they'll be great for collaboration. it's all about making everyelement of this office functional. i'm so excited to move in. we have all sortsof things like chalk walls where people can write in chalk and white walls, and everybodyis just chomping at the bit to get in here. well, here we are. another week of constructioncompleted. i couldn't be more pleased with how everything's turned out. the paint colorlooks really beautiful, and the mayline office
furniture is just what i envisioned. but we'renot done with mayline yet. they will be installing some innovative furniturein the large bullpen area, along with some really cool nesting tables and chairs forthe social and digital room. the bullpen is designed for 54 people andwhen you have that many in one space, you're bound to have noise issues! i think we'vefound a way to solve that issue with innovative sound masking technology that will reallyfine-tune the building for a quiet and productive work environment.we're going to be looking at that, as well as some fun ways to address the individualityand creativity of our employees that i am sure they're going to love.(music).