Cozy Law Office With A Twist | 45 SqM / 484 SqFt Studio Unit Makeover | Minimalist | Studio Ploy

Not long ago, legal professionals worked in isolated, cluttered, and hardwired offices and it's typically stressful. Nowadays, flexible working is the future and should adapt to the changing needs. I also believe that workspaces should have greater emphasis on work-life balance. My name is Gerold. Welcome to Studioploy. A few months back, I took on the challenge on designing a commercial space, a law office specifically, a very first for Studioploy. As I would normally accept residential projects, I asked the owner's requirements both function and aesthetic-wise and the wish lists were very specific. Function-wise includes a welcome or living area, a dining or conference area, two office desks, and additional shelving space. And for aesthetic-wise, they wanted it to be minimalist, cozy, and airy and at the same time classy. When I first saw this space, it was already empty and newly painted in what I normally call hospital white. I asked if I can remove the cabinet trims or at least repaint it as I find it destructing. I actually describe it as overly and underly done. Overly done because all of the cabinetry in the entire unit has the same wood trim, but underly done because it's poorly made that even screws were left exposed. It also looked disjointed with the entire space. Since the space is only 45 square meters in floor area, the owners prefer an open layout. We are also not allowed to dismantle or remove any existing fixtures aside from cabinet handles. Originally, the space plan was to put the office table on this area and the sofa near the windows, but looking at how the flow would be, I suggested the opposite as it would have a better flow. Studies have also revealed that those with desks situated near windows are significantly more satisfied with their working environment than those that are not. With the overall aesthetic of the space, minimalism was definitely going to be the main theme with few touches of different design styles and adding in elements that would add warmth to the space, taking note of the owner's wish list including the love for wood elements. Given a little over a month from concept design phase up to material sourcing out, we are given more or less three weeks for the actual makeover which is pretty daunting. Fortunately, a childhood friend was willing to help and is now going to be part of the studio ploy team. So without any further delays, let's move right ahead into the actual makeover process. I started out creating an outline on the floor for the furniture based on its dimensions, especially the bigger ones like the conference table and sofa for the to determine which size would fit since we are going to have most of our furniture off the rock due to time constraint. With our paint, since we are going for a minimalist and professional look, white would be perfect. We are going for a warmer white with marble mist that I initially test out together with white on white but marble mist came out better on the actual space complementing our existing swatches with the other design elements. And due to time constraint, I started out painting most concrete walls while I welcome Elsa with a not so easy task of sanding off the polyurethane on the wooden cabinet trims and baseboards. On day three, Kuya Junjun from Lixilia arrived to do the actual measurements for our window treatment. I really intended for them to take measurements early on the makeover so there would be enough time for them to fabricate and to avoid unnecessary delays since we have a definite schedule to finish this makeover. A double shade type was my initial choice but due to the window design, we are restricted to do it and would only be able to install a simple blackout roller shades. We then proceed on masking the side of the frames on the mirrored wall in preparation for painting. The mirror was already pre-installed but I wanted for this air to look more current, hence the decision to paint it also in white. Black was also considered but I wanted the frame to blend with the walls and to totally contrast with our black lighting fixtures. I mentioned that I was only permitted to paint the cabinets and the existing trims and was not given a go signal to do any alteration aside from the hardware but this wooden door handle accent bothers me so much that I decided to remove them without the approval. I'm confident though that they'll love the result without this unnecessary nuance element. We also make sure to cover all the exposed screws with putty to conceal and even out the surface. The cabinetry and baseboard looks very dated so I wanted to upgrade it by making it more simple by blending it in with the walls to also divert the focal instead of getting unnecessary attention. This way it would make for a perfect backdrop or canvas to play with our furniture and accessories. Day six into our makeover, I already got the advice from Luxilia that in a few days they would be able to install the shades and in line with the installation of our new window treatment, we removed the existing venetian blinds ahead so we could paint the parts that would be covered and for it to be ready before installation. We also started painting primers to the mirror and cabinet trims. It took us three coats of the primer and sanding after every coat to smoothen the surface and make it ready for the actual paint. I actually under-calculated repainting the unit that it took us longer than the usual. Around this time, we are delayed by two days and we needed to finish repainting in the next three days to catch up on the timeline. Almost a week after Kuya Junjun from Luxilia did the site visit, they now came in to install the roller shades. The owner requested to replace the old venetian blinds to update it to black out roller shades. I opted for this color for it to blend in with the walls as I intend for the furniture and accessories to be the highlight. The next two days, we devoted painting two more coats to achieve the finish that we want for the walls and cabinets. We used the same marble mist color for both walls and cabinetry. These are both water-based enamel and latex that I normally get from Davis so we can proceed working on the next item without the discomfort of smelly paint fumes. The existing lighting fixtures were very dated and are mostly fluorescent that is most of the time very bright and I wanted to create a warm professional moody vibe to the space. So, I decided to go for tracked lightings for a more polished look to also create contrast with the textured ceiling and walls. I believe this finish is called ani-finish here in my country, the Philippines. The ceiling of this unit has a concave part in the middle which helps in creating a drama that would help elevate the overall feel to the space, complementing our overall design. I also made sure that our track lighting installation would be properly aligned using our line level laser and follows the cove-like ceiling that would make it look intentional. And to properly illuminate this space, I installed 14 9 watts LED track lights in cool white tone. Originally, our drop lighting fixture hanging above the table was the linear type but unfortunately due to shipping issues, I opted for a different drop light which I believe complements perfectly with our overall design. Unfortunately though, I was not able to film it on this setting but lighting the drop lights alone creates this cozy vibe which automatically converts the space into a fine dining area-like space or mimics the vibe of a coffee shop which the owners loved. We also replaced all the lighting fixture in the kitchen and bathroom with a more chic looking light fixtures. Just an advice for those who would DIY replacing their light fixtures, whenever you would replace any lighting fixture or anything that would involve electricity, make sure to turn off the main switch and not just the individual switch to avoid any untoward incident or worst an accident. So, five days before reveal, we have started assembling key furniture pieces starting off with our six to eight seater dining table that we got from IKEA. This will be the conference table which will doubles as the dining table. This table sort of gives this industrial vibe which the owners also love and I will be incorporating this with chairs staple in most candidabian or mid-century style spaces to also give it a classier look. For the desk or office tables, I went for this mom desk as it perfectly fits the dedicated space with its dimension and aside from it having additional storage space, it has these features that hide cables and extension cords for a more clean and minimalist look. Another wishlist for this space is to have a dedicated shelving space for law books and some other collectible stuff. The oxford billy book case perfectly fits the dedicated space beside the main office desk plus I love that the shelving space are flexible. For guest or visitor's chair, I went for this black adjustable swivel chair to perfectly camouflage with our desk as I intend the main office chairs as the focal on this area. For the main office chair, I fell in love with this chair instantly when I first saw it for its retro-looking style. It's an office chair called Alip Jal from Ikea. I hope I pronounced it right though. I got this grand golden brown leather instead of the usual black or gray. Aside from the intention of it being the focal on this area, I like that it's very unconventional and it's actually very comfortable. Also, both seat and back are tilt and height adjustable to give you maximum support. It also ties in with our conference table wood tone. Three days before the reveal, we have started installing the hardwares for the cabinetry. I chose this extra large black handles for this tall cabinetry combining it with some knobs with the smaller ones and a shorter retro-looking knobs for the kitchen cupboards to also accentuate the look and to make it more cohesive with the overall look of the space. For the bathroom, we did very little upgrade to it, adding in some holders for the towels and some accessories. And since we are doing an open layout, we divide and ground the space using area rugs. I chose this 7' x 10' flat woven light gray combination rug in jute and sisal. It's perfect for medium to high traffic spaces conducive for offices such as this plus it's in neutral tones that it creates a feeling of calm and harmony to this space. For our conference dining chairs, I went on a classic style choosing wishbone chair in black and neutral tone combination to perfectly jive with the table and ties in with the other furniture and accessories of the space. Similar to the conference table, we also used the same area rug for our welcome and living area. And for the sofa, I'm in love with this sectional sofa's simple but expensive looking style. This is the only item that I was able to customize. I actually paid extra to rush the production and that it would be made available at least three days before the reveal. The accent side table was from the owner and I initially thought it would fit as a center table but we got confused as to its height so we tried placing it as a side table with this sofa configuration. And since it didn't work out, I have a backup plan with this black side table. For our floor lamp, I originally intend for a linear looking lamp but upon seeing this, I immediately decide on this as it would look beautiful together with our setup. We also started setting up the office area in preparation for styling. My sister who happens to be in the legal profession is my consultant. She briefs me on how a usual law of setting looks like but of course we tweak it a bit since we are not going for the typical style. Before installing our oxford doors to our billy brook case, I was actually considering on keeping the shelving open but I eventually decided to cover it as I find it more pleasing with the glass doors plus it looks beautiful and expensive with it. A day before the reveal, I dropped by a plant shop near our place to pick up some additional indoor plants. I always love incorporating real plants when I'm able to as it gives life to the space and overall health. One of my favorite part of the makeover is the styling and we started it with our entryway installing this printed art from H&M home. Of course, a studio ploy makeover would not be complete without our personal touch to the space. I created this three-piece minimalist large artwork using acrylic pen with the lady justice as our inspiration and actually named it the lady justice. Let's not get ahead of my time but I don't really miss you baby bye I would like to give a shout out to my sister Jen for dropping by and helping us with the styling. Also another shout out to my friend from Urban Foliage Society whom I got this Sexy Ficus Audrey plant that we add to living up the conference area. baby After weeks of doing what we love combined with hard work, I am very much excited to show you Studio Ploy's very first office project. Workspace is not just a place, instead it is an essential component to one's business growth and productivity. Oftentimes it also reflects your business ideals and vision. As we venture into this new and very refreshing canvas, the challenge wasn't on the design but on prioritizing more on the functionality and the flexibility of a chosen space for professional or commercial purposes. As emphasized by the client, the basic idea is not just to keep it clean and professional but also to incorporate the cozy warmth and welcoming atmosphere of a home. These elements must blend together to create a very distinct and refreshing office layout. Short timeline together with the challenge of finding the right pieces indeed tested our creativity. In the end, we are very much happy that we were able to meet the deadline plus received a thumbs up from our client. And while we begin to create this humble portfolio, we couldn't be more grateful to the client for giving us the trust and creative freedom to execute and integrate our style and vision while keeping the wish list into the project. Therefore, I am proud to say that this one is truly a Studio Ploy way. A cozy law office with a classic twist. Thank you guys so much for watching. I'll see you soon for the next one.