Design Flash: Creative Thinking, Appropriate Solutions
When Josephine Carmen, design principal of Carmen Nordsten Igonda, Los Angeles, CA, and her associate Marco Pizzo were faced with the news that the financial advisor for their client Adelson Entertainment wouldn't allow an investment of $250,000 in office furniture, they responded with creative thinking. They took the client out shopping at Ikea and saved $150,000. The budget was revised to $100,000 and included $50,000 for standard files and office chairs, $40,000 on desks and credenzas and $10,000 on Ikea furniture which included wicker guest chairs for $69 each, a sofa for $599, wood occasional tables, black stools and accessories like galvanized metal buckets for flowers.
Carmen says it's important to give the client appropriate professional advice and "edit down the choices at Ikea, but shopping this way not only saves money, it makes the job look very fresh. We chose the simplest, well-made items that will stand up for at least two years."
Carmen Nordsten Igonda, whose award-winning firm was added to the Pacific Design Center's Stars of Design this past March during WestWeek, did the 12,000-square-foot job with 25 offices in Westwood for $32 per square foot -- not including furnishings and soft costs. The raw concrete floor was left "like an urban graffiti" with all the marks from the past untouched, and sealed with an epoxy finish. Rugs were used in two offices and conference area only. To divide the loft-like space, galvanized metal mesh was used for screens with a galvanized trim. The ceiling is mostly left bare, with tile panels used only where needed to absorb sound over customized work stations, designed with contractor-grade pine flooring with a clear sealer and plastic laminate desktops.
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