Who would have thought that going to the dentist would ever become a vacation activity? Well, there are people in Chicago, IL, who go to the dentist amidst swaying palm trees, clear blue ocean waters, warm sunshine and tropical flowers.

Sound too good to be true? Not to the patients of a dentist whose fantasy office space was designed by Yolanda Weininger, IIDA, president of Weininger & Associates, Inc. in Wilmette, IL. Weininger is a proponent of the mind and body connection and used this as the basis for her design concept.

"The idea for this concept was one of creating an illusion of being on a resort, instead of being in a dentist's office," says Weininger. "You recline in a very comfortable chair, your eyes see the skies above and your whole body automatically relaxes."

Patients enter this "vacation spot" off of a busy street in one of the city's gentrified neighborhoods. The reception area's flooring is tile that was chosen because of its similarity to sand, both in color and texture. The reception area leads to the waiting room. Here the carpet flooring has a dual colored pattern that seems to undulate like the waves of the ocean.

Wrapped around the small waiting area is a 40-foot mural that depicts the view one might see gazing from a veranda at a tropical island resort. The mural is not only a relaxing sight, but also serves to enlarge the small waiting space with a scene that stretches over blue waters to a distant horizon.

The windows in the waiting area, which are the storefront office's only source of natural light, are treated with vertical blinds that match the pinky-sand-colored wall covering. Acoustic ceiling tiles are textured to look like wave washed sand on the beach.

Open Wide
From the reception area, a 60-foot corridor leads to one hygiene room, two examination rooms, a lab and a consultation room that will eventually become an operatory. At the end of the corridor, an open window with plants on the sill and an island view is painted on the wall to maintain the resort illusion and to create the feeling of natural light entering the space. The corridor's wall covering has the look of stone to evoke the rustic environment one might find at an island retreat.

The ceiling in each of the examination rooms is painted with a soft, dreamy scene to calm anxious patients. One is of an island sky in the morning and the other is of a sky at twilight. According to Weininger, the scene was so effective for the dentist's mother, she fell asleep in the chair!

The hygiene room is alive with twisting vines and colorful flowers set against the backdrop of soft billowing clouds in a blue sky. In the lab, the walls depict a "head in the clouds" view that would be seen from an airplane.

The emphasis on relaxation and soft finishes is followed down to the last detail. For example, all edges are rounded, from the countertops to the waiting room chair's armrests. Custom cabinetry was designed to fit the space and features a warm oxidized copper shade. Two-by-four fluorescent light fixtures illuminate the examination rooms, while recessed cans with low energy fluorescents are used in the corridor and waiting area.

As a result of Weininger's design, the dentist reported a 35 percent increase in business during the first five months that the office was open, a marked decrease in the number of patients who were no-shows and a staff that loves to come to work each day.

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