IF: Gathering Offices
Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a wonderful week!
I’ve been thinking that, while Instagram is fun, it's only a glimpse at what happens every day at CZD, so I decided to start a series that talks more about my projects.
The IF:Gathering offices project began in August 2014 and was finally completed around May of 2015. Going into the project, none of us expected the journey to take quite that long but the end result was well worth it.
The offices are located in the second story of an old farmhouse building that has always held a special place in my heart. When I was growing up in Austin, donkeys and goats grazed the rich farmland surrounding a lovely little home, while the city began to develop around it. The land was eventually sold but the building was preserved (yay). When Jennie Allen asked me to be a part of the redesign of the old limestone house I was delighted.
The first step was space planning with the architect (Noack Little) and the client. Fitting in a flex space, conference room, 3-4 offices, bathrooms, and a kitchen each with a window view was a fun challenge. Once this was determined we had to spec materials : engineered wood throughout except in the large flex space, for budget and sounds solutions.
We were able to keep the existing shiplap in the conference room and large office as a nod to the history of the space. I painted ceilings, walls and trim Benjamin Moore Simply White for a bright clean consistency. To save money in the kitchen we had paint grade cabinets built in with ikea butcher block counters and white subway tile for the backsplash.
The furniture goals were : colorful, feminine, durable, flexible and comfortable. I stuck with pieces from West Elm, Urban Outfitters, Ikea and Dot & Bo in order to keep costs as low as possible. My favorite piece (besides the swinging chairs!) is the custom conference table I designed and had made by Travis Norman.
Of course, creating office spaces, meeting rooms, bathrooms, and a kitchen that are up to code in an old farmhouse proved to be a challenge, but I am SO pleased with the final result :: a bright, feminine and flexible office space perfect for the wonderful team of women who operate there.
photography by Molly Winters, styling by Claire Zinnecker.
