Project overview
The brief, in a sentence: make it belong.
A design practice wanted its own reception to demonstrate what it sells: warmth, precision and calm. We built a fluted white-oak reception desk, a full-height meeting wall with concealed storage and a waiting lounge lined in oak — one continuous material language across 120 square metres.
Project facts
- Category — Commercial
- Location — Chicago
- Client — Studio 18 (design practice)
- Completed — 2024, over 10 weeks
Challenge
What made it hard
A live office above, a landlord with strict hours and a six-week installation window. We manufactured everything off-site in labelled modules, then installed over four weekends with dust extraction — the studio never missed a working day.
Materials
What it is made of
Fluted white-oak panels, solid oak desk with replaceable wear nosing, acoustic wall linings, catalysed lacquer on all touch surfaces and documented finish codes for facilities.
Craftsmanship
How we built it
Developed from the client’s concept visuals into buildable details with two full-size prototypes, batch manufacture with QA gates, weekend installation and a handover pack with maintenance plan and spares.
Result
How it lives now
Footfall dwell time in reception tripled, per the client — and the fit-out has survived two years of daily use with only scheduled touch-ups. A maintenance contract keeps it sharp.
Related projects
Keep exploring
Start a project
Want work like this?
Tell us about your space — we reply within two working days.