While commercial and residential design has many foundational techniques in common, creating commercial spaces calls for a few extra considerations.
With commercial spaces, I begin a project by gaining an understanding of the brand. That could include aspects like the style and colors of the logo or the company ethos. It’s important to have a clear picture of who will use the space and how they will use it.
Medical Office Design: Who Is It For?
Is it an office for employees only? Or will clients visit too? Knowing whom the space must appeal to is a big part of deciding how it will look and function.
When I was brought in to design a medical office in Paris, these were the questions I had to consider. For many of us, one of the first words that come to mind when mentioning Paris is “chic.” And that would certainly be a driving factor in this design.
Paired with the location was the purpose of the practice, which is providing medical aesthetic treatments, such as injections, fillers, and skin rejuvenation. That meant that visiting patients would expect a luxury experience.
I was asked to transform a raw space into a welcoming reception area, a waiting room with multiple exams and treatment rooms, and an office. The reception needed to be warm and uplifting with a high-end aesthetic, while the patient rooms needed to be clean and simple without feeling sterile.
Bringing Charm To A Medical Office Remodel
You can see in some of the before pictures that this space initially lacked any type of French charm. Bare walls, fluorescent lighting, and concrete floors offered little in the way of medical office décor.
For the reception and waiting room, I wanted to achieve the feeling of being in a living room rather than a medical office.
I chose a warm neutral for the walls. I then added all the elements you would bring into a home: a comfortable sofa, a cozy chair, pillows, coffee tables, end tables, rugs, and wall art. Rather than choosing furniture from a matching set, I selected pieces I loved and brought in a range of blues and grays. This technique is more like residential design than strict medical office interior design.
With the carefully selected furnishings, I created multiple seating vignettes. One area sits near a window with luxurious silk drapery. Another features a mirror with plants for a touch of wellness, and a consultation space has a modern black sofa. My favorite touch is the lighting – a gold chandelier with many small lights and multiple glass globe pendants. Each corner of the waiting area welcomes patients to relax in luxury before heading back for their treatment.
From the warmth of the waiting areas, patients transition to the coolness of the exam and treatment rooms. These spaces take on more of a doctor's office design while retaining elements of style. Throughout, I used wood-look LVT flooring because it provides a bit of coziness but is durable and easy to clean and maintain.
Exam Room Interior Designs
Because the office spaces were inconsistent, each exam room had an individual look. I was required to incorporate some existing features like structural supports and wall niches.
You can see that they all have a clean aesthetic with bright, white walls and sleek, modern cabinetry, along with white tables and chairs. In one space, a metal support that looks like a bridge abutment was painted white to blend with the décor.
In that room, I worked around another support in the corner by covering it in stone, adding a natural element to the space while keeping the design clean. In another room, white cabinets, topped with a thin wood countertop, add a hint of warmth.
Designing The Medical Office
The office is a dual-purpose space with an examination area and a desk with seating. This is where the doctor meets with patients to discuss treatment, so it needs a more professional vibe than the waiting area. The clinical side of the room has the sleek-style cabinetry of the exam rooms and is topped with a white quartz countertop. Black leather chairs surround a modern glass-topped desk on the other side of the room. With more supporting structures to work around here, I played up the black-and-white look by painting the beams and window frame black
In all exam rooms and the office, I used lighting to cast a glow rather than a glare. If you remember the fluorescent lights that hung in the space before, you’ll see that this was a big improvement.
In the office, I could also make use of a window, adding the same light gray drapery featured in the waiting area, creating continuity.
Medical Office Design: Balancing Commercial And Residential
Creating a medical office design in Paris allowed me to balance commercial design with residential design. It gave my client a luxurious new location to welcome her patients in comfort.
Let’s be chic. Let’s be bold. And of course, let’s be beautiful.