A Medical Building in Greenbrae, CA
The original request was very simple —a respected local MD was about to open a new medical building, and he wanted some cool, but very functional furniture for the reception area. The call came from his lovely life partner. She wanted the place to be fun — or at least, not scary. Oh, they also needed an ADA-acompliant reception desk in gorgeous stone, and a few walls of custom cabinetry. Plus, the standard cabinets, ordered in the early days of Covid, were actually not in the right sizes. Or some of them weren’t. And what about flooring? And also, what were we putting on many, many feet of empty wall, in the reception area, and in five exam rooms? The project, which was already significantly over budget and very far behind schedule, had a “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” feel — for months, my spreadsheets got longer. This was a far cry from Family Friendly Designs’ normal operations — but I love a challenge. (I was also an investigative journalist for four and half decades, so if digging or organIzing or relentless pursuit is needed, I’m your gal.) Within days, the entire project was in my hands, and in adddition to “Chief Problem Solver,” I had a new title — “Owner-Rep.” That meant that I was in charge of workflow, budgets, negotiating contracts, ordering, making one zillion trips to Granite Expo and Home Depot — you name it. Honestly, I loved it. I’ve always known that the people who make things are my people, but working with talented trades, from electricians to stone masons, to the company that printed our murals, was a tremendous pleasure. And the photographer who shot those murals — Zach Piña? OMG. This building is my pride and joy — and it helped me realize that my training as an investigative journalist (45 years, thank you very much) is exactly what’s necessary to untangle a considerable project jumble and turn it in to something spectacular.
“Everyone Needs A Cathryn!”
We found Family Friendly Designs on the Mommies of Marin Facebook page in January of 2023. It was an unsual request — for a medical office building we’d been renovating since 2019! We needed some direction on logistics and decorative choices, and for some reason — although office buildings were not in her portfolio FFD seemed perfect. Once we had Cathryn on board, everything was much clearer. She coached us, supported us, and got us in touch with the right people — basically, she took over the management of the project and she was — shall we say — a LOT more than an interior designer. She was always very straight with us, and helped us see what was REALLY needed. She worked hand-in-hand with the architect, the GC, the floor and cabinetry contractors. For the next seven months, we had a very transparent experience with an extremely detail oriented person, in all aspects of the work. Cathryn is a master problem solver, always operating with grace and ease. What a gift!
—Nina Marcone and Piers Barry