A little reception area furniture turns into a vast owner-rep project.
The original request was simple —a respected local orthopedist 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, but they also needed an ADA-compliant reception desk in gorgeous stone, and a few walls of custom cabinetry.
Another thing – the standard cabinets, ordered in the early days of Covid, were actually not in the right sizes. Or some of them weren’t, but no one knew which went where.
And what about flooring? And another question: What were we putting on many, many feet of empty wall, in the reception area, and in five exam rooms? Answer: Take a look at the custom photographic murals by Zach Piña. If the locations look familiar, it’s because they were all shot on Mt. Tam.
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, our spreadsheets got longer. Fortunately, Cathryn was an investigative journalist for four and a half decades, so well equipped to untangle a jumble.
The end result is nothing like the sterile, cookie-cutter medical office we’ve all come to expect. If it’s possible to experience joy when you’re dealing with a banged up limb, this is the place.
“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! ”
