Forget sterile white walls, florescent lights and tall cubicles. The latest design trend: vibrant and more social work spaces.
Orange County’s interior design firms are mixing fashion, technology and eco-friendly materials to create stylish yet functional environments. Whether it’s an office, a hospital, school or restaurant, interior designers are making commercial spaces high-class.
The big trend these days is to decorate with bright colors and wide cubicles with low panels, said Trish Secor, certified interior designer and partner for Santa Ana’s Archetype International.
Archetype International has designed offices for Lake Forest-based Wonderware Corp., Scantron Corp. in Irvine, Richard Nixon Library & Museum of Yorba Linda and the OC Post in Santa Ana.
Bright colors keep the workplace upbeat while open cubicles allow co-workers to interact, Secor said. Wider cubicles also accommodate space for more technological equipment such as dual flat-screen computer monitors, she said.
“The workplace is becoming more social. Companies realize that a lot of creative ideas come from social interaction so they’re designing accordingly,” Secor said.
Indirect lighting,electrical light fixtures suspended from the ceiling with pendants or mounted on the walls with rods,is another trend, according to Secor. Unlike traditional florescent lights, these fixtures cast light upward so that it’s reflected off the ceiling and walls. The result is a flattering glow that doesn’t have the glare that regular florescent lights often project, Secor said.
While indirect light fixtures have a contemporary look and feel, they’re also eco-friendly because they save electricity, she said.
“People are realizing that indirect lighting consumes less energy and they can end up saving more money on electric bills. They also just look really stylish,” Secor said.
Going green also is hot right now.
That includes the use of natural, reusable materials such as cork and bamboo for flooring, Secor said. Companies that like the sleek, classic look of wooden floors can use these materials or they can use vinyl tiles that resemble the real thing.
Faux wooden floors are becoming a popular choice among interior designers because they’re eco-friendly, less expensive and practical, she said.
A lot of clients are moving away from lighter wood shades and opting for darker tones, said Brian Koshley, managing principle of Interior Architects in Costa Mesa.
Woods with ebony and espresso finishes are popular, he said.
Last year, Interior Architects designed Snell & Wilmer LLP’s Costa Mesa office.
They used dark wood to bring out a chic yet sophisticated feel, he said.
“Honey maple shades were in for the last 15 years but now there’s a movement toward the darker tones,” Koshley said.
Designers also are leaning toward glass, metal and stone, said Lisa Snowden of Fullerton-based Snowden Design Inc.
The company decorated Anaheim Memorial Hospital, South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach and Kaiser Permanente’s OC medical offices.
Milky tinted glass doors, brushed metal frames, stone countertops and glass mosaic encrusted tiles are just some of the ways designers are using glass, metal and stone to spruce up hospitals and medical centers, Snowden said.
The trick is to balance these materials with functional and practical ones like porcelain, which is easy to clean and durable, she said.
“It’s all about balancing style with functionality,” Snowden said.
Many hospitals and medical centers are starting to have a more relaxed, spa-like environment, she said.
That means interior designers are using neutral, warm and cool colors to decorate medical offices, she said. Some of the color combinations that interior designers are using are even hot off the runways, Snowden said.
The days of bright teals and magentas are over. Color schemes such as cool blues and greens offset by chocolate browns and yellows are in, she said.
“The colors now are a little more subdued. A lot of the hospitals and medical centers are looking more spa-like,” she said. “They just have a mellow, sophisticated feel.”
Trickling waterfalls and fountains and indoor plants add to the relaxed ambiance, she said. Offices also are starting to use wall-mounted flat-screen televisions to showcase digital, revolving artwork, she said.
Creating a clean, natural look is another big trend, said Jennifer Giffen, director of design for Costa Mesa’s Creative Design Consultants Inc.’s commercial division.
Creative Design Consultants decorated the sales office and lobby for Miami-based Lennar Corp. and Canada’s Intergulf Development Group’s Central Park West condominium project in Irvine, dubbed Astoria.
More interior designers are strategically placing natural materials such as wood and stone in unexpected places, Giffen said.
Interior designers are even placing bamboo on walls or putting rough textured stone on floors, she said.
“We’re finding that there’s a push toward the clean, sophisticated look with a play on organic textures and materials,” Giffen said.
