Ever since returning to the office after working from home, the beautiful closet door at the end of the main hallway in our office became more and more noticeable. We rearranged some desks to ensure that we were properly social distancing which made a desk visible as you walk in the office and down the hallway. The back of the desk and open storage closet door was not the impression we wanted others having of the new office space.
So, as designers, we just can’t help ourselves and we hosted a brainstorming meeting. At first we joked around about using custom love beads or a banner that would hang from the ceiling to block the view. Other ideas discussed were locating a planter to block the view, installing a graphic or mural on the door and wall, or re-locating the cardboard cutout of Elvis to block the view. Temporarily, Elvis was re-located.
Ryan Wilkey, our Anova Furnishing Representative, brought products down on a trailer for an outdoor product introduction. After talking about the products we invited Ryan into our office to give him a tour of the new space. We discussed what we liked and disliked about the office, and inevitably the view down the hallway into the studio crept its way into the conversation. After reviewing the space, Ryan had an idea. Anova makes a planter/screen wall combination and it would be the perfect option to screen the view. It is also a great product sample to show clients. Ryan sold us on the planter idea with a few images of examples and explained how it could work in the space.
When Ryan left, we all started sketching ideas for the screen and planter. We shared our concepts with Ryan and he, along with the manufacturing side of Anova, led us to choose a concept that used BPD’s digital plant symbols on the screen wall. We reviewed the idea one last time and all agreed it was a winner. Their group sent over progress updates and were helpful every step of the way. We received the planter and screen a couple months later and easily assembled it in the office. We moved it into place and it immediately accomplished the goal.
So now, we had to fill the planter with indoor plants. So, back to sketching we went. We shared ideas of what we imagined the planter looking like and researched indoor plants with which to fill it. Landscape Architects do know a lot about plants, but we did not know a lot about indoor plants. So, we called in some experts, Foliage Design Systems (FDS), to help us fill in the gaps of our indoor plant palette. FDS is a nationwide company with branches located all across the country. The Memphis branch has done a great job at keeping us informed and turning our sketches and ideas into a planter.
We couldn’t be happier with the way the planter has turned out. It brings a new life to the office and blocks the view to the door and studio. We can’t thank Ryan with Anova Furnishings enough. He has always been great to work with when selecting and obtaining site furniture for projects, and he delivered once again on this planter.
