Troy Dashney | Bold Interior Designs Inc.
Retail – The Monocle
While the design norm in many optometry clinics is to have more frames, more exam rooms and more of everything, our Client had the opposite in their requests. They requested a boutique environment that would be client focused concept where there are more touchpoints with their patients. Less frames on display, resulting in staff needing to help select frames with their patients in a one-on-one approach. The overall concept being truly about service, fashion and design.
The project started with Client meetings getting to know their unique approach to optometry. Final spatial requirements were set with two exam rooms, one pre-test, one visual fields, a lab and then a bright, spacious boutique retail and dispensing area.
The main design focus was on creating a fashion-forward environment which as centered on a neutral palette of whites and tones of greys yet warm as well as varying subtle textures as seen on the reception and cash desk. The retail displays were designed to illuminate each pair of curated designer frames and providing a space that felt a bit like an art gallery.
The overall space utilizes a repetition of arches in varying locations and orientations such as mirrors, the arch above the mantel and even the mirror up side down arch-like feature as you enter the space. All to help create a sense of space and height.
The heart of the space is the oversized fourteen-foot-long quartz and bronze toned metal family-style dispensing and adjusting table where opticians sit with patients' side by side. Meanwhile all patients get to face a large wall of designer frames helping to act as a retail sales touchpoint. To further anchor this area within the space, a large cast stone mantel was integrated into the retail display combined with the integrated dark grey lacquered cabinets and a twelve-foot tall arched art recessed niche.
Exam rooms are far from typical. Intimate in approach, they feature a custom four-foot diameter halo-lit mirror for the eyechart while varying forms of drywall help frame the wall-to-wall millwork for the optometrist. Multiple light sources help set the ambiance and functional lighting at the same time.
In an evolving industry where more means more, this boutique optical environment transforms less into more by achieving higher sales with less space.
