Between July and September of this year, April Jensen of ADJ Interiors renovated a 1,800-square-foot office space in Brentwood, taking it from closed and drab to bright and cheery. Here, she gives us a tour of the main room.
Philosophy
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“We wanted to implement things that we use a lot,” says Jensen, “things that have a common denominator in most of our jobs.” That led to cabinets, marbles, and a range of wallpaper samples, and a new library to house them. But it’s not all business. “Some of it is just things that keep us happy,” she adds. “This is really for us—what inspires us to stay creative and to be fun.”
No Doors
Jensen removed all doors except for those on the bathrooms. “We were used to being together [in our IDC office]. We can yell back and forth,” she says. They knocked out several walls to open up the space.
Work Tables
Two Blu Dot Strut tables that fill the middle of the open center room are laden with samples, catalogs, and scraps of fabric. “They’re so fun,” says Jensen. “We work on multiple projects at one time, so we knew we wanted to have a lot of space, but we also wanted it to look really attractive.” In the old office, the tables were in red, so they thought, ‘Why not stick with something that works?’
LED Lights
Eight long LED bars—all at 2700 Kelvin for a natural light look—hang throughout the space. They’re Verve IV by Focal Point, sourced from Metro Lighting. “Everybody’s switching over to LED,” says Jensen, “but for some people, LED’s really scary. This way, we can show people that it looks good.”
Kitchenette
“We’re most in love with our break room,” says Jensen. Beck/Allen Cabinetry got the cabinetry from Shiloh Cabinetry, a family-owned company in Dudley, Missouri. “We use Shiloh constantly, so now people can see it in our space.”
Vintage Style
Jensen loves thrifting, and she’s found many pieces during her travels. Others, like the throwback Smeg refrigerator, are wish fulfillment. “It’s cool and retro,” says Jensen, who’d been eyeing one for some time.
A Mix
The firm’s budget was tight, so Jensen supplemented thrift pieces and big purchases with some items from IKEA. “Obviously, we don’t want it to look like everything came from IKEA,” she says.
