October 2010 ~ occinteriordesign

Daisy Rock Guitar’s headquarters, located in Van Nuys, California, is a design project done on a limited budget but with a lot of pizzazz and creativity. The 2000 square foot space began as a blank slate with no walls and has been transformed into a showroom, 5 offices, conference room, set-up room, and kitchenette and work space that are part of the common hallways. It is amazing what Tish Ciravolo, President and Creator of Daisy Rock along with her business partner Ron Manus who is also CEO of Alfred Publishing designed with a mere $65,000 budget. I interviewed Tish Ciravolo on October 12th and toured the building. Daisy Rock’s mission is to empower and inspire girls to play guitar and enjoy music and the concept of the headquarters reflects this endeavor.

The materials and products chosen for this project reflect the theme by using bright, fun colors and curves mimicking daisies. Upon entering the facility, which is an office in a large corporate park, you walk immediately into the showroom. The showroom is filled with girls guitars of all colors hanging from the slat wall. The slat wall was purchased from an office warehouse in panels, of which they have five. It came in a standard color but was painted a golden hue to compliment the design. Blue soffits just under the ceiling in the showroom are curved and emulate daisies with soft recessed lights flowing down on the guitars.

The showroom also has a few specialty items that add to the style and are often brought to trade shows to spruce up the booth. There is a giant, heavy wooden guitar that the contractor on the project made for Tish as a special surprise.

There is also a mannequin in fur playing a guitar that is referred to as the “Tishequin”. In addition to the mannequin, this photo shows the faux wall treatment found throughout the space. The showroom, kitchenette, conference room, hallways, and set-up room all have the bright yellow (Sherwin Williams SW6903: Cheerful) mixed with off-white for a faux treatment. These rooms have faux on all four walls. In the five offices, each has one faux wall with three neutral walls.

One very interesting policy that Tish feels strongly about is her aversion to fluorescent lighting. To meet code they had to put fluorescents in, but no one in the company is allowed to use them or wants to. Instead they have an array of track lighting adjusted for task purposes, recessed lighting and portable fixtures to give general lighting as well. The track, recessed, and most portables were purchased from Home Depot.

A kitchenette was created in the hallway just beyond the showroom. They installed Formica counters, rubber tile flooring, pre-made cabinets with an applied laminate layer, under cabinet task lighting, a stainless steel sink, a stainless steel faucet, and a microwave all from Home Depot. The rubber tile was chosen because it is easily cleaned and very durable. The cabinets were chosen because they were pre-made, easily spruced up with some laminate, and cost-effective. As the hallway progresses, there is a work area with a copy machine, fax, etc. which sit upon an identical Formica counter with cabinets as are in the kitchenette. The photo below shows the Formica counter, the cabinets with the applied laminate layer, the stainless steel pulls, and also one of the windows that go along the hallway peering into each of the five offices, conference room, and set-up room. The windows that they put in are essential for daylighting purposes. Tish and Ron decided to utilize the windows looking outside in the space for four of the five offices. When each office and all adjoining rooms off the hallway were constructed, they designed them with interior windows, so as one walks through it is a little like a fishbowl. It gives the feeling of everyone being open to the ideas of team members while having their own space at the same time. The window here actually looks out through an office to the windows in the office that look outside at plants.

The conference room also follows the philosophy of being open to new ideas. There is no table with chairs to sit comfortably and argue over designs; instead, there is an open space with stools surrounded by musical instruments. It is an open room to try out new ideas. Because it is in a corporate park, when building the surrounding walls special soundproofing insulation of padded strips was used.

Each office is composed of the same furniture including a modular desk, a chair, a rubber mat, a file cabinet under the desk, a white board on the wall, a metal bookcase with frosted glass, a TV/DVD player, a computer, windows looking out at the hallway, and windows 6 feet up between the offices allowing more light to flow through. The floors throughout are a commercial grade dark gray (almost black) nylon. The doors to the offices and other rooms are oak and glass from Home Depot, and almost always left open.

Overall, the materials and products in this space are cohesive and work well together. Everything was meticulously thought out and a special rhythm was created through repetition of materials from room to room. The textures in the faux painting and wood-grain laminate bring a welcome contrast to the smooth, shiny guitars. The lighting accentuates and glamorizes the space and it all adds up to a creative, fun space that inspires while staying within a small budget.