This was a really good example of working with a business rather than simply designing a space and handing over a set of drawings. The starting point was understanding how the practice actually needed to work — how patients move through it, how the staff use the space and how we could make the environment feel professional and welcoming without making it look like a traditional clinical setting.

Working closely with the business, I specified the layout, tonal flooring, furniture, materials, finishes and styling, right down to the light pendants. The idea was to create a consistent look across the space, using warmer tones and softer finishes to take away some of that usual “dentist” feel. Because it was a healthcare environment, the material choices also had to work hard — using appropriate healthcare fabrics and finishes that could cope with the demands of a busy practice while still looking good.

One of the challenges was making the most of a relatively small office area. Rather than treating it as a room that only had one purpose, I designed in multifunctional desking so the space could work harder and be used for different tasks depending on what the business needed at the time. It's a small detail, but those are the things that make a commercial space work properly rather than just look good in photographs.

The project was also very much about speed and responsiveness. Working directly with the business meant decisions could be made quickly, changes could be discussed and actioned without layers of unnecessary back and forth, and the design could move at the pace the business needed. I was able to source and specify the individual elements — flooring, furniture, fabrics, finishes, lighting and accessories — and pull them together into one cohesive scheme.

The finished space has a clean, contemporary feel, but with enough warmth and personality to make it feel comfortable for both patients and staff. It’s a healthcare environment, so everything still needs to be practical and durable, but there’s no reason that practical has to mean boring. For me, that's the balance with commercial interiors: make it work properly, make it last, and make sure it looks like the business that actually operates there.