Hello Richmond: Office transformation
Finding ourselves living through these extraordinary times, we decided now is the perfect time to reconsider our work environment. We at Th2 Designs are counting our blessings as we find ourselves in the lucky position of working on lots of new and exciting projects, growing our wonderful team and embracing the new way of working, combining a healthy balance of working “in-studio” with working from home. With this in mind and with a dream of working a little bit closer to nature, we headed south west to find our new studio space and are now settling into a perfect spot in Richmond .
After searching for a number of months we discovered Printworks House - originally, as the name suggests, our building started life as a real printworks. A three storey redbrick building with high ceilings and large critel windows. We fell in love with the history, the character, the light and the generously proportioned space the moment we set eyes on it.
Combining the fun of being a stone's throw from Richmond’s eclectic selection of shops, cafes and restaurants we can also step out into the greenery of Richmond Park in our lunch break, or meander across to elegant Richmond Green. We are lucky enough to be able to stroll along the banks of the Thames, under Richmond bridge and across to Petersham meadow if we need a dose of fresh air at the end of the day. One thing the pandemic has taught us all is to appreciate nature and make it a major element of our daily lives, as it benefits both our health and happiness. Our new studio location makes this a daily possibility for us all.
Of course, being designers we could not just move in! - that would be far too easy. Our new space needed a serious upgrade and who better than a team of designers to do that? Our open plan studio space is a combination of exposed brick work, huge windows, organic timber flooring and light bright walls on which to display photographs of our favourite projects. Having said that, we are always drawn to creating different zones and often use the contrast of light and dark to do this.
Entering in to our lobby we have embraced the space by painting it top to toe in our favourite dark grey, Railings by Farrow and Ball. Emerging from here you walk in to the main studio. Hidden behind a slatted screen, is our calm and cool meeting room space which houses a generous oak planked table alongside our favourite Ziggy Dining Chairs all from our Th2 Studio furniture collection. Beautiful wall lights from Porta Romana and a sumptuous woven wallpaper by Christian Lee help to add the finishing touches.
As you walk though to the main work space we have cleverly incorporated hidden cupboards with full height doors to hide all the clutter of daily working life, and most importantly of all, we have included a hidden coffee bar that means we can always start the day right.
Our light, bright, open plan studio space consists of desks and a more casual meeting zone, all arranged so that the team can hot desk at their convenience. Our fluorescent "Design Hive" sign has moved with us and now resides on an exposed brick wall over a long bank of shelving and baskets. Sitting under the windows, this storage is crammed full of all our samples. All perfectly positoned in the natural day light - a designer’s dream when specifying.
And so there it is, our new home - embracing the new work/life balance we are all enjoying so much, a place we have truly made our own and a wonderful new inspirational space to launch all those wonderful projects we are so lucky to work on.
