interior design

The grand opening of Diamond Dental would walk into the place, eyeball the office and step out to check the sign hanging above the door. “They weren’t sure if this was where they were supposed to be,” says dentist Jerrold Diamond. “They were expecting to see your standard dentist office.” Even delivery was a little bit of a let-down for its owner. Patients workers doubted they were in the right place. But luckily for the Edmonton business, patients only run for the door once. >

A Room With a View

One good thing to come out of the Enron scandal is a dozen or so Herman Miller designer chairs that sit in the Calgary office of Wax Partnership Incorporated. When Enron auctioned off more than 10,000 items to pay back creditors, Wax partners Joe Hospodarec and Dan Wright jumped at the chance to buy the designer chairs for a fraction of the retail price. “We didn’t want to be an agency filled with typical Ikea desks and some boring puffy leather chairs,” says Hospodarec. >

A Little Goes a Long Way

The bank where I opened my first chequing account was painted dusty rose. My prize for starting a life-long relationship with unsaid bank was a leatherette dusty rose chequebook. Now in my 30s, I abhor colour, an obvious reaction to the pink palette that characterized my formative years. >

Special of The Day

Photography by John Gaucher

Company: Sanjel Corporation
Dimensions: 66,500 sq. ft.
Architect: Coupland Kraemer Architecture + Design
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Shop Talk

Photography by John Gaucher

Company: Land & Sea
Dimensions: 1,100 sq. ft.
Architect: Toker + Associates Architecture Industrial Design Ltd.

There’s a science to shopping. >

Power to the People

“Why is it so important to give your employees all of these things?”

“I believe in giving back to my staff,” says Daniel Tchir.

“You believe in giving them a flat-screen TV in their office and a foosball table in the lunchroom?” >

Small is Beautiful

In these boom times when grand statements are de rigueur, it’s nice to see a little restraint once in awhile. Just under 1,300 square feet, the office of DAI Capital Advisors Inc. is an object lesson on how an orderly and well-designed space can make less seem like more. “It’s hard to believe it’s the square footage that it is,” says Ron Dersch, president of DAI Capital Advisors, a corporate finance and investment banking firm based in Edmonton. “I can’t tell you that I’ve ever felt cramped in here at all.” >