My Own Garden

"The greatest thing design can give a business is a first look, a first step inside."

A two-story neighborhood commercial building standing on a corner. The ground floor had sat empty for a long time, facing the street. The corner itself was open to the air, and the unit behind it had been left to deteriorate. The ceiling was painted black, the structural frame coated in orange, and the walls, damaged by water, had their finishes peeling away. Across the street is a school. It was a spot where a large window would bring the red schoolyard straight inside.

The first decision was what to keep. The pink exterior of the upper floor would stay as it was. The color is about thirty years old. The work focused on the ground floor. The facade was repainted in cream, and the black ceiling and orange frame were covered in lighter tones. The open corner was enclosed with wooden windows and brought indoors.

The center of the work is the window. Frames were built from pine, with an awning window that lifts upward set above a large fixed pane. The glazing wraps around two sides of the corner, opening a wide view toward the schoolyard. Below the windows, a wooden bench and bar create outdoor seating. Facing south, the space holds long light from morning into afternoon.

The center of the interior is the table. On a corner lot, right angles are rare in the floor plan, and the table takes that geometry as given: a triangle. Birch plywood was stacked in layers to build up thickness, and the top was finished in white laminate. The plywood grain shows plainly at the edges. It is a seat arranged around the view of the window, sized to work for one person or for several.

Every piece of furniture, from the table and cabinets to the stools and wall shelves, was produced by Ordinary Service. The wall shelves rest on exposed brackets, holding cups and plates in plain sight. A counter with its plywood core left visible, base cabinets with gray doors, small signs on the restroom and baking room doors. The proportions were kept low throughout, so the small floor area never reads as cramped.

The walls were finished in plaster, and the lighting was kept low: a mint pendant above the table, small bulbs along the walls, track lighting on the ceiling. The ceiling-mounted air conditioner stayed where it was. Plants were placed throughout: schefflera, dracaena, olive branches.

It was a corner long left behind. The open face was closed with glass, the damaged walls were repaired, and new windows were set in. The frame and the pink upper wall remained. When the doors opened, neighbors gathered in twos and threes. Passersby stopped for a look, and some pushed the door open and came in. In a quiet neighborhood with little foot traffic, this is a clear result.

The greatest thing design can give a business is a first look, a first step inside. A corner nobody noticed became the first thing you see in the neighborhood. A quiet but certain role for design.

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