Barry Plant real estate strives to provide the highest quality services to their clients while aiming to keep their staff empowered. Canopy Fitouts was given the job of creating a fresh new look for Barry Plant Northcote, and supporting the creation of a point of difference among businesses that provide a similar service in the area.
For Barry Plant Northcote, ‘understated elegance with a contemporary delivery’ was the overarching design brief. “Our goal for this client was to ensure staff members and clients feel comfortable and revitalised from the moment they step into the building,” says Canopy Fitouts Interior Designer Kate Dickeson.
The vision we had for the new Barry Plant Northcote branch was industrial yet sophisticated. At Canopy Fitouts, we believe your surroundings can inspire you, and in this case, we had a lot of aspects to draw on.
When considering this project, our Interior Designer Kate was inspired by contrasting sleek and raw finishes. The concrete columns at the front of the tenancy were left in their original condition to contrast with the black panelled feature wall. Monochrome tones of black and grey were used throughout the space to create a contemporary feel – and in order to draw passing pedestrians to the intriguing designs on display, floor-to-ceiling windows were utilised to fully allow light in to expose the creation.
The reception area is always an important focus of a business and the goal was to create something exclusive within the space. The reception counter itself was custom-designed by Kate to incorporate the stunning feature wall. Due to our close-knit relationship between Canopy Fitouts and Plan Systems this custom design reception counter came to life just as it was designed for the client.
“The curvature shape allowed the matte black panels to seamlessly continue over the front of the counter, adding soft movement to the space. The same trowelled concrete finish used on the floor was applied to the counter top, it is the contrasting colours of light and dark that add elements of industrial and sophistication to tie in with the brief,” Kate says.
Another standout element within the tenancy is the feature wall you see as soon as you enter. “Made from curved individual black timber panels paired against the concrete floor and black-framed glass, there’s an obvious contemporary feel. Being that Canopy Fitouts likes to create workplaces that inspire and excite, we even included a hidden door for staff to access the back of house area.” says Kate.
Barry Plant Northcote also wanted to revitalise the kitchen within their tenancy as it’s also used as a staff break area. Given that this wasn’t a customer facing area, we were able to be a little more adventurous with our finishes. Our aim was for this room to be exciting and visually different from the rest of the tenancy, to give staff a visual break from looking at their screens and paperwork.
Kate said, “Looking at different patterns and textures can help you have a mental break and divide work from play. The tiles used in the kitchen are from Tile Cloud; they have such an amazing range of patterned and subtly-coloured tiles that are always on-trend.”
The transformation was incredible and very satisfying for the Canopy Fitouts team. We managed to transform what felt like an empty and stark space into a sleek semi-industrial space divided into two main areas, a back of house space for staff to enjoy their time at work and a front of house area which is sophisticated and professional for client-facing meetings.
The quality of the finishes are premium, and the space as a whole conveys a sense of the client brief that the team at Canopy Fitouts are very proud of. Kate adds, “When you see the final product, it reminds us of why we do our job and why we love it!”
