"The Designer's Office" "One of the first things I did when I took on this project was to research the architect who built the house. Frank Furness was a prominant Philadelphia, Pennsylvania architect in the early 1900's. He was noted not only for his work but also for his quoteable quotes. I commisioned an artist to paint one of his quotes on the wall, "Is it a nightmare or only a cramp?" It gets a reaction from everyone who enters the office." One of the design challenges to be solved in this project, was that it was a very small room in an otherwise very large home. For maximum use of space, the desk was placed on an angle and a display cabinet with a mirrored back fits perfectly into the alcove. A deep blue screen, painted in Furness-esque style, was placed to conceal a doorway. The office has a massive window. To bring it to scale with the rest of the room and to add to the total wall design, a mahogony cornice with golden stars was custom made to house the window treatments. The art and artifacts on the ledge coordinate with the window and they all combine to create a proportioned, simple, elegant and creative working environment. As a finishing touch, the ceiling was wallpapered with a starry night scene. The artist to painted the quote, painted stars to spill over on the pale salmon walls and radiator.