Katharina Plath, founder of Head & Hand PR, moved her luxury publicity-branding agency into this 140-square-foot office space in December; she found it through Micro Office, an office-rental company located in midtown. “I was no longer able to squat at my clients’”Roche Bobois and Baccarat”offices with my team,” she says. Once the space was decided upon, “Mischa,” Plath recalls, “came to my amazing help.” Photo: Courtesy of Mischa Lampert
“I was given two days to do the work,” Lampert explains. “I had one evening to go shopping and a couple of hours to bring in all materials with that freight elevator. I wanted the space to be really fun, and also a little glam, as the girls work with such high-end brands. In my opinion, it’s very important that your work environment reflect the work you do.” Photo: Courtesy of Mischa Lampert
What a difference 48 hours can make. The calendars on the back wall have been replaced by an eight-foot piece of foam board that is the same size as the light fixture above and covered in chevron wrapping paper from Paper Source. Lampert placed hooks, which came from a boating-supply store, underneath for the women to hang their handbags. Lampert kept the magazine heads but painted the wall with chalkboard paint, on which the employees write notes and reminders. Photo: Courtesy of Gianni Franchelucci
Since the office is a rental, Mischa had to leave the blinds, but happily she found she could store the existing furniture in the building before she worked her magic. Photo: Courtesy of Mischa Lampert
“The original blinds are still there, but they’ve been covered with larger ones,” Lampert says. She and her team installed and painted the paper shades in a gold ombré to cover the hanging light fixtures. They also painted the desk lights gold. Photo: Courtesy of Gianni Franchelucci
The back wall before the face-lift had uneven pin boards and a light on the wall that had to stay. There was no storage under the desks. Photo: Courtesy of Mischa Lampert
The new tabletops are fashioned from pieces of wood that have been covered in painter’s cloth and tacked down with gold upholstery nails. “Painter’s cloth is great because it resists stains and it’s also wipeable. Plus it can be painted over and over to give it new life.” The office manager has her own desk that doubles as a conference table, to the left. On the back wall, Lampert used pin board again and painted it with wipeable paint. She used tape to create calendars. Photo: Courtesy of Gianni Franchelucci
The office manager’s spot before the redo left a lot to be desired. Photo: Courtesy of Mischa Lampert
Storage is everything! Here is a look at one of the most satisfying details of this magnificent job. The wall behind the desk area is covered in that same chevron paper, but as it couldn’t be attached directly to the wall, Lampert wrapped the paper around a large piece of foam board tacked to the wall with a couple of screws. The floor-to-ceiling shelving is Ikea’s Stolmen system. “I hired my favorite handyman and his cousin, and I had three assistants to help at all times during the two days. The budget did not allow for much more than Ikea, and there was Red Bull and Chipotle for everybody.” Photo: Courtesy of Gianni Franchelucci
