Welcome to the office
Welcome to the office of LKNMBC! When I started planning to open a practice, I knew I wanted something light and bright to go along with the color scheme in my mind. For the past 15+ years, I have worked in dark, windowless offices that were pretty utilitarian (read: boring). They served their purposes for the work I did, but never really reflected me or gave off a therapeutic vibe.
I started planning my practice in the summer of 2020 and started searching for office space right away to determine budgeting and office needs. Luckily, opening an office during a pandemic meant there were many open offices in my area so I had several options to chose from. I had an office complex in mind that I first saw in the fall of 2020 before I knew an opening date and it would have been a great spot. But when it came time to nail down a space in January 2021, I saw the listing for a space in Daetwyler Plaza and immediately changed my plans. The location is really close to where I wanted to be and fit so many other needs like budget and amenities as well. However, the listing pictures alone sold me on this space. Do you SEE that window? Woah. I am sure the view of the natural area beside the building will be amazing as the season change. I toured the building in January but originally looked at the office next door to my current one. I told the property manager during my tour I was very interested and she said we would get the paperwork together the next day. On that next day, I the property manager sent me an email and said the space I looked at had been viewed the week prior and that person had put in the offer on it and the office next door that was potentially opening up and I almost started crying. BUT, she said she knew how much I wanted that space so I could have the office next door instead and the other renter could have the original space as planned. I still wish I had the original office because it had more electrical outlets (its 2021, there is a lot of technology in my office) but now that I’m in my space, I couldn’t be happier. Ok, well maybe I could if I had those extra outlets, but I digress.
When planning the furniture and color scheme, I went for soothing and light. I wanted to match the colors of my logo, which also matched a lot of the decor I already had in my then-office. According to color psychology, teal is a color that brings calm and peace and represents a communication between the heart and language so that is why I chose it as my main color. I decided to keep teal as my accent color and wanted to keep my furniture neutral and open so I can change accents later if I like. I did so much window shopping on Wayfair, Amazon, Target and Staples before I nailed down the specifics. I had a budget to stick to and did a lot of comparisons before I settled on my purchases. I was most excited to order the loveseat because my very first office after graduate school had the best couch and I’ve missed that couch so much since then. I was also excited about my desk and bookcase because they provide some great storage, which is the only thing lacking in this office. I also pulled some items from my house to keep my budget in check. I ordered the furniture about a week after I signed my lease because I heard nightmare stories about furniture being back-ordered because of the pandemic. However, most of it came about 10 days later so my dining room served as storage for about a month before we moved it. I spent a lot of time playing around with layout planners online for the 6 weeks between signing and move in and it was much more fun to arrange furniture online rather than lifting it in real life. I also wanted to make sure the space would allow me to do yoga with a client without hitting furniture so the layout planners were very helpful in making that decision.
I picked up the keys to my office in the middle of February and went to take a peek about a week before I moved in. I was so surprised to see they had already added my logo to the door (first picture above). That was the first time I saw my logo in print on something other than my computer and it felt surreal. We started moving in a few days later (shown in the second picture) and my first thought was I had too much stuff. But, as move in day progressed and the office started coming together, I realized the planning paid off and the space worked out how I envisioned it.
So, I can officially announce that the office of Lake Norman Mind and Body Connection is complete and ready for client visits. I look forward to serving my clients in this space and hope they enjoy it as much as I do.