In this unusual Shaker Heights, Ohio home office remodel we made creative use of industrial materials and other non-traditional, not very Shaker Heights-like items. The material selections were all about doing something different, having fun and showcasing a little part of Jim’s personality and interests. As Jim says, “It’s nice to stretch sometimes and do design work that’s out of the ordinary, even in an old Heights home. What better place to do it than in my own home?!?!”

We covered two walls with corrugated, galvanized steel siding, and created a sliding window treatment out of the same material as what was used on the walls. That design element integrates the window into the space and also blocks out all natural light in the space when needed. Since the room has multiple uses including home office, display space and guest room, the room-darkening feature comes in handy when west coast guests visit and stay in this east-facing room.

We installed a high tensile steel cable system onto the underside of the custom, built-on-site shelves, which allows for an easy and ever changing display space. We also hand-crafted two built-in desks using live edge slabs of Siberian elm, a tree species introduced to the United States in 1905. The main desk is spacious and corner-mounted, while the secondary desk is wall-mounted and flips up out of the way when extra space is needed, such as when guests are in town. The two desk systems allow for two people to work at the same time. Additionally, the large flat screen TV doubles as a computer monitor. It’s large enough to be used effectively as a monitor even when sitting on the couch on the other side of the room.

“I absolutely love living and working in Shaker Heights but it’s also nice to try something different once in a while. The space planning was a typical challenge but designing with this unusual material mix made me think differently.”