2021 luxury dental office design on a budget
Everyone loves luxury, from cars to jewelry, and clothes to offices, luxury is synonymous with quality, better workmanship, and extraordinary experiences. It’s no wonder so many dentists are looking for luxury dental office design to elevate their patient base and increase their overall income.
We have all been to average dental offices where the waiting room and treatment areas are as plain as a plain bagel, leaving us unimpressed, and giving us no reason to want to pay a premium price for the services we received. After all, that’s human nature. We judge a book by it’s cover, and pay with our eyes. So wouldn’t it be smart to match the practice’s look and feel to your invaluable worth as an experienced dentist? Wouldn’t it make sense to create a luxury dental office that eliminates haggling and price-shoppers in favor or qualified patients ready to pay you what you’re worth?
Luxury dental office design has been around for year, but dentists never considered a luxury buildout for their practice unless they were in a high-end rent district of town. And while that makes perfect sense, no one said you can’t have a luxury dental office in an average part of town. Elevating your image and subsequently your payroll isn’t just reserved for certain zip codes, but a fast moving design trend that has made average wage-earning dentists into wealthy enterprises.
So how do you achieve a luxury dental office design on a budget, and still be able to pass off as a legitimate luxury service provider? Here are just a few general tips to get you started.
Higher ceilings means higher worth
We recently worked on a luxury dental office design concept where the owner didn’t have much in terms of budget, but demanded perfection. We wanted to really hit this one out of the ballpark so went to bat for him and created a stunning waiting area that screamed luxury!
By eliminating the styrofoam fake ceiling panels and opening up the space all the way to the very top, we not only created a bigger space visually, but were able to hang a beautiful chandelier that made the space feel like the lobby of a luxury spa. The fixture became the focal point of the room, and flamed our creativity to follow that look with fixtures, picture frames, and other decorative pieces to give it a luxury feel.
The construction cost on opening up the ceiling can be controlled through hiring the right contractors, so make sure to ask three different contractors for quotes. Nowadays raising ceilings has become much more common, so contractors have learned efficient ways to deal with it. At times an AC duct or electrical wiring may pose a small bump in the road, but typically this type of construction is pretty straightforward.
It’s all about the materials, textures, and colors
Flooring, paint, door knobs, and light switches add so much to a dental office. To create that luxury dental office feel, we typically swap out the carpet for wood, marble, or granite floors, paint the walls and add an accent color wall to beautifully highlight the dentist’s logo. We further add a bit of granite or other luxury surfaces to the font desk, add modern crown molding throughout, and finish off the space with elegant furniture to complete the luxury feel we are after. Another tip is hiding paperwork and files behind elegant cabinets to declutter the space, while organizing everything for the front desk staff. We can add more levels of sophistication and add to our luxurious look by finalizing the space with some accent pillows, elegant plants, and the aroma of essential oils from a diffuser.
When designing, we always make sure to use pieces that compliment each other and never do something without a purpose in mind. In luxury, sometimes less is more, so everything must be well thought-out and perfectly executed for optimal results. That’s why it is so important for the DYI dentists to have a solid plan in place, and not just buy things because they look good on their own, but because they fit together perfectly for the bigger picture. When doing this, it helps to browse through some online or traditional luxury interior design magazines, write down the details, and make a list of what you must do to complete the project from top to bottom. Nothing is more damaging to a luxury dental office buildout than skipping over some details thinking what you have there is “good enough for now.” You either do it right or shouldn’t do it at all.
Get it any way you can to save money
Sourcing the material can be time consuming, but well worth it as you can find great deals from different online vendors. Don’t think for your office to look luxurious you have to buy from luxurious retailers. You can often find similar or replica items that have the same look and feel at a fraction of the cost. For light fixtures, for example, check out websites that may have slightly used lighting, or sell a chandelier that is similar to a big brand item at half the cost. This is also true for marble and granite… where certain Italian brands may cost hundreds of dollars per square foot, an imitation version costs only a few dollars.
If you are looking for do it yourself luxury dental office design, then you certainly must start with a vision which can be derived from existing points of inspiration without any cost — whether an office you’ve visited, photos in a magazine, or a scene from a television show. Once you have a direction, source out all the pieces from one or several budget-friendly vendors. Buying from one source could be great if you like the company’s reputation and return policy. While buying from multiple sources can offer you a wider range of products. Be careful of each company’s return and exchange policies, and definitely use a source that offers free shipping or bulk shipping discounts.
While you’re building your luxury dental practice, keep your potential patients in mind. Understand that you’re doing it for them more than yourself in appeasing them, meeting their expectations, and creating more worth. Don’t spend on unnecessary things like exotic fish in a fish tank that may come across as a waste of money, rather spend in on better furniture, higher-end artwork on the walls, and a front desk that is as unique as your practice is.
