SHOPfitting
The PROPERTYdrum Shopfitting Challenge
L
ast month in PROPERTYdrum, we asked shop design and fitting companies to suggest ways that either a brand new firm could have its first office designed and fitted, or an established estate agency branch could benefit from a tight
budget makeover. The results were surprisingly exciting; shiny new window
displays, smart contemporary furniture and brilliant use of today’s lighting technologies created some fabulous, low cost exteriors and interiors. With floorplans, computer generated designs and layouts, colour
swatches and storyboards, giving your office isn’t the gamble it was once, you can have any colour you like, from stark white through hints of mint to bold black, with any theme, from beachside to space station and styling from gentleman’s club to vibrant nightclub. Quite aside from the obvious benefits of having a swanky new
office to welcome your prospective clients, the whole procedure seems to be pretty good fun, with a myriad of choices – until the bill comes in of course. Once again, the designers clearly had their sparkly thinking
caps on because there are some great looks here, with plenty of practical, sensible basics that really work; style and function combined. It could be a winning formula for you too. In February’s issue we’ll be going all out with the Mega Budget Challenge. Bring on the chandeliers and glass floors! No costs are included here as it is impossible to guesstimate the
endless scenarios with preparation of a building, size and requirements but the brief for our designers was ‘Decent Budget’. An established three branch agency would like its first office,
which has been opened for 10 years, refurbished to look really swish, but not over the top. They’d like an elegant look, not too contemporary, but warm and cosy – and it shouldn’t look old fashioned either. The office is of average size. It’s in a good high street location in a relatively wealthy town such as Dorking, Surrey.
FAIRFIELD DISPLAYS Fairfield has over 32 years experience working with some of the UK’s best estate agents. In many cases, having bult a lasting working relationship, they have refitted the same office several times to keep up with modern design trends. The example branch used in this section of the PROPERTYdrum Shopfitting Challenge (Ellas) is typical of a transformation of a traditional branch given a contemporary slant. There are many branches on the high street aiming at the middle
market and competition is always fierce, so the key to success is to really stand out.
20 JANUARY 2012 PROPERTYdrum Ella’s traditional, decorative window needed uncluttered styling.
parttwo Warningdated displays and scuffed furniture could damage your business!
This month our shopfitting experts tell us what they can do for agents with a ‘decent budget’ to spend on their premises.
The window display shown is Ella Homes in Winslow,
Buckinghamshire. As the window has a traditional frontage it was important to create a light airy appearance to construct a contemporary design. Fairfield provides a complete service paying great attention to lighting as a starting point for the displays, rather than, as used to be the case in many agencies, an afterthought when the agents realised that no-one could actually read the property details in their windows! Janice Fairfield says, “We selected the new Fairfield LED Light
Pockets which are currently transforming high streets across the country. Once one agent has these stunning displays others follow. The LED Light Pockets are extremely bright and are available in a variety of sizes from A4 up to A1”. Furthermore, says Janet, agents should be aware that not all Light Pockets are the same. “There is a tremendous difference in brightness levels on the market and it is really important to make sure that when LED Pockets are specified they are high brightness.” The Fairfield units are extremely bright and can even be seen
clearly during the day. The edges of the pockets glow in a way that draws the eye towards the property displays and the brightness of the display can be increased by using the correct paper within the displays. Fairfield supplies material which looks like a professional print straight from any standard ink jet printer. “In this design we have used a mixture of A4 portrait and A3
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