A while back in our in-box we got an email from SDCO Partners, a Charleston, South Carolina–based creative company. The team, wrote partner and creative director Courtney Rowson, had moved from a “old, one-room shotgun building on Cannon Street” to a 100-year-old historic house that “had been retrofitted with drop ceilings, cubicles, carpeted floors, and other office efficiencies” while (ironically) inhabited by an architecture firm. “We restored many of the rooms back to their original state, while adding touches of modernity throughout. An iron-framed wall and art installation contrast the historic properties of the space, which include original inlay wood flooring, high ceilings, and detailed molding,” Rowson wrote. (She and her business partner, Amy Pastre, made all of the design decisions.) The finished product: a creative office with historic bones, plus “elements of surprise and texture.” Here are 13 ideas to steal for a low-key, high-style office.
Photography courtesy of SDCO Partners.
1. Preserve happy accidents.
![the striking entryway to the office, including the ornate front door and marble 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-front-door-733x1100.jpg)
2. Mix historic with modern.
![the entryway, with original staircase. \2\20;we focused on restorin 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-entryway-hall-733x1100.jpg)
3. Use wood as sculpture.
![in the entryway the original, \100 year old carved wood door mixes with a chair 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-entryway-with-chair-733x1100.jpg)
4. Keep a neutral palette.
![the front conference room has an original brick fireplace and is open on both s 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-front-conference-room-733x489.jpg)
5. Forgo office lights.
![rather than install harsh overhead lights, the team sourced a vertigo pendant l 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-front-conference-room-detail-733x1100.jpg)
6. Create an architectural element with steel-framed doors.
![the two rooms on the first floor are separated by a custom steel frame glass do 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-front-conference-room-doors-733x1099.jpg)
7. Don’t forget a space to lounge.
![offices and home offices alike need seating options other than computer chairs. 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-with-daybed-733x489.jpg)
8. Add something unexpected.
![an installation of quail eggs on the room\2\17;s back wall plays u 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-egg-installation-733x489.jpg)
9. Enlist Ikea.
![with the building stripped and restored to its original condition, the team add 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-with-shelves-733x489.jpg)
![here, the kallax shelves hold books (a rare moment of color). 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-with-bookshelves-733x1100.jpg)
10. Keep something artful in sight.
![an upstairs office shares interior windows with the sun porch, which the team r 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-computer-desks-733x489.jpg)
11. Treat the office as a living space.
![a rug and upholstered chairs, plus a working fireplace, add an at home feel to 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-chairs-fireplace-733x1100.jpg)
12. Evoke exotica in the bath.
![in the small bathroom, the team broke with the neutral scheme. the pendant ligh 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-bathroom-733x1100.jpg)
13. Consider curb appeal.
![the office sits on a small block in charleston, with the original red pain 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/scdo-partners-charleston-office-exterior-full-733x478.jpg)
More Carolina design on our minds:
- East Fork Pottery: A North Carolina Studio from a Matisse Heir
- Steal This Look: Fuzzco in Charleston, SC
- A Surf-Inspired House in Charleston, SC, for Barefoot Living
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on November 8, 2017.
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