Winner's Circle

Gary Lee Partners

River North / Interior design firm

Twenty-five years in the same space, with the same look, is a long stretch for an interior design firm (albeit an endorsement for timeless design). “We’d had the same furniture since 1993,” says David Grout, design principal at Gary Lee Partners. “It was time for a change.”

The firm’s new offices on the top floor of the Marwen building in River North are just a few blocks from the converted paint factory where it all began. But the shell is totally different. The backdrop went from all black-and-white walls to a warm, classic Chicago-style loft space, with timber columns and exposed brick. With windows on all four sides, the team was blessed with ample light. From there they developed an open floor plan that would allow them to collaborate in groups of various sizes, move furniture around as needed and still have space to work in relative privacy. The center of the room has 6 feet of benching, where staffers can collaborate while sitting across from each other. Designers also work around the periphery, with a table between each desk.

How do you decorate when you have a beautiful, textured, raw space with plenty of light? If you’re Gary Lee, you add just enough drama to make it memorable. One of our judges, Megan Duffy Rostan, describes the space as “calm, streamlined and mature,” a testament to the firm’s masterful editing and focus on quality materials over trends. And since this is a design studio, the craft is very much on display. A luxe daybed from Chai Ming Studios, Lee’s private line of high-end furniture, greets guests in reception; matte lacquered cabinets and felt wall panels create subtle contrasts in textures; and modern paintings by Lee himself remind you of the artistry at work in this office. Perhaps the most surprising elements are the touches of pink, most prominent in the plush kitchen seating, but also up high on the walls. “There was a lot of discussion about the pink,” Grout admits. But the team decided it was the best way to bridge the black, the timber and the brick.

The most important change inspired by the move was a commitment to reduce the kind of stuff that accumulates at a design firm: fabric swatches, wall coverings, flooring samples. “We used to have piles everywhere. It was a hovel,” says Lee (though this is hard to believe). “We made an intentional decision to work differently in the new space. Now we return samples promptly, and we research as much as we can digitally.” These efforts did not go unnoticed by our judges. “It feels clean, spare and organized,” says Duffy Rostan. Mission accomplished.

Gary Lee, whose firm has been behind multiple Coolest Offices winners, talks design and office trends with Crain’s.