Fun Is Gud: September 2011

This is in Conway, Arkansas, which is on US I-40 not too far from Little Rock.

Well, after what seems like a three year pregnancy, here it finally is. I have posted odds and ends of my new office here and there on the board, but I have had several requests to do a separate post on it once it was all done. So, for what it's worth, here is our new "Hot Rod Orthodontic Office".

Being the 50's/60's car nut I am, I also get a kick out of the architecture and just the whole look of the time as well. Not wanting to build your average taupe brick building, I wanted something that had more the look of a 50's era diner/drive-in/gas station sorta' thing. I talked with the architect about that and I think they jumped inside my head and knocked it out of the park.

The interior was a bit more of a giving birth process (or as I would interpret that having never been pregnant personally

). I had the vision of the inside being a bit of a city inside with the outside of the rooms having facades of different 50's buildings you would think of when you think 50's....soda fountain, burger joint, gas station, etc. It took a fair amount of back and forth with the interior folks to get that sort of thing meshed with the stuff you gotta have for an orthodontic office. But, eventually, I think we got there.

Stepping in the front door, you are greeted with the woody wagon front desk parked in front of a Big Boy (although I still have to finish the signage for that).

The front desk started as a rusty $100 47 Mercury coupe. Yes, a Mercury...with a 46 Ford grille. The Mercury grille parts were not easily obtainable, where the Ford parts are. Getting that Ford grille to fit the Mercury....not a bolt in job. The front clip and rear fender are off the car while the "woody" part is cabinetry made to look the part. The "roof" has the planked headliner look of the woody and is complete with vinyl top and surfboard. You get funny looks pulling up to a surf shop with your wife and kids while on vacation and buy a board blank. To the surfer dude, you do not look like a guy who knows what on earth to do with a surf blank. But, I did and carved it down, glassed it and got it painted, then proceeded to cut holes in it to run the mounts through.....I couldn't bring myself to do that to a vintage long board, so you build your own for the purpose.

[See the attached file]

Most everything here has a story and a fair amount of my childhood is in here. The Big Boy out front was my favorite restaurant my folks took us to when I was a kid. Next up is our new patient exam room with a soda fountain facade. Named Fairmont's, it is the soda fountain my grandpa used to take me to. This pic was taken before the rest of the signage was put on the frosted windows and door, but you get the idea. Inside, we gotta have the spinning fountain chairs in red Zodiac vinyl. Also have the aluminum banded counter tops (all the counter tops in the whole office are banded and in cool Formica).

Heading on back to the main treatment area, we have lots going on, so here is the big picture before we go around.

On the far side, we have the movie theater tooth brushing area. We put the kids names up on one side of the marquee when they come in for the first time welcoming them to the office. On the side facing the treatment area, we put up the kids names when they get their braces off as the "feature movie." They get a kick out of it and often take pictures with their name in lights. I had someone stop me one day and ask me if I had a movie theater in my office. I told them I sorta' did and they said they saw it on FaceBook with someone getting their braces off. Guess the pics get around. LOL The lit movie poster marquee in the back ground has a 1950's sci-fi, b-movie poster of giant plaque eating the quiet little tooth town that the awesomely creative graphic guys I use did for me.

What really started this whole design concept in the first place was the staff asking if the new office could have some seating areas in the treatment area for parents and friends that often come with the patients. Being a car guy, I couldn't have just any seating area, I need couches made out of the back ends of cars, right? So, get me some parts cars, a tape measure and start cuttin'. All the car furniture you see was built by my dad and myself. Not really being able to come up with good information on how anyone else had done it, we just pretty much went on the fly and figured it out as we went. Even jumped in to figure out the upholstery myself. I figured I had read enough books and watched enough upholsterers over the years, how hard could it be? Fortunately, I have an aunt who is a professional upholsterer, so she was handy to have on the phone when kinks came up.

'56 Olds 98. That's real tuck and roll there...you gotta have tuck and roll, ya know?

[See the attached file]

'59 Caddy. Yup, that's real fur on cow hide. Cows 'n Caddy's just go, no?

Gotta have a gas station, right? Well, mine is Sinclair. When I was a kid, there was a Sinclair station near my grandparent's house, so I knew I was almost to grandma's when I saw that great big dinosaur. I have spent most of my life hunting one down and finally came across one of the smaller ones. This particular one is actually a fiberglass copy and has spent the last couple of years in my kid's play area where they climbed all over it and played on it while the office was being built. They were most upset when the time came to move it to its new home, but I was blessed to find an aluminum original at the same time to take its place. Whew! [See the attached file]

Down the side hall, we have what will probably be a 5 and 10, but you can see I still have to do some signage here.

Well, here is the part that fits here on the HAMB most. My private office looks out onto the main treatment area and left a spot next to the Sinclair station that would make a perfect garage door space. Rather than make it a service bay, I thought doing it up as Larry Watson's shop would be cool. My dad's first in 57 was a mild custom 51 Mercury, which certainly had a big influence on me. Another was getting the Grease Machines book for Christmas when I was in jr. high. That book, if you've never seen it, is loaded with Larry Watson paint jobs, as well as a spread on his Grapevine and panel painted '59 Caddy. I've had this sickness bad ever since. So, in tribute to Larry (I finally got a Mercury in tribute to my dad...fortunately he is still here to enjoy it with me), I built his shop and his Caddy for a desk looking out the shop bay. With the help of Rik Hoving, I got a picture of Larry's shops (the blue diamonds are actually from a later shop) and projected them on the wall for templates then proceeded to paint and hand letter it all. I'm not going to take lettering up for a living! [See the attached file]

The Caddy desk was finally reassembled last week and still has some details that need done....cabinet doors, paint some bare wood black, etc., but it's pretty much there. I wish I had some better pics of it, but it's mucho heavy and has to be assembled in place and can't be moved back from the wall to take some good pictures all the way around. Also, the candy and pearl white looks great outside, but alas, it will never be outside. The sun shines though my office window and hits it in the mornings, though, so I get to see it "right" occasionally.