Down to the Last Detail

During Thanksgiving weekend 2021, Carolina Eye Doctors in Harrisburg, NC, moved from a 1,700-square-foot building to a 4,200-square-foot space (previously a vacant bank) just a stone’s throw away.

Owner Chantel Garcia, O.D., shared that it was important to keep the homegrown, comfortable feel of the previous practice—without anything feeling too cookie cutter. Carolina Eye Doctors worked with eyecare industry design firm One Interior, as well as local interior design/decorating company Weeping Willow Designs, to create a space that fuses both commercial and residential aesthetics.

“We were really looking to be modern but comfortable,” Dr. Garcia says.

Here, three tips on achieving that balance.

LESS IS MORE

Even with more square footage in the new practice, Carolina Eye Doctors didn’t add more frames to its optical space than were at the previous, smaller building.

“It’s just that it’s distributed differently, so people shop more comfortably,” says Dr. Garcia. “[Patients] are like, ‘Wow, you have so much more!’ We’re like, ‘Nope, it’s the same.’ It’s just the way that it’s laid out. Everything is not stacked on one another.”

OPEN CONCEPT

The uncrowded feel continues throughout the practice, as Dr. Garcia opted for an open pretest area with high ceilings.

“My inspiration came from working in an M.D./O.D. practice for quite some time—ophthalmologists really do not have pretest rooms,” she says. “They put all of their equipment into one open space so that you don’t have a bottleneck effect.”

This is appreciated by the Carolina Eye Doctors team—and patients.

Plus, the tech station includes optometrists and the rest of the practice team.

“I do not separate the doctor away from the team because you’re with them 24/7; you need them.”

So, rather than putting up drywall, the practice opted for glass walls and a glass door.

“My team calls it their clubhouse. They have an area that they can retreat to, but again, still has an open, airy feel.”

SINK ABOUT IT

A small decision with big impact?

“You’re used to seeing sinks in the back corner—so you bypass a patient and wash your hands,” says Dr. Garcia. “Ours are in the front of the room, and that works really, really well because now when you talk to a patient, or their guest, you’re looking at both of them versus having to turn around.”

It’s all about connection.