Books: Decoration and design for the 80s

The Working Home

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Designer Louis Shuster, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, bought a fifteen year old houseboat "in a deplorable condition" over a year ago and decided to convert it into studios and offices for their practice on the lower level, with a home for Shuster on the upper level. The result is a unique composite of the firm's office, domestic and nautical design skills.

"We seldom have to open our portfolio," says Shuster. Moored at Marina Bay with a year-round community of offices, homes and 'flotels,' the 28 by 60 foot (about 9 by 20 meter) floating practice has attracted a lot of assignments to design yachts for residential and commercial use and to design similar houseboat offices for a group of attorneys.

Shuster can also show clients how to combine home and work spaces effectively. The houseboat has tax advantages over conventional space, docking fees are a fraction of commercial rents and there are no building permits or codes to inhibit design for either living or work space or a combination of the two.

"I was a bit hesitant at first about living in my office," admits Shuster. But now he sees it as a business advantage. Most of Shuster's creative inspiration hits him at night, when he can go to a "beautiful drafting area overlooking the water and lights," and execute the idea immediately.

The two levels distinctly separate upstairs and downstairs, living and working areas, night and day. Clients enter on the lower level of open studios and offices and don't find themselves wandering around Shuster's bedroom.

But the presence of the studios doesn't inhibit doing a little business during private parties. "People always seem to spot some sample or swatch that appeals to them for their own homes," says Shuster.

The conference 'Tongue Table' is a space saving solution to seating six people. The use of oak, neutral colors and black throughout the offices tends to restrain the nautical image.

Open offices and custom-built furniture help create an even flow on the lower level. Clients are encouraged to wander around and examine samples for themselves. Coconut matting, once used mainly to cover diving boards, is a tough and attractive carpeting throughout. It's useful because it repels water.

LOUIS SHUSTER