Project Optical is a specialty optical store in Adair Park in downtown Woodstock. The clients wanted a high-end feel for the store, using exposed brick, dark wood, and pops of color. The big departure from traditional optical stores would be how the various frames were displayed. They didn’t want the walls covered with racks of frames and instead, using display cases and custom built floating shelves to highlight the various lines of eyewear.
Since we were brought in during the planning phase before construction started, we were able to plan out placement of the electrical components for the main counter as well as the lighting runs for the floating shelves on the brick-faced wall.
The back counter and dispensing counter are traditional base cabinets, built at a 42” height. The back counter was filled with doors and drawers while the underside of the dispensing counter is open-faced for easier access to items needed to make adjustments to frames and the sales process. Electrical drops were planned within the footprint of the dispensing counter so outlets could be installed inside.
For the display cases, the clients wanted a refined furniture look and not “cabinets”. All four of the cases are built from walnut veneered plywood and solid pieces. For the furniture look, the outside of the displays were trimmed in pieces for an arts and crafts design. The two large cabinets in the middle of the space measure over 5 feet wide and have five full-width drawers. The two wall cases have two banks of drawers. Each of the cases have ½” tempered glass as tops, to create displays for featured frames. The top drawers of each case are locked. In the drawers beneath, we made dividers, sized to house frames.
The floating shelves were planned out during construction with the general contractor. They sheathed the wall with plywood and we were able to attach the support brackets and drill the wiring holes before the brick was applied. After the wall was finished, we installed the shelves. Each shelf has an embedded LED strip from Aspect LED, wired together inside the wall and powered by a transformer tucked into the top plinth above each set. Each transformer is plugged into an outlet, positioned by the construction team to be inside the plinth and controlled by a dimmer switch. The shelves are walnut veneered plywood.
All of the walnut is finished in Rubio Monocoat’s Pure oil, which highlights the natural beauty of the walnut.
