BEAM 儿科牙科工作室室内设计丨美国查塔努加丨芝加哥 PROjECT 设计公司

The typical dentist’s office doesn’t include swings. Or for that matter, logos based on Morse Code, furnishings of marble and chenille ready to glam up a boutique hotel’s bar, or a signature scent—in this case, a blend of black tea, bergamot, and cedarwood. But little of Dr. Neha Shah’s BEAM Pediatric Dental Studio office in Chattanooga, Tennessee is typical. Including how she selected an interior design firm—in this case, sliding into Chicago-based PROjECT’s DMs after becoming their fan on Instagram.

PROjECT founder Aimee Wertepny and her design team, Jennifer Kranitz and Stacey Kallenbach, worked closely with Dr. Shah to conceive a 2,500-square-foot space that forgoes the typical sensory overload of pediatric health care spaces. “No primary colors,” says Wertepny. “Dr. Shah didn’t want the office to look like Sesame Street.” Instead, they opted for a palette of rose and pine, with white oak shelving and Carrara.

“And sound was a huge concern,” says Kallenbach, “because we wanted the front to feel serene and lounge-y, more like a home than an appointment office.” That meant siting patient rooms in back, in a careful sequence pairing private exam rooms, semi-private treatment areas, a larger treatment space, an X-ray alcove, and a sterilizing room, while still offering what she calls “corner moments” for caregivers and parents to play and reassure the kids. That kind of care also inspired the swing: “They are proven to calm anxiety,” says Wertepny, “that’s why we incorporated them into the kids’ hangout area: to calm their nerves.”

A reception desk topped in Carrara marble—and doorways lined in it—greet guests.

A mural by Minted cheers up the kids’ lounge; Benjamin Moore terra cotta paint mellows it out.

In Dr. Shah’s office, a pendant from Hudson Valley Lighting illuminates a RH desk.

A ShimmerScreen chain valence and Tech Lighting pendants define the checkout area.

A waiting area for adult patients offers an Arteriors wicker hanging chair, Noir tables, a small bench upholstered in Carnegie fabric, and a longer bench by the wall upholstered in Holly Hunt’s Great Outdoors.

A bathroom, clad in Ann Sacks penny tile, offers wood toothbrushes.

A pegboard wall offers treats for the patients.