- © 2024 Annapolis Home Magazine
- All Rights Reserved
By Kymberly Taylor | Photography by Tony Lewis, Jr.
Doctor Emily Clarke-Pearson, founder of Charm City Plastic Surgery, started her new practice in Fells Point, Baltimore last May with an office composed of nothing more than exposed brick, a concrete floor, and a splendid view of Fells Point. With the assistance of interior designer Katalin Farnady, she now has a space infused with natural light, art, and sculptural forms. Dr. Clarke-Pearson, who attended Brown University and trained as an artist before studying medicine at Harvard and Johns Hopkins Universities, knew she wanted a space like no other. Farnady welcomed the chance to break out and do something fresh. The effortless design scheme is more like a spa-infused sanctuary, rather than a sterile doctor’s office with ho-hum walls and stern chairs. It is a space designed purposely to dispel anxieties, which many people may have when visiting a plastic surgeon especially for the first time, notes Dr. Clarke-Pearson. “People come to a plastic surgeon office to talk about things they are sensitive about, vulnerable about, awkward about…there can be lots of apprehension going in, a lot of unknowns especially for a new patient,” she says.
Mindful spaces like this don’t just happen. A designer for many years who works nationally, Farnady knows this well. “Whether working in a public or private space, you really should tell a story; here I saw Old Baltimore and a spunky modern woman who is very artistic,” she explains. She notes that the curving counter separating the waiting room and reception area is “a different form that looks like a piece of art.” There is more formal play: a light fixture composed of three low-hanging stainless steel pipes is both industrial and lyrical as if playing a jazz tune in mid-air. It adds a touch of old Fells Point Harbor, casts a diffused light and cleverly identifies the receptionist’s work zone.
With a holistic atmosphere in mind, it was natural to hang “Gardenscape”, a mixed-media painting by Dr. Clarke-Pearson, right near the front door, to welcome visitors, and to display her hand-carved sculpture “Embrace” on the front desk. Farnady hired Artstar Custom Paintworks to transform two procedure rooms by meticulously hand painting pop-art faces on the walls, reminiscent of something Farnady saw in Berlin during her travels. Artstar also hand painted the ombré wall and logo behind the reception desk in hues that recall a wharf suddenly sunlit following a storm.
There are environments that deplete and those that replenish. It is a truly restful feeling, even reparative, to visit Dr. Clarke-Pearson, and for a short while during one’s hectic day, and especially in a surgeon’s office, relax and receive.
Dr. Emily Clarke-Pearson, Charm City Plastic Surgery, charmcityplasticsurgery.com | INTERIOR DESIGN: Farnady Interiors, farnadyinteriors.com | CUSTOM PAINTING: Artstar, artstarcustompaintworks.com
Dr. Emily Clarke-Pearson is also featured in our special publication, The Faces Of Annapolis.
Annapolis Home Magazine
Vol. 10, No. 3 2019