Designing for Calm: Studio Heim Featured by Arheus Dental
We’re delighted to have been featured in the Arheus Dental Journal, in a Q&A exploring the design of their beautiful new clinic in Edinburgh.
The project was a little different for us. While residential interior design is at the heart of Studio Heim, we occasionally take on carefully selected commercial projects where the brief aligns with our approach to creating thoughtful, welcoming spaces.
Arheus Dental was one of those projects.
Making a Dental Clinic Feel Like Home
The brief was simple: make the clinic feel anything but clinical.
Located within a beautiful Category A listed Georgian building on Edinburgh's Queen Street, Arheus already had incredible architectural character. Our challenge was to create a reception area that felt warm, calm and reassuring while still functioning as a professional dental practice.
Rather than approaching the space like a traditional healthcare environment, we treated it much more like a residential living room.
Comfortable furniture, soft curves, layered lighting, natural materials, warm-toned finishes and tactile textures all came together to create an environment that feels welcoming from the moment you walk through the door.
“You make it feel like a home.”
That became the guiding principle for the reception area.
There are no rows of plastic chairs or harsh overhead lighting. Instead, the furniture encourages conversation, the lighting creates a softer atmosphere and the original fireplace has been transformed into a beautiful focal point using marble mosaics and a black-painted surround.
Commercial Interior Design with a Residential Approach
Although this was a commercial interior design project, our approach was much the same as it would be when designing a home. We started by thinking about how we wanted people to feel in the space.
A visit to the dentist can be an anxious experience for many people, so creating a sense of comfort and ease was just as important as creating a beautiful interior. As I explained in the Arheus interview:
“In a clinical setting, comfort becomes even more important because people may already feel anxious before they arrive.”
Every decision, from the curved sofa and natural materials to the layered lighting and warm colour palette, was made with that experience in mind.
The finished reception feels more like a beautifully designed home or boutique hospitality space than a traditional dental waiting room, while still providing everything the clinic needs to function as a professional healthcare environment.
A Commercial Project in Edinburgh
Arheus was a wonderful opportunity to explore how our residential interior design approach can translate into a commercial setting.
It reminded us that, whether we're designing a family home, a boutique business or a healthcare environment, the fundamental principle remains the same:
Good design should make people feel good.
We’re incredibly proud of the finished space and grateful to the Arheus team for trusting us to bring their vision to life.
Read the Full Feature
The full interview, Designing for Calm: In conversation with Studio Heim, is now available in the Arheus Dental Journal.
Read the full feature on Arheus Dental →
Studio Heim Interiors is a Scottish interior design studio based near Edinburgh, specialising in residential interiors and selected commercial interior design projects across Edinburgh, Fife, West Lothian and the wider UK.
If you're looking for an interior designer or commercial interior designer in Edinburgh or Scotland, we'd love to hear about your project.
