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Inspiring Offices: Rustic attic office offers light and warmth

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Interior view of a staircase featuring a white-framed arched window, a mounted animal skull with long horns, a small plant, and a wooden cabinet with framed pictures.

By Michelle Kershner

In The City of Frederick, business spaces go beyond basics. Here, unique offices allow businesses to cultivate creativity, express their company's culture, and create a work environment that inspires. From industrial to classic, artsy to funky, historic to high tech, spaces abound to meet a variety of needs.  

Inspiring Offices is a feature that highlights some of the creative and unique office spaces in Frederick.

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes peek inside TWO inspiring offices in Frederick - Warner Commercial and 

Gallagher Design. These offices share an eclectic and rustic attic space in the heart of Downtown Frederick. On the corner of West Church and North Court Streets, the offices have high ceilings, wooden beams, and natural light.

Learn what these companies love about their Downtown attic office space. 

Warner Commercial 

Q&A with Jonathan Warner, owner of Warner Commercial.

Interior of a rustic home with a view into a home office. A person sits at a desk in the office area with a computer, and office supplies visible through a doorway with wooden beams. The doorway is framed by wooden pillars and a partially open wooden door. A decorative rug and wooden flooring are in the foreground.

Why did you choose your current office location and how long has your company been located here? 

Downtown is the heart of my business and also my life in Frederick. The energy and vibrancy of Downtown Frederick impacts everything I do.

Was it “move in” ready or did you have to design/fit it out? 

The space was an attic with a grand staircase up to it. I worked with my brother, Mallory, to custom design the space and transform it from a dusty attic full of old junk to a bright light office environment.  

What inspirations did you use to decorate/design the space? 

We used a barn and natural wood theme with exposed ceilings that loft up and vertical wood planks to form walls. The structural elements of the building play a key role in giving the space character and warmth. Large barn type door slide across to provide a visual barrier between offices while the space above is all open to the ceiling.   The only enclosed spaces are the bathroom and conference room.  The rest of the space is airy and bright complemented by the four skylights that were added.

Interior view featuring a wooden sliding barn door with X-bracing, partly open to reveal a room with a desk, chair, and a bright archway; adjacent wooden walls, wooden floors, and a curved back chair are also shown.

What are the most unique aspects about your office space?

The windows were covered with exterior storm windows that masked the windows unique half moon detail that matches the windows across the historic town green on the Trail and Mathias Mansions.

We removed the storm windows and added clear interior storms so now everyone looking up from the street can enjoy the beautiful detail of the windows on both sides of the historic green.  The common window design adds architectural symmetry to entire town green as envisioned by some of the originals architects and builders of Frederick.  I was pleased to restore this elements to the streetscape while bring increased light into the space.

View from below of a large arched window in a white-painted wooden frame, with two stacked weathered wooden boxes on a platform in front of the window, beneath the window is a floor with a small colorful rug.

What do you or your employees like best about the office space? 

Everyone loves the airy open feeling of the space and the unique warmth of the natural wood and historic structural elements of the building. The space speaks to what I love to do in my commercial real estate business. I love to bring old building and spaces back to life and Downtown Frederick is the perfect place to work!

View of an architectural interior with exposed wooden beams, a paneled wall, and a window framing a small green tree, with a seated chair visible.

Gallagher Design

Q&A with Patrice Gallagher, owner of Gallagher Design and frequent collaborator with Warner Commercial.

A woman with blonde hair, sitting at a desk with a computer monitor, smiles in a cozy, cluttered attic office, lit by a skylight with a woven shade.

Why did you choose your current office location and how long have you been located there?

I’ve been in this location for almost 8 years. I happened on the space accidentally, when I called Jonathan Warner about an office space in Middletown. Turned out that space was way too big for my business, but the space he was subletting here, in his own office, was just perfect! We hit it off well the first time we met, which helped a lot in making my decision to rent the space. I feel lucky to be here, every day.

Was it “move in” ready or did you have to design/fit it out?

It was “move in” ready. My furnishings worked very well in the space.

An interior room with hardwood floors, featuring a wooden table with four black Windsor chairs, a framed painting on the wall, and decorative antique scales, along with other antique wall decorations.

What inspirations did you use to decorate/design the space?

This space is full of wood beams and barn doors and high ceilings which were perfect for my rustic tastes. I was living in a log house at the time I took the office space!

A blue ceramic pitcher holding dried grass, set on a wooden surface against a wooden background with a diagonal beam.

What are the most unique aspects about your office space?

The building is historic and not very large, so we tenants know each other pretty well. And… did I mention the wood beams and barn doors and high ceilings? :-)

Interior view of a wooden structure, showcasing a central, dark brown support beam splitting into multiple rafters that connect to a white-paneled ceiling. The foreground shows a wooden wall with two vertical light fixtures, leading to a hallway with a wooden floor and various framed artworks.

What do you, your employees, or clients like best about the space?

Everyone who comes here comments on two things:

-- How refreshingly unusual the design of the office is.

-- How out of shape they feel after climbing the three flights of stairs to get up here!

Brown urn-shaped finial atop a newel post, part of a wooden staircase, with steps and handrails visible, creating a classic, vintage atmosphere.
Ornate wooden ceiling and wall detail, featuring a hexagonal gold chandelier with multiple bulbs, above an arched window with decorative panes and a carved wooden mantelpiece.

Find Your Own Inspiring Office

If you are looking to open or expand a business in Frederick, we can help.  

Contact us, and let us help you find your own inspiring office space so you can build your dream. 

If YOU know of any interesting office spaces, let us know and we will put them on our list to feature.

Michelle Kershner is the Business Development Specialist for the City of Frederick Department of Economic Development.