Extreme cubicle makeover at Fort Worth ad agency

FORT WORTH, Texas — Give an art director a $300 budget and chances are it won't be enough to really pimp a pod — but it's a start.

When the Balcom Agency's principals, Stuart Balcom and Bruce McLain, decided they needed new decor for their offices in Fort Worth, Texas, they gave the same thing to everyone on their staff of 25: a customized desk modeled on the ad agency's signature "B" logo, $300, and free rein.

What they got in return could fuel an HGTV show — wildly individualistic office spaces that reflect the creativity and personality of the inhabitants. From the colors to placement of the furniture, art, decorative accessories, even their choice of shelves, nothing is the same.

Balcom, 48, says the benefit from such a small investment helps the company's bottom line: "If you let people express their creativity, that helps us help our clients. The change inspires everyone."

Several years ago, the firm began allowing employees to customize the company business cards, choosing their own combination of ink colors and cardstock, and adding monikers under their names. (Balcom is known as Stuart "Boss Hog" Balcom; the company's CFO is "Daddy Warbucks.") This break from corporate lock-step was an early indication that the Balcom agency is not a typical cube farm.

When the firm offered each employee the $300, was there any vetting involved, any permission slips that had to be signed?

"No," Balcom says.

What happens when someone leaves? Does the new hire get to redecorate?

"We don't lose people," says Balcom, whose clients include Harris Methodist hospitals, Alcon Laboratories, Justin Boots, Motorola and RadioShack.

"If you're not losing, are you hiring?"

"We're looking for a public-relations person, an art director, an account manager and a production artist."

Will they get $300 to decorate their cubes?

"Yes," he says.

Considering the sense of ownership and communal pride that the employees feel in the spectacular results, Balcom should break his arm patting himself on the back. This was brilliant management. It hasn't moved him to change his ways, though. His office is retro-ad-exec with white walls, funky toys, stacks of paperwork and, inexplicably, a monstrous split-leaf philodendron. The good news: Should he ever decide to bring his office up to the standards of his employees, the talent to do the makeover is obviously close at hand.

What follows is a sampling.

Heagan "Analog Style" Bayles, 31, systems administrator

The look: Masculine living room. Bayles declined the signature desk. He likes to work from a sofa, and if leaning over the coffee table takes a toll on his back, he moves over to the cowhide chaise and stretches out. He is an I.T. anomaly, preferring to hide electronic servers and miles of wire in an armoire that keeps the visual hardware to an absolute minimum. "I wanted a home-style environment. A place where I feel relaxed. It helps keep the stress level down," he says.

The cost: "$1,500. They offered an inch, and I spent a mile."

Best effect: Perforated floor-to-cube-top brown drapes from Pier 1 over a leaf-green wall.

Shopping haunts: Dark brown etagere, couch and side tables from Ikea. The chaise was from home, and he found the antique armoire in Stuart's office.

Payoff for the company: "I get here earlier and stay later."

Personal payoff: "Everyone likes their own space the best."

Holly "The Whole Enchilada" Aguilar, "old enough," senior art director

The look: Contempo-mod. The graphic splash on the back wall was made with vinyl; "I painted it by hand but it was too mismatched, so I used vinyl the second time around."

The cost: "I stayed within budget, except for the console, and my dad built that for me."

Best effect: The rug that mimics the wall graphic was made using inexpensive remnants. They were cut to reflect the shapes on the wall graphic, and one was simply placed on top of the other.

Shopping haunts: Ikea for cabinets and floating shelves.

Cassie "Princess" Kruemcke, 33, senior art director

The look: Royal splendor. The most dramatic pod is the work of the agency's self-proclaimed princess. The combination is spectacular: silver and white horizontal striped walls, magenta silk drapes and a black chandelier. Kruemcke says that even though many of the great finds came from her parents, she still went over budget.

Best effect: Kruemcke's mother made the magenta drapes that are fixed to the walls with curtain rod finials painted black. She also made the gray velvet table runner with a large monogrammed "C." Kruemcke made the silhouette art of her daughter Merrill that anchors the back wall.

Shopping haunts: Kruemcke says her best buy was the zebra-print rug she found online at Wal-Mart for $40. The shelf tower was also found online at CB2.com. (a Crate & Barrel site.)

Mick "Point and Click Guy" Swindall, 35, senior art director

The look: "The Simpsons" museum. Swindall has been collecting "Simpsons" characters since college, and they were the inspiration for his decorating; he softened the palette to secondary shades and designed artful displays for his collection.

The cost: "I spent the money they gave me, then spent a lot more. The wall cabinet took most of the budget."

Best effect: A great collection is a great focal point. But for decorating trickery, the best effort is curtains on swing arms that can cover his doorway for privacy or swing open and look like drapes. He found the fabric at Jo-Ann; the swing arm hardware is from Linens 'n Things.

Shopping haunts: Pottery Barn for the galvanized metal pocket wall display that holds his projects. The mirror with the decorative Balcom "B" along the bottom edge came from Target. Swindall found the rug at Wal-Mart. The table is from Target.

Payoff for the company: "I find I'm not looking at the clock," Swindall says.

Personal payoff: By painting his office the same color as his home office, "It helps the mind-set that it's like working at home."

Trey "Design Monkey" Sprinkle, 31, art director

The look: "Out of Africa." Sprinkle and his fiancée were married in a Masai ceremony in Tanzania in May. The trip, which was also their honeymoon, is the leitmotif of his office. His photographs and souvenirs, such as spears, a club and a machete, make for a dramatic and uniform decorative theme.

Best effect: The heavily textured back wall, painted a mossy green, and the wicker blinds that were used as a wall covering, like wainscoting, below the red walls, give the space a rich depth of field.

Shopping haunts: World Market got most of Sprinkle's budget. "Stein Mart is good for this sort of ethnic look, too," he says. The large basket came from Pier 1, and the credenza is a do-over, he says, that was part of the old office furniture.

Personal payoff: "If I'm going to be spending time here, I should enjoy it."

Tina "Copy Cat" Widner, 43, senior copy writer

The look: Sea of Tranquility. The shimmering blue walls and white puffy curtains exude calm. The silver tape that lines the bottom of the wall is a contemporary touch of glitz that masks a messy paint job.

Best effect: When Widner closes her white curtains, visitors are expected to ring the electronic doorbell located on the outside wall.

Shopping haunts: The contemporary black bookcase and shelving unit are from Pier 1; so was the silver branch sculpture and the large horizontally striped vase. The mosaic mirror and club chair came from Ikea; the rug from Lowe's.

Personal payoff: "You want to be here; the environment does influence your work."

Brian "Tenacious B" Blankenship, 33, art director

The look: Rustic. Blankenship, the most recent hire, reworked his initial plan. Originally the walls were dark blue, with small bands of yellow and orange. The combination was too strident, and he repainted the walls an earthy brown that is calming and quite sophisticated.

Best effect: Three $5 monkey sticks from Pier 1 were positioned over his desk as a wall sculpture. The vivid painting, the focal point of his office, is from the Dominican Republic.

Shopping haunts: The rug, originally from World Market, he took from his son's room. The rattan chair and wall plaque are from Pier 1. The pashmina scarf (borrowed from a co-worker) is threaded through three door knockers, which he used as hangers, from Mexico.

Payoff for the company: The redesigned pods are "better than anyone imagined."