BRUCE UDELL
CEO, Udell Associates

Corner office, 11th floor, two walls of windows with views of the city, barrier islands, bay and Gulf of Mexico; convenient downtown location with parking. Could this office get any better? Actually, yes. When Bruce Udell and his wife, Janet, leased space in the Bank of America building for their employees at this estate planning firm, they hired designer Lori Fountain of FT Design to define, refine and furnish the public areas and offices, starting with the boss's.

"Bruce wanted three distinct areas," Fountain recalls. "He needed a residential-like conversation area with sofas, coffee table and such where clients could relax and have refreshments while privately discussing their needs with him. This space had to be homey, but contemporary." The boss also required a conference table for meetings, and he wanted his personal workstation to be within steps from his Smart Board but facing the wonderful views. Fountain found her color scheme of purple, blue, green and gold on the decorative jacket of Udell's most recent book, Enjoy Your Wealth and Pass It On.

"We went for the richer tones," says the designer. "And we brought in textural interest in the form of pillows, upholstery and art glass." She installed eight remote-control mechanized translucent metal screens for the windows to control glare, and she dropped the ceiling over the conversation area to make it more intimate. Hidden storage, warm wooden furniture and touches of satin nickel trim finished the scheme. She left in place Udell's Wheaties cereal box, which features the boss's hero, the late Roberto Clemente.

"Our UPS man says it's the best office he delivers to," says Udell. "While the room has personality and style, it doesn't compete with the view. When clients walk into my office, the first thing they do is head for the windows and stare."

Bruce Udell tallies his office wealth in

• The view.

• The warm color scheme.

• His Roberto Clemente Wheaties box and other sports memorabilia.

• Smart Board.

WENDY HOPKINS
vice president of grant and program services, Community Foundation of Sarasota County

The challenge for a nonprofit exec is to fashion an office that is inviting to volunteers, board members and agency representatives without giving the impression that donor funds are being spent frivolously. When the Community Foundation of Sarasota County moved into the new Leila and Michael Gompertz Center on Fruitville Road last year, Wendy Hopkins, who's been at the Foundation for 12 years, solved her dilemma by working with designer Victor Appel. Appel selected the wall colors, flooring and major elements of all offices within the complex, which was designed by architect Don Lawson.

With Appel's help, Hopkins accessorized her space with beloved mementos. "My sister worked for the State Department, and when she was stationed in the Far East my oldest son and I visited her," says Hopkins. "I brought back such things as a vintage Japanese wedding kimono in the uchikake pattern of flowers and cranes. These Asian objects add color and interest, and frankly I just enjoy looking at them." Hopkins also brought her bookcase from home, as well as Asian artwork, figurines, small folding screens and a large ceramic plant pot. "The kimono was in my attic. I was really happy to find a place to show it off," she says. "Visitors to my new office are comfortable here, but they can tell I've been a good steward with donor funds. And that's what I want to convey."

What Wendy Hopkins can't work without

• My dear assistant Maggie Pugh.

• The small conference area at one end of the room; it's used every day. The secondhand furniture came from Curtis Bros.

• A ceiling fan.

• Personal thermostat, because I like my space colder than most. It's an age thing.

NORBERT P. DONELY
president, Tervis Tumbler Company

After a 30-year career working in 15 different cubicles and makeshift offices (his last with a window into the manufacturing plant), Tervis Tumbler president Norbert Donelly decided he wanted a stylish, comfortable office to use as a meditative retreat-and no one was going to make him feel guilty about the indulgence.

He ended up with a sophisticated and serene space that pleased him so entirely that several months after its completion, when Tervis moved from its ramshackle Osprey building to a brand-new facility in Venice, Donelly had his office taken apart and reassembled down to the tiniest detail. The interior designer is Pamela Hastings, whose work Donelly had seen in SARASOTA Magazine. She calls the tranquil, uncluttered office Zenlike but not predominantly Asian. Since doing Donelly's office, she's been retained to do three more at Tervis Tumbler headquarters.

A cocoon of peaceful understated luxury was created with grasscloth walls, dark tile at the doorway, a custom Asian cabinet, a feng shui copper corner fountain, woven window shades in a tortoise-shell motif and lustrous Scalamandre silk side panels. The prez can close the door and practice yoga whenever he wants to. A modern tempered glass and chrome desk along with a Herman Miller fully adjustable Aeron chair provide visual contrast to the Oriental rug and Vermont Frog Hollow curio cabinet, where the boss displays hand-carved maple bowls, a Chinese tea set and three large, beautifully colored stones he picked up while walking on a beach in Ireland.