When Derrick and Emma Dockery wanted to update a former playroom in their Northern Virginia home into a cool hangout for their three active teens, they turned to Chris Jones, owner of Adaptiv Design Concepts (AdaptivDC), based in Ashburn.
“The owners asked for some creative study and hangout options,” says Jones. “Initially we were discussing an in-wall circular couch, but the size of the room and walls kept that option off the table.”
After also considering a standalone circular couch, but again deciding that would be too big for the space, Jones developed the concept of two round seats with multi-function elements, such as dry-erase boards, adjustable desks, LED lights, and cushions. The rolling pods were born.
The design process took two to three weeks and the fabrication took another three weeks. The pods were installed in just one day. “The main challenge was the assembly on site, as the overall size of each of the circles is 6 feet in diameter,” Jones says.
Made of a combination of birch plywood, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), and custom metal hardware, “the overall weight is substantial, approximately 120 pounds each, but this weight helps to keep the circles stable,” Jones says.
While the pods have mechanisms to keep them stationary, they are fairly easy to roll or move as needed.
The Dockery teens use the lower-level pods to do homework, attend online classes, check out social media, play games, read, and watch movies. Designed and built during the COVID-19 pandemic with all safety precautions in place, the pods provided unique seating options during at-home times, and now also function as fun spots to gather with friends and family.
Photo by Angela Newton Roy
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