by Mary | Sep 26, 2014 | Home Design, Interior Design, Project Management
“Awwh… do we have to talk about the budget?”
Probably the most difficult thing for a recently graduated design student entering the workforce is the perceived limitation that a budget has on their design. And it isn’t always just the young professional, sometimes the customer is deflated that initial planning has to start with a discussion on budgets. “We don’t want to limit your creativity” is the cry, “Can’t we just let you design and then price it all out?”
The answer is “of course”, but we caution that redesign also creates more design fees and in some cases an extended schedule. And always some disappointment.
So what is the r.o.i. Design solution to managing budget and creative expectations? We focus on the customer:
- Overall, we are open and flexible about product selections, knowing that the budget isn’t completely known on start and change will be needed.
- No design should be dependent on any one element; everything is replaceable.
- We also remind ourselves continually that the perception of quality is a standard the customer sets, not the designer.
- We are happy when our customer is happy.
Then we practice at least six budget disciplines when designing. They are: (more…)
by Ryan | Jul 29, 2014 | Church Design, Design News, Home Design, Project Management, Retail Design
r.o.i. Design has a very friendly relationship with and sincere respect for architectural design, although we are not architects. Some of us have had training in interior architecture, but mostly we are known for our creativity, our process and our desire to deliver a “return on investment”. We do help our customers procure the architectural services they need for their projects and can manage the process of delivering the design when it is appropriate.
CLICK HERE to see our services and all that we do.
We have designed commercial buildings, store facades, homes, and a variety of office and store remodels for contractors and business owners. In these cases, we hire architects to review our drawings, add code language and seal our drawings. Two small architectural firms with whom we have a long history of working together are Architectural Concepts (Ken Watkins) and TJA Architecture (Tim Allspach).
Most recently we assisted Gerrit’s Appliance with the planning of their Kentwood showroom, planned by fall of 2014 and Williams Kitchen and Bath with the planning of their new Plumbing Showroom. We also are working with developers of mixed used spaces helping them design (or redesign) their new spaces from buildings that were formerly commercial or industrial, turning them into retail and office spaces.
Modern home remodel we designed with Bruce Heys Builders
We also have designed homes under 3800 square feet working with builders. We are very proud of the home we designed for Bruce Heys Builders that converted a 70’s ranch to a modern home suitable for years to come.
If we were approached with a larger project, we would contact our friends at HDJ Architects (David Layman and Eric Maring). We have partnered with HDJ on the Double JJ Ranch and Golf Resort in Rothbury MI, a variety of Michigan credit unions and most recently Meadow Brook Medical Care Facility in Bellaire MI.
Meadow Brook Medical Care Facility, designed with HDJ Architects
When churches call us, we prefer to partner with Elevate Studio (Steve Fridsma & Jim VanderMolen). Steve reminded us that when he was a student he attended an event that toured our company, Designers Workshop, and we had our first professional project with him when he was with Progressive Architecture.
Welcome Center at Sojourn Lakeside Resort in Gaylord
There have been situations where a client comes to us to create a concept. They prefer to take the concept from us to a local architect in their region to create construction documents. This was the case for the Welcome Center at Sojourn Lakeside Resort in Gaylord for the Lambert Family.
Never before has architecture and interior design been as integrated as it is today in our society and industry. Our customers realize the value of bringing us in at the architectural conceptual stage as we identify, from the beginning, how people might interact with the space. Interior design and architecture impacts behavior and as spaces are imagined, we assist the design team in keeping the customer experience in mind.
by Mary | May 27, 2014 | Design News, Home Design
Clutter is a nuisance, but in preparing to teach a course on decluttering for OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Aquinas College, Mary Witte quickly realized that clutter is more than just sorting things into pretty baskets.
Here is a link to the presentation. Clutter
What creates clutter? There are typically events that kick off our bad habits (downsizing, retirement, loss of a family member, remodeling, hobbies, inheritance…) but the inability to deal with clutter may be more personal. We may be blind to clutter, the longer it is there, the more natural it becomes. We may call clutter by a different name like our to-do pile, or future project, or we just describe clutter is how we organize.
No matter your excuse, it is time to de-clutter! Get on it!
More information about OLLI here.
