r.o.i. Design’s Remodeled Offices

r.o.i. Design moved to Front Ave NW twenty years ago into a building that needed a lot of repairs, but it had a lot of historical charm and a great location on the fringe of downtown. Over the years, we were continually surprised at how much our visitors liked our space, and while we saw the worn carpet and furniture, they loved the charm. So, keeping the charm, this year we started a refresh.

Our goals included overall cleaning, repairs, updating finishes, responding to COVID space planning, improving lighting, technology, and air quality. So now our seven-person firm has 3,500 square feet of office space (some just for meetings), 3,500 square feet of warehouse space for furnishings and a small workshop, and 2,000 square feet of library space for samples and materials.

The remodel/refresh started with a design plan in 2019. That plan included replacing flooring, some new wall paints and wall coverings, additional lighting, and some new furnishings. Plus, the building needed lots and lots of cleaning. Like many plans in 2019, COVID asked us to slow down, so we moved some projects forward in 2019 and 2020, but in April 2021, we decided it was time to “get it done”.

We moved out of our offices for 10 business days and organized the remodeling trades during those two weeks. We realized that it takes a lot of people, patience, and planning to make it a success, and because of the expert help and focus of a lot of people, we didn’t miss a day’s work!

We would like to recognize our interior designers Megan Hoekzema and Marianne Martz for their selections, carpet layouts, and furniture layouts.

We thank our procurement manager Ronda Geyer, for the constant reminders before the remodel to purge, organize, and get ready.

And we couldn’t have done this without Rachel Barszcz our studio manager who kept us on task.

And in alphabetical order, a SPECIAL THANK YOU to:

Action Plumbing for replacing the 20-year-old toilet. Just in time so we could get new flooring in the common space restroom.
Don Hampshire for rebuilding our steps to the garage, so they could be carpeted.
Excel Electric for upgrades in 2020 and timely responses to our power needs at the last minute in 2021.
Floorcovering Engineers LLC, John Quillan and team, for the expert installation of a complicated floor pattern in record time!
For the great support of our carpet reps, Ryan Morton from Patcraft, and Patrick Coulsen from Shaw. The carpets look amazing and it is a showroom of different applications and styles.
Huyser Asphalt for surfacing the parking lot. (Thanks for prioritizing us in a crazy COVID year!)
i3 Business Solutions, for moving our computers (twice!), lending us cable, keeping us all “online”, and overall moral support. And thanks too for upgrading our phone systems at the same time, retiring our dated desk phones and introducing us to VOIP.
Northwest Kent Mechanical for the updating of our four systems with air filtration and ion cleansing systems that protect us against so much stuff.
Office Furniture Details LLC, Joe and Team, who moved our furniture at least twice, installed new furniture systems and retired a lot more.
West Michigan Office Interiors, Jenna Henderson for fine-tuning our layouts, and Dean Clement for helping us keep on budget and on time.