(616) 459-3539
Built by Women- October 19, 2022 

Built by Women- October 19, 2022 

r.o.i. Design joined over 200 other participants attending this landmark event hosted by Fishbeck and sponsored by the Professional Women in Building Council (PWB), West Michigan Women in Architecture, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Western Michigan Chapter, National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) Group, and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) West Michigan. 

99% of the audience were women from all disciplines:  construction, architecture, engineering, mechanical services, design, and product representatives. We all recognized this was a “first of its kind” gathering and the organizers promised to make this an annual event. 

The keynote speaker was Katie Johnson, Treasurer of The House She Built and she passionately told us the story of how 4 leaders organized the effort to build a home in Utah with women-only builders, designers, and craftspeople.   

They researched the nation for female contractors (through social media and referrals) and folks came from across the nation to provide expertise and training in many categories of trades. Katie told stories about how these leaders and trade consultants became “family”.  

The outcome of the project was a home that was sold at top dollar and the developer that gave them the land bought the floor plan and specifications saying it was better than the project plans they had for the development. 

All the leaders donated their time, and much of the materials and subcontractors brought in their time at no cost, because everyone saw the goal of highlighting women as leaders in construction as an overdue spotlight.  

The Grand Rapids event proceeds were donated to West Michigan Construction Institute, which presented its goals and agenda, inviting the audience to continue to support its efforts. 

In addition to the building of a home, the effort caught the attention of Mollie Elkman and Georgia Castellano, and a children’s reader book, The House that She Built, was written and produced. While Katie was in town for the event, she visited Townline School and handed out these books to all the students.  

r.o.i. Design connected with so many companies we work with, meeting the women who make it all possible within those companies and we look forward to building on those relationships. 

Sherwin Williams announces their choice for Color of the Year 2023 

Sherwin Williams announces their choice for Color of the Year 2023 

When it comes to the color of the year, there are a lot of experts and a variety of opinions. But Sherwin Williams announced Redend Point SW9081 as its choice for Color of the Year 2023.  

Their website says “Bring home the warmth and intrigue of Redend Point….This color is a soft neutral that is highly flexible and imparts a cozy warmth and natural earthiness to any space”. This color is a warm blend of rose and clay and is on track with the finishes we have seen at NeoCon and in the palettes of current product lines.  

Benjamin Moore will announce its choice for Color of the Year on October 12.  

Behr Paint has announced their choice of “Blank Canvas” DC-003, which looks like it sounds, warm white. 

If you would like to experiment with color, check out the Color Wheel at Canva and find your favorite color combination, and learn more about color theories. https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/ 

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images.

© All photos courtesy of Sherwin Williams and Behr 

BH92 Trucking Inc. Builds New Office

BH92 Trucking Inc. Builds New Office

Returning Customer FCC Construction and their project manager, Beau Byerly, contacted r.o.i. Design to work with their customer BH92 Trucking to make selections for their new building in Byron Center, MI. 

This 20,000 sq. ft. building houses its operations, which include corporate offices, dispatch, fleet maintenance, leasing, and LAV truck repair.  An adjacent duplicate space was built for another tenant or future sister company. 

All finishes needed to be very maintainable but BH92 didn’t want to compromise style. The overall palette is a sophisticated blend of warm grays and blacks.  

Interior features include: 

  • Decorative wood wall in the lobby 
  • Durable luxury vinyl tiles in varied colors and patterns 
  • Black doors and trim 
  • Concrete-look porcelain tiles 

BH92 Trucking has been in business since 2000, moving freight in 48 states and providing opportunities for employees to own their trucks and have a lifetime career in transportation. We enjoyed working with them on this project.  

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images.

© All photos courtesy of FCC Construction

Grace Christian University’s New Townhomes

Grace Christian University’s New Townhomes

Our customer, First Companies, reached out looking for help with finish selections for Grace Christian University’s new townhomes that were being added to the campus, and we happily accepted. We have worked with First Companies on many projects and are always happy to meet and create relationships with their clients through the design process. Grace Christian’s team was amazing to work with; they knew exactly what they liked and didn’t like which helped keep this project moving forward and create a great end result.

For this project, we created an interior standard for the 29 apartments through the selection of luxury vinyl tile for the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedrooms, paint throughout the apartment, and millwork/countertops for the kitchen and bathrooms. Selections were also made for common stairwells and the community room. We were also asked to help with the furniture selection process and aid with furniture finish selections for the units to make sure everything worked well together.

We enjoyed being apart of this project and hope that it is a great environment for students for years to come.

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images.

© All photos courtesy of First Companies

Grass Lake Pediatric Dentistry Opens New Office

Grass Lake Pediatric Dentistry Opens New Office

When Dave Bordewyk of DGB Health Care Construction met with Dr. Melissa Potacki in January of 2022, he discovered she was looking for a more hands-on experience with materials, so he reached out to us for help.

r.o.i. Designer Megan Hoekzema met with Dr. Potacki, Dave, and contractor Tom Buchanan from Kasco and made a game plan for the interiors.

Megan provided samples and support so that Dr. Potacki felt confident in what her space would look like.

Key interior elements of the space include a stone wall with the business’ logo as you enter the space, a fun graphic wallcovering on the front of the reception desk, blue fan-shaped backsplash tile by the brushing station, and luxury vinyl plank throughout the walkways and treatment rooms.

r.o.i. Design also made selections for and procured their new lobby furnishings. As of May 2022, the new interior build-out is complete.

For more information about Grass Lake Pediatric Dentistry, go to their website: https://www.grasslakepdandortho.com/

 

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images.

© All photos by Liv in the Moment