These are challenging times, but we know our ability to provide budget-brand-beauty interiors will set us apart. We have many projects in-house that require our attention and look forward to their continuation.
We have several projects through our partner, First Companies Inc. Those projects include dermatology offices, dental offices, and industrial/manufacturing offices in West Michigan. Including, but not limited to: Portland Dentistry by Design, Total Fire Protection, Wilkast, Cedar Springs Dentistry, The Derm Institute of West Michigan, and Wolverine Dermatology.
We are working with the City of Kentwood on a few projects based on previous work with the city. Ten years ago we designed their library.
Our work with new customer FCC Construction and their customer, American Immersion Theater, gave us the opportunity to show our theatrical “chops”.
Concept Rendering for American Immersion Theater
Mars Hill Bible Church asked us to assist them in the redesign of offices and children’s ministry areas, as they have sold half of their facility to Grandville Public Schools. It was just two years ago that we redesigned all of their kids’ ministry areas.
Most recently, we have engaged with the Kent County Office of the Defenders in their exploration of new offices in downtown Grand Rapids. This is in response to a request from the State of Michigan to expand its services. We are engaged with local contractors and furniture suppliers as we build budgets and feasibility for their expansion.
We have added new customers in the senior-living/multi-family category. We are pleased to be working with Darley Village in Spring Lake and continued work with Eagle Point Properties who has engaged us with their project in Virginia.
We have a variety of office projects that we are managing that serve the business community in finance and accounting.
We met Grand River Bank through Dixon Architecture and have been working with them for several months. This project reconnected us to BDR Construction, who hopes to deliver the space at 50 Crahan in Ada, Michigan in August 2020.
Grand River Bank Lobby Rendering
We were referred to Pennell CPA through our work with Stenger and Stenger, and we are providing oversite, design, and architecture. Pinnacle Construction is providing construction management.
Colorboard for Pennell CPA
We were referred to Evolution Wealth by BluHouse Properties. We are providing design and architectural services for their new location on Cascade in Grand Rapids.
In addition to our commercial work, we continue to engage with our clients to support their residential needs. We welcome all requests and interest in our ability to support residential planning. Currently, we have residential projects that range from existing home remodels to future residential construction.
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Mary Jane Caster Memorial Luau has been postponed. We will let you know when it will be rescheduled after it is safe for groups to gather once again.
We still encourage you to share your memories of her on our Facebook page and consider making a donation to Gilda’s Club through our link on Facebook. We miss her so much, but we are keeping her memory with us in this current situation as we strive to make r.o.i. Design the best it can be.
We are celebrating the life of Mary Jane Caster this March and inviting you to celebrate with us.
We are hosting an Open House Luau in her honor.
r.o.i. Design Office 1451 Front Ave. NW Grand Rapids, MI 49504
T.B.D.
4 – 6 pm
If you have photos of Mary Jane or stories to tell we ask that you respond to ourr.o.i. Design Facebook Post remembering Mary Jane. We will share those stories at the open house.
Giving In Honor of Mary Jane
Mary Jane enjoyed the community at Gilda’s Club and we invite you to donate to that cause on her behalf at the link below. Please select ‘In Honor Of’ and enter Mary Jane’s name before making your donation.
Mary Jane was a founding member of r.o.i. Design. She joined the Designers Workshop team on August 30, 1993, and survived the transition from Designers Workshop to r.o.i. Design in 1994. Since then she had been a key player in all that r.o.i. Design has accomplished and in her 26 years, she probably touched over 800 projects. Her imprint on r.o.i. Design is permanent. Who we are, what we value, how we behave, and how we plan for the future has been influenced by MJ.
As a part of the r.o.i. Design team, Mary Jane had a particular role. She often was the one to bridge the psychological gaps between us, and she cared for each of us from where she sat. She was patient and, when needed, emphatic and direct. She reminded us to have fun, and always advocated for things that would bring out our best. She loved her vacations and many of her passwords were vacation related.
Mary Jane was admired and respected by customers, sales representatives, architects, and designers. She would sell, manage, design, and furnish projects. We would laugh at how long she had been with r.o.i. Design and she would say, “But no two years have been the same! I didn’t need to change my job to have a different job.”
She loved new materials and challenged us all the time to consider doing more, trying something new. There are situations in a project where we say, “What would Mary Jane do?”, or “Where is Mary Jane on this one?”
She is greatly missed and irreplaceable at r.o.i. Design and in our hearts. We invite you to participate in our celebration of all things MJ!
In January, Funky Buddha Yoga Hothouse opened its fourth location
in the exciting new Studio Park development in downtown Grand Rapids. Anna
Baeten, Executive Director, and Michele Bookie, Operations Manager, see this
new location as the opportunity to align the look of their facility with their
updated clean brand that’s on their website and marketing.
“It was time to become clear with our brand; we are intentional
and simple in our approach. We believe in Growth through Practice. We want our
spaces to reflect our values: Respect, Integrity, Intentionality, Caring, Honesty, and Humility,”
says Baeten.
With that
direction in mind, r.o.i. Design assisted in developing an interior that
minimized their previous scheme of tropical fruit colors to a neutral palette
of black, white, gray, cork, and wood. With touches of greenery and a focus on
cleanability, there was still room for some “funk”.
A variety of shapes of wood shade lamps hang in the lobby. The desk and retail area are built from reclaimed pallet wood from Grand Rapids Pallets. Their diamond logo is featured in the tectum acoustical panels applied to the yoga studio’s ceiling. Indirect lighting was added to the waiting area as well as the studio.
We thank our
collaborators Jon Blair from r2Design for architecture, First Companies for
construction, and Ken Kearney for specialty millwork build-out.
For more about Funky Buddha please visit their website.
Doctors Meghan Condit and Christine Vollmar have a heart for kids, and as mothers themselves, they understand the importance of personalized care. That focus and vision was a key ingredient in their decision to establish Grand River Pediatric Dentistry.
Newly opened in February, Meghan and Christine are
celebrating a more-than-two-year journey in planning, and they couldn’t be
happier with their new home in Jenison.
r.o.i. Design was introduced to Grand River Pediatric
Dentistry by Todd Schaal of Estes Group. We worked with them to create a
friendly and calming environment that includes touches of kid-like whimsy while
remaining a total reflection of their brand. Once again, we joined the design
team that included First Companies and Dixon Architecture.
Jenison is close to the Grand River, a symbol of local pride
in the Greater Grand Rapids Area, and drawing from the river imagery, the
interior of the new space is dappled with blues and sandy neutrals. Borrowing
from West Michigan cottages, r.o.i. Design included shiplap and beams in the
space. Additionally, we selected and provided lobby furniture that boasted
patterns and shapes that support the sailboat theme of their logo. Like other
pediatric spaces, we relied on large ottomans as benches to provide a mobile
and kid-friendly seating option.
For more about Grand River Pediatric Dentistry and Drs. Condit and Vollmar, please visit their website.
It’s a complex time in our world, with plenty of varying opinions and values. Color and design trends are not exempt from competing opinions, as is evident in the Color of Year choices by influential paint and design companies.
Our “go-to” companies for color trends employ professionals and marketers who compile research and make predictions base on large bodies of information, but it appears the weight of these influences varies.
At first blush, r.o.i. Design recognizes two main approaches. According to a Better Homes and Gardens article, Pantone and Sherwin-Williams are fans of navy blue. Their choices are “Classic Blue” and “Naval”, respectively. Alternatively, Behr and Benjamin Moore’s choices will resonate with those who are more comfortable with pastels and natural hues. The outlier, Etsy, declares chartreuse the color to keep an eye on this year.
Pantone, often revered as a favorite for Color of the Year picks, has made a bold statement to go with Classic Blue, a choice which triggered a variety of questions and comments from critics. However, this color is not unfamiliar to r.o.i. Design. In our work with several West Michigan customers and properties, dark blue is often a favorite. It may be our proximity to Lake Michigan that draws our design team and clients to the color! Additionally, we are seeing these dark blues appear in cabinetry and millwork, no longer solely on walls.
Behr Paints is going with Back to Nature for their 2020 Color of the Year, along with a 2020 Color Trends palette, that is predominately pastel with a dark Red Pepper, Secret Meadow, and Graphic Charcoal. There is more color in the range than previous years, and the subtle movement to include Greige (Taupe) and Sun (Flesh Tones) is notable.
Benjamin Moore is banking on a fresh, light, and rosy palette of 10 colors led by their paint First Light 2102-70. They haven’t excluded a dark blue and charcoal, but don’t lead with it.
Sherwin-Williams is on track with Pantone predicting a love of navy blue with their Color of the Year, Naval SW 6244.
r.o.i. Design offers color palettes that are warmer and lighter than the 2018-2019 cooler grays and whites. We love color and continue to use color as accents and brand reference whether in wall paint, wall accents, lighting, or upholstery.
Benjamin Moore’s 2020 Color TrendsBEHR’s 2020 Color Trends
