Procurement and Purchasing

Your Home away from Home: Managing the Upgrades to your Vacation Home

by Rayanne Rzepka | Jul 24, 2024 | Home Design, Interior Design, Procurement and Purchasing

You waited a long time to go back to relaxation at the beach, back to time away from the business of the city, back to the simplicity of the cottage. But when you get there, do you realize you forgot to follow through on the furnishing upgrades assignment you gave yourself last year?

The dining room table is beat up and one of the dining room chairs lost a foot.
The decade-old hide-a-bed is not very comfortable, and one cushion is stained outside of recognition.
The rest of the living room reflects all the wonderful use had over the years and needs help.
The master bedroom dresser is way too small and the bottom drawer sticks.
All the bed toppings and skirts look a mess.
The deck furniture was cheap to begin with and there are only two useable chairs left.
On and on and on…

It is not long before the pull of vacation living takes your focus away from the furnishings list, which has now grown even longer this vacation.

r.o.i. Design has been working with property owners for more than 25 years, supplying owners with interior design, furnishings, bedding, artwork, and wall décor. Our website does not feature vacation home “re-do’s” because we honor homeowner privacy, but we have posted some photos below to give you an idea of what we can do.

While we are not contractors or “handy people,” we might be able to steer you in the right direction for those needs as well.

Give us a call, let us know how we can help. (616) 459-3539.

Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge images.

For more of our multifamily projects click here.

Beacon Hill Opens the Vista Lounge and Game Room

by Rayanne Rzepka | Jul 24, 2024 | Design News, Designing Public Areas, Hospitality Design, Interior Design, Procurement and Purchasing

Beacon Hill at Eastgate continues to add programs and opportunities for residents for on-campus activities. The most recent is the reopening of the Vista Lounge. This room was previously barely used, and only populated with chairs, tables, wallcoverings, and art.

We are happy to report that on opening day, the lounge was filled with people. Why? Because now:

It is a fully furnished game room, with electronic arcade games (Pac-Man and James Bond), fully appointed poker table, game tables (with embedded checkers and chess boards), nine-foot professional shuffleboard table, and a real dart board.

The room has a built-in hospitality area so drinks and food can be catered for events.

The space can be rented for groups and celebrations.

The interior was completely changed and upgraded for a “four-star” experience.

r.o.i. Design started to conceive the space with Beacon Hill leadership in the fall of 2023. As part of the process, r.o.i looked at competitive properties and their game rooms. We found that most of them had dining rooms with the opportunity to play games. Beacon Hill didn’t want an apologetic space, but a space worthy of the quality and lifestyle of the people who lived there.

The design included new finishes for all the space:

Walnut wood parquet wall

Brushed gold lighting

Luxuriously upholstered lounge seating

Lighting the existing beams with indirect LED lighting

Painted moldings and architectural panels in a luscious deep brown

Modular carpet that is unlike the printed carpets throughout the common areas at Beacon Hill

For more information about the fine living at Beacon Hill, chick here.

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For more of our multifamily & senior living projects click here.

Accessorizing for Comfort and Fun

by Rayanne Rzepka | Jun 25, 2024 | Design News, Home Design, Hospitality Design, Interior Design, Lighting Design, Procurement and Purchasing

One of r.o.i. Design’s good clients asked for our help supplying furnishings and accessories for their company’s family condo. Located in the Downtown entertainment district of Grand Rapids, we saw this as an opportunity to meet their deadline and stay within their budget.

We don’t often work on residential projects, but we have extensive experience designing hospitality environments for developers and owners.

This project involved replacing most of the furniture and lighting. In addition, the art and accessories, including rugs, lamps, wall décor, and tabletop items were also replaced.

We called on our favorite suppliers to find cost-effective items that could be sourced quickly. Our agreement included r.o.i. Design to hold items in our warehouse, and then delivery and installation in one or two visits. The goal was to make it as painless as possible for clients but look fantastic!

The transformation took the condo from a formal-looking space to a comfortable family space. This allowed our client to conveniently share sports events, concerts, art openings, and great restaurants with business and personal friends from near and far.

Some of our favorite items included the new dining room table and chairs, chandelier, “boho” art, and new hallway lighting.

Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge images.

Beacon Hill Creates New Breakroom Space for Employees

by Rayanne Rzepka | May 29, 2024 | Interior Design, Procurement and Purchasing, Workplace Design

Working with seniors, whether independent or needing special care, requires a caring staff. That staff also needs care and nurturing, and sometimes just a quiet place to take a break.

Beacon Hill at Eastgate focuses on creating a culture that supports its hard-working team. To that end, they are investing in creating new breakrooms that offer comfort and restful aesthetics.

The first breakroom was converted from an older, unused breakroom being used as a storage space. Since it had an existing kitchenette, the rough plumbing was already in place. The room needed new finishes, new lighting, and a new layout.

Beacon Hill started as Michigan Christian Home in the 1950s. The facility has grown over time and changed ownership. Beacon Hill was established in 2010 to become five buildings; memory care, and nursing care with more than eight dining rooms and restaurants, a chapel, exercise, theater, and game rooms. The buildings have been modernized as needs have grown. The most recent apartment building, “The Vistas” set the stage for a contemporary hospitality look and feel that leadership wants for all spaces going forward.

This breakroom features restaurant-style tables, booth seating, and lounge soft seating, procured by r.o.i. Design. Light levels vary from very bright to soft lighting to accommodate a variety of uses. New flooring such as luxury vinyl planks in the eating area and carpet in the lounge area were installed. The room got all new paint, graphic wallpaper, cabinets, and appliances, creating a non-traditional breakroom.

r.o.i. Design looks forward to sharing more with its readers on upgrades to Beacon Hill at Eastgate. For more about Beacon Hill, please visit: beaconhillgr.org.

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How to Make Your Property Rise Above the Competition

by Rayanne Rzepka | May 3, 2024 | Procurement and Purchasing

Utilizing contract purchasing to provide FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment, or another version is FF&A, Furniture, Fixtures and Accessories) is not only convenient but creates value.

While not a permanent part of the building structure, they do add value both financially and aesthetically. The FF&A selection and procurement process is typically not included in most architectural services but is handled outside of architecture in the interior design process. This final stage of selection and procurement of the items that complete the space is one of the services offered by r.o.ii Design.

Especially for multi-family housing, a strategic design plan that includes furnishings and accessories will provide years of return on investment.

While multi-family housing (apartments, student housing, vacation rentals, and senior living properties) are residential communities, they require the function and durability required of a commercial environment with the aesthetics of residential design.

When making design decisions, there are several things to consider.

- - - The budget for a furnishings package varies based on the level of finishes, the quantity of accessories, the quality of the artwork, and the related costs in design, coordination, storage, and setup.
    - The demographics of the target residents impact the choices made in location, laying out the physical space, lighting, and amenities, can all influence the overall design.
    - Strategic use of color and texture combine to create an inviting and comfortable space to gather. Elevated amenities and spaces that promote social gatherings and interactions are desirable in today’s market.
    - Marketability attracts prospective residents.
    - Good interior design can help your property:
      - Stand out in competitive market
      - Attract tenants
      - Maintain high occupancy
      - Increased functionality and durability; reduced wear and maintenance cost
      - Positively impact the bottom line

In the multi-family real estate market, the value of aesthetics sets one property apart from another. Balancing the aesthetic needs of a diverse tenant demographic requires a specialized knowledgeable team.

Contact us to set up a consultation to see how we can help you maximize your budget and stand out in a competitive market. Rondageyer@roidesign.com or call (616) 272-5302.

Animal Emergency Hospital, Part Two

by Rayanne Rzepka | Mar 27, 2024 | Interior Design, Medical Design, Procurement and Purchasing

We were honored to be the interior designers for the first new Animal Emergency Hospital in Byron Center in 2022. They had an older location on Plainfield in Grand Rapids, but the space looked tired and couldn’t compare with the new facility. The plan was to build a new hospital next door to the Plainfield location, and that dream came true when they moved into the new facility in February, 2024. r.o.i. Design worked with First Companies and Dr. Marilyn Brink, as we did the first time for the Byron Center location.

The plan for the Plainfield location was a flipped-flopped and mirrored version of the Byron Center location’s plan, due to site conditions, but it includes all these aspects that we so enjoy:

Large-scale black-and-white photos of dogs, cats, iguanas, birds, guinea pigs, and so much more.
Soaring tall ceiling in the lobby softened by “clouds” of acoustical materials and strip lighting.
Shiplap wood walls.
Metal-faced reception desk.
Half-walls in the waiting room with silhouettes of animals.

We hope that none of our animal friends will make an emergency stop at either location, so we are sharing some photos that give you a sense of the interior. And if you do have to stop, you will be in great hands in a great space

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images.