Concept document for some of the furnishings for Arbors at Ironwood
Not all of our projects are located in West Michigan! We recently wrapped up a project in Mishawaka, Indiana, providing clubhouse and office furnishings for a multi-family apartment community. The complex, The Arbors at Ironwood, is one of several communities managed by Eagle Point Properties. Eagle Point, based in Maine, and r.o.i. Design have worked together on several projects previously, some as far away as Virginia! They contracted with Wolverine Building Group to handle the renovations and r.o.i. Design to provide the furniture and wall décor that would make the Clubhouse and Leasing offices an inviting place for the residents to gather.
As residents enter the Clubhouse, they are greeted with a sitting area outside the leasing offices where they can wait comfortably. The main room boasts a sofa and comfy lounge chairs in front of a cozy fireplace, as well as dining tables and chairs to seat 16. The full kitchen has a counter with additional seating. The Ironwood community houses three computer lab stations for residents’ use! The leasing and management offices also received a facelift with new desks, filing, and seating.
The final touch was the addition of new wall decor. The images that were selected were chosen to further highlight the features of the area. This is something we have done at their other locations, and it has been enthusiastically received! It’s a small touch that helps personalize the space and reflects the community it serves.
Some of the furniture and decor installed at Arbors at Ironwood
For r.o.i. Design, the View Point project allowed us to use all our skills and resources. In addition to planning and interior design, we took on the challenge of adding the finishing touches to a warehouse-loft-look by designing, procuring and installing décor. We used numerous reclaimed items, along with new items to complete the look.
We shopped Pitsch Wrecking and came away with some old
windows, bikes, and a few feet of chain-link fencing. We stripped the bikes and
painted them in their entirety, and then hung them from the ceiling. We disassembled
some of the bikes and just mounted their painted wheels on the wall. We cleaned
up the windows, made them shatterproof, and arranged them in the lounge area.
We wanted to use some old warehouse doors but couldn’t find any.
So, we built them in our shop and faux painted them to create the look we wanted,
then installed them in key areas.
We found an artist who had some great “old sign” graphics
and asked them to change the verbiage and design to accommodate some Grand
Valley State University words and icons.
And with the addition of a few IKEA mirrors and some faux
painting by Michael Pfleghaar, the warehouse-loft-look took shape.
When it comes to all that r.o.i. Design does to make a project a success, the “stuff” is often overlooked. But, in order for a job to be done, many things need to be delivered and installed, such as furniture, window coverings, and decor.
Here is a visual of what r.o.i. Design has procured, delivered, and installed within the last six months:
Recently we were asked to describe what our typical commercial
interior designs end up costing our customer for finishes and lighting. We
reached out to a general contractor customer asking them if our work with them
over the years resulted in any useable budget averages that we could share with
this inquiring new customer. Their response was very helpful:
“In our work with r.o.i. Design, no two projects look the same and seldom use the same finishes or details so it would be hard to quote ‘an average’ square foot cost. We have seen r.o.i. Design respond to very budget-driven projects, but they can also deliver competitive grade interior design.”
They went further to describe budgeting of an interior in a very understandable way, “When a customer asks about average square foot interior costs, we ask them what they think a typical bag of groceries cost. The response is the realization that a bag of groceries can range widely in cost depending on what is in the bag.”
And while that vague response doesn’t satisfy the question of what an interior may cost, it does help put a disclaimer to any budget number given before a qualified scope of the interior is created.
The ideal process to budgeting an interior:
Confirm the square footage being built or remodeled. Confirm the type of space and it’s intended use.
Confirm the “scope of the interior finishes”. What will be carpet, what will be resilient flooring, what will be tile flooring, what will be painted, what will be wallcovering, etc?
Determine the quality level of finish expected, ask what other spaces that are already built describe the desired outcome.
Using square footage numbers and consulting with the General Contractor, multiply typical costs (by the level of finish) by area.
This process results in scope and a budget that can be used
for the basis of design. In many cases, the first calculations require
revisions for a variety of reasons.
r.o.i. Design’s by-line is “Budget, Brand, and Beauty”. We aim to deliver them all, and in that order.
The benefit of starting with the budget and scope is that interior design decisions are less likely to need changes, creating less disappointment and fewer fees.
r.o.i. Design respects the team
approach in the design-build process where the architect, general contractor
and interior designer work together to agree on the scope of the work and
related budgets.
New leadership, new energy and new direction at Mars Hill created a desire to update their facility’s 38,000 square feet children’s ministry. More than 500 children from infants through 10-year-olds attend the ministry each Sunday. Their nursery, preschool and elementary school spaces were in need of refreshing. This meant new flooring, new paint, updated lighting and new cabinetry, as well as any needed repairs.
The redesign was intended to simplify, warm and organize the spaces to help member families entrust their children to Mars Hill. r.o.i. Design saw the journey, discovery and comfort of the spaces as key to the success of the redesign. Mars Hill will also be adding their own graphic and signage design as well as decorative elements to complete the look and feel.
Mars Hill had a budget, based on generous donations and operational planning, but it wasn’t clear if they could make the needed changes within their budget or schedule. r.o.i Design worked with the leadership to solicit contractors who were members or affiliates of Mars Hill, as well as call in other sympathetic trades to make the remodel possible to meet the goals.
We acknowledge the efforts and donations of:
Facilities and Administrative staff of Mars Hill
Jacobsen Painting
Kenowa Plumbing
Meekhof Electric
Floor Covering Engineers and Shaw Carpets
Pinnacle Construction
Over 10 years ago, r.o.i. Design worked with Mars Hill to create interiors in their new space, a vacant shopping mall in Grandville, Michigan. We are grateful for the opportunity to help them again, not only with interior design, but project management of the remodel as well.
For more information about Mars Hill, visit their website, MarsHill.org
