We are very happy with our new space.  Everybody loves their furniture.
Sue Hendrickson
Office Manager
Hand and Plastic Surgery Centre

Hand and Plastic Surgery Centre was moving from their old location into a new construction space.  Their goal was to create a more upscale image, as well as, address different storage and functional needs based on the services they provide.  A customer referral from a company in their building led them to contact Kentwood Office Furniture to start the process.

Kentwood met with the client to better understand their needs and created a plan for the new space.  Kentwood combined a variety of products to create a customized plan that fit the client’s style and budget needs.

Kentwood outfitted the office spaces with Trendway Trig desking.  Trig brings a welcome touch of residential appeal to the workplace – and a businesslike approach to supporting practical needs.  The crisp, clean lines and lighter scale reflect the contemporary styling that Hand and Plastic was seeking.

As the area’s leading remanufacturer, Kentwood Office Furniture included the budget-conscious option of reupholstering 25 of the client’s existing chairs in the plan.  Not only do the reupholstered Steelcase chairs look right at home in the new space, they freed up some capital to be spent on the remainder of the product.

For the remaining seating, Kentwood was able to pull from various manufacturers.  The blend of options met the needs of many different body types and sizes while providing a consistent look throughout the space.

Product Details
Hand and Plastic Surgery Centre
Grand Rapids, MI

Industry: Healthcare
Application: Administrative Office, Private Office, Lobby, Exam Room, Waiting Area
Products: Trendway Trig Desking, Cumberland Mulholland Seating, Harter Forum Seating, Harter Forum Tables, National Aurora Seating, HON Ignition Seating, HON Nucleus Seating, HON Ceres Seating, Premiera Seating, Reupholstered Steelcase Snodgrass Seating

Basic office needs often start with desks and chairs, but there are other ways to improve your office space right away without having to go through a total renovation. Desks, chairs, and workstations require much more thought and investment and deserve their own blog post for a later time.

Instead, I’ll focus on some lesser thought of but equally important spaces when it comes to increasing productivity, improving overall image, and enhancing retention and recruitment of employees.

Here are 5 ways to have an immediate impact on your office space, organized by office area:

1. Storage. Necessary, but not necessarily evil. Improve your productivity with the right storage solution. Some options include:

Selections for both filers (space for filing) or pilers (for those who pile their things), and personal storage needs.

On a micro level, a colorful drawer organizer.

Or some cube storage for active work projects. Enticing colors include Citron, Pool, Autumn, Flame, and Sisal.

How about a mobile credenza with an upholstered seat? This storage acts double duty, allowing for impromptu seating while storing your work. Mobile, too, for those who like to keep moving.

From our Voi line.

2. Reception area. As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a good first impression. Let the first thing your prospects, customers, and employees see be fully represented by the reception area. Treat this as a great opportunity for branding, by having fun with the customization of fabrics on any reception seating. Some ideas:

Convera lounge sofa:

Cambia guest chairs:

3. Conference & collaboration rooms. Treat your current employees with new conference and collaboration areas. From suite and tie formal to the most causal of gatherings, these spaces should be dedicated to helping the meeting of the minds. Some ideas:

Add some bling to your conference room by choosing a chair with polished aluminum arms and bases. By stepping up the game in the conference room, those meeting in it will too. Can you already see the men tightening their ties? Case in point, Preside conference table in a more contemporary style with Nucleus seating.

Ceres chairs – we’re using them in our conference rooms!

4. Soft spaces – lounges, breakrooms, café areas. Give your employees a nice change of scenery by furnishing their soft spaces.

Some options:

Nucleus with Preside hospitality tables (can you tell yet I’m in love with Nucleus?).

Motivate seating, with Preside tables.

5. Branding. This answer has been embedded in the first four, but is so important it deserves a little more time. What are your brand colors?

Are they yellow, black, and white? Featuring Motivate task chairs:

How orange is your brand? Featuring Motivate:

No matter what colors you have, HON provides many customization opportunities to help suit your company’s office furniture needs. Demonstrate company spirit by showcasing your brand’s colors throughout the office!

So there you have it, 5 ways you can improve your office right now without a complete office renovate. Which way will you choose? What quick and simple ways can you think of to improve your office space?

The Rapid had a specific aesthetic vision for the new facility.  Kentwood Office Furniture suggested custom options from Kimball that fit the vision and color scheme perfectly.

The Rapid has been growing steadily since its start in 2000. They required an updated and expanded space which could support current and future growth. That is just what they got with the new Wealthy Street Operations Center. The center is a LEED certified building which uses natural light to illuminate much of the building. Bus washes have water reclaim systems and the building will collect rainwater to further reduce water consumption. Solar collectors will help heat the water the facility uses, compact rooftop wind turbines will provide much of the energy needed to operate the center, and the building materials are primarily durable/recycled.

When it came to the interior of the facility, the Rapid desired a color scheme to match the blue-and-white buses that ferry passengers in Grand Rapids and the five surrounding communities. Kentwood Office Furniture suggested furnishings from Kimball including custom laminates to fit The Rapid’s aesthetic vision for the space. The Rapid felt that this custom offering provided the best solution for the private offices and open office space.

Project Details
The Rapid
Grand Rapids, MI

Industry: Public Transportation
Application: Open Office, Private Office, Cafeteria, Sleeping Room
Products: Kimball Modular Desking, Kimball Workstations, La-Z-Boy Recliners

Project Details
Spectrum Health
Grand Rapids, MI

Industry: Healthcare
Application: Architectural Walls, Private Office, Lobby, Scheduling Stations
Products: Trendway TrendWall, Remanufactured Herman Miller Action Office Stations

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Indicon was looking to provide their employees with a creative, innovative space.  They needed a solution quickly, that met their budget.  KOF created a great space for their team, and the move went quickly and smoothly.

COST SAVINGS
Kentwood Office Furniture uses pre-owned furniture to create another environmentally-friendly office showplace at a fraction of the cost.  Their ability to provide products with fresh aesthetics quickly, and cost effectively, has made them an unparalleled resource throughout the Midwest region.  These products are up–to-date, support current technology, and are designed to meet each customer’s specific need.  Not only do their customers benefit financially from these value oriented solutions, the environment does as well.  Many of their solutions utilize 100 percent used or remanufactured furniture products.  This service focuses on keeping products and components out of the landfills and into the hands of those that need it.

GO AHEAD, REUSE IT
Kentwood Office Furniture has been a frontrunner in the call to action to reduce, reuse, and recycle office furniture for over 30 years.  Although many new office furniture products are made from a percentage of recycled content, remanufactured office furniture is reused – the highest form of “green”!  Remanufacturing conserves energy and natural resources over new manufacturing by up to 95% and avoids the solid waste stream and air pollution caused by the new production process.

DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
Customers look to KOF not only for environmentally friendly used product solutions, but for their ability to design a space with these used products that meets their unique needs and work processes.   “There is used product available on the market – some of it good and some of it not so good,” says Laura Hopson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kentwood Office Furniture.  “The value that KOF brings to their customer base is the ability to take these used products and reconfigure or remanufacture them to fit the exact needs of their space.  We offer our customers design flexibility.”

USED FURNITURE INSTALLATION
One recent example that demonstrates this valuable service is an installation for Indicon, a company based in the Detroit, Michigan area.  Indicon was challenged with trying to create an aesthetically pleasing innovative space as they moved their headquarters to a new facility.  To make the most of every dollar spent, they began this process by searching for used office systems. Kentwood Office Furniture was able to meet their needs by creating a space with used Herman Miller products – including floor-to-ceiling wall product.  Indicon’s willingness to explore used products brought about an affordable, sustainable workplace that meets their unique needs and work processes.

Project Details
Indicon
Sterling Heights, MI

Industry: Integrator of  Programmable Logic Controls
Application: Open Office, Private Office, Conference Room, Reception, Lobby
Products: Used Herman Miller Ethospace, Used Herman Miller Floor to Ceiling Modular Walls, Used Keilhauer Seating, Used Herman Miller Metal Filing, Used Herman Miller Avive Tables

Project Details
Ross Medical Education Center
Grand Rapids, MI

Industry: Healthcare Education
Application: Lobby, Private Office, Classroom, I.T.
Products: HON, ABCO, Sandusky, Remanufactured

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Project Details
Medbio
Grand Rapids, MI

Industry: Medical Contract Manufacturing
Application: Private Office, Open Office, Breakroom, Conference Room
Products: Remanufactured Herman Miller Ethospace Workstations, Remanufactured Herman Miller Action Office Workstations with Clear Story, Premiera Desking, Safco Sassy Chairs and Stools, Lateral Files, Conference Table