10 SMALL BUSINESSES

10 DESIGNERS

10 MAKEOVERS

10 DAYS

MAIN ST MAKEOVER

Such Video 111 E. Grand River Ave.

The building we're in was built in 1927.

This was an outside wall, and when we broke away the plaster we found this original billboard that was hand painted. It's cool.

This is our reception area where people come in and are greeted and wait for whoever they're going to see here.

Now we're entering the Avid DS suite.

Client comfort is important in the video business.

Watching video editing is sometimes like watching toast get browned.

It can be time consuming, but you have to be here.

So we try to make people as comfortable as we can.

That's one of the main themes of Such.

And down this way is a little comfort station.

This is where a client can come in in the morning and read a newspaper.

Or get out of one of the suites to take a break here.

That's client care and comfort. For us it's a reoccurring theme and this is just an element of that.

Office in one area. And then there's partner Karen's office.

There's Karen looking at the IKEA catalog.

A creative challenge for IKEA is that no one room is the problem room.

We're looking for the final touch so our clients feel relaxed, comfortable and creative here.

So it's the one thing in every room that we need rather than the one room that needs to be made over.

PLANNING THE MAKEOVER November 2007

- Welcome back.

- Thank you.

When it comes to Such Video, what they needed from us was not a complete makeover, but finishing off some functional problems.

It's a quite finished environment already. You can clearly see they've had interior design help. It just needed finishing touches.

My name is Kim. I'm here for the Such Video makeover.

So we're excited.

We hope that you'll be even more excited.

Our ambition for Such Video was to make the client area more welcoming.

And their everyday business more efficient and easier.

What it all boils down to is that we want to add to your office which is already quite fixed and has a strong character.

We want to add some complementing function and make your lobby really welcoming and nice.

It's a beautiful lobby with a mural and a really nice counter.

It feels a little bit empty there, so we could do something with that.

What are your needs here?

What's missing is when clients come in, they sit on this hard bench.

It's not a comfortable waiting area. The other thing that would be great since this is such a big space and kind of cold is additional furniture that could absorb the noise. It gets loud here.

We'll make your coffee station less cluttered and more practical.

And hide the clutter of snacks.

What are your needs in this area?

We like to have candy, coffee and tea accessible for our clients but it's so exposed and open that it's unsightly.

We need extra storage and something up above, too.

We'll take care of your project management with a box system you can move from room to room.

In each edit suite we have piles of tapes, scripts and work orders that represent everything in a project. What's difficult is ...

Some of our clients are competing with one another in the PR world so we think it's more discreet to be able to protect their projects.

So, some private storage to put those items away.

Mats has spoken of Expedit. The length of this table here probably lends itself to two double units.

You'd still keep a ledge, but you would add 16 cubbies.

And there's a nice plastic box. It's very modular.

It can be taken to another office, yet still remain private.

- Does it sound like a good solution?

- Absolutely. I defer to you.

- I love this idea.

- I do too.

- It's kind of like ... Hey!

- It's kind of like ... Duh!

Something practical, something beautiful.

- And something more practical.

- This is functional and beautiful.

- It's both.

- It works.

I have to rush to the next business, but Kim is going to be here and take care of your needs even more specifically.

Choose rugs with you and so on.

- I'll see you again in January.

- Thank you.

Bye. Take care of them.

It's very inspiring for me to be able to apply my knowledge practically and what I do for a living.

And give it to someone who's going to use it immediately.

I rarely get a chance to do that.

I'm excited about the reception area.

It is such a big space.

To have more client comfort out there is really awesome.

THE MAKEOVER January 2008

The Warehouse

- Everything here?

- Just a couple of things missing.

Once I brought everything from storage, I started tearing into things.

There were several areas to work on. The main lobby for clients a break area, which is used by both, an editing suite and several other areas.

- We have lamps, kitchen things.

- Yeah.

It's like Christmas.

Christmas time for Karen. She could hardly stay away from the boxes.

- They're really comfortable.

- They are.

The first area we took into consideration was the front lobby.

It was an empty shell. Hardwood floors, a large window.

The idea was to bring in soft seating, coffee table and textiles to soften it and make it more welcoming to the client.

It's all texture and color. And quality.

It's a beautiful couch for sure. Once the sun warms up the leather it'll be a really good nap place. I'm so productive.

She was so excited. And David ...

He sat on it with his dog on his lap.

Lots of times we're seeing somebody out the door or somebody picks something up, and we have an impromptu meeting.

It's a great space for it.

I think even the mailman will come in and sit down.

It'll be nice. I like it.

There's not a color in that rug that's not in this room. It's beautiful.

I'm really happy. When we talked about what people needed I said, "I want something different with the coffee station."

The coffee area had a lot of open storage and clutter and we brought in furniture that would allow them hidden storage and high open storage.

It's stainless steel so it's easy to take care of, to keep clean and closed.

The cabinet for the coffee station has adjustable feet and the floor wasn't level and we were able to level the top.

Nothing is level in this building. That's the only thing that's level.

They can keep their functions in order. Silverware in the shallow drawer.

And coffee and tea. And if they go deeper it's more of a storage spot. Things you don't get into that often.

- Everything went really smoothly.

- I love organization.

Kim is really good. I think she did very well.

It makes me very happy to be able to show that IKEA can insert itself in any design environment.

There was one issue in the coffee area that I had to think about.

In order to pour water in the coffee machine, they needed height above it.

That bumped the open storage above the coffee machine higher.

It feels high. I can reach it. Karen? Can you?

I can. It's like the only thing in the office that I can reach.

The best function and best solution is always within an arm's reach.

Everything has a place and everything in its place. It makes it very nice.

Form and function.

After

Get it? Nice.

We have a project management solution that looks fabulous and takes care of all their projects.

I might have four tapes that are going to be edited in two weeks.

Then I've got the project folder and time sheets.

Then the client brings in a disc with logos. I want to keep them together.

Karen needed closed storage, so we brought in a bookcase and boxes.

I love the storage option particularly because it's going to be in my office.

- Ta-da.

- It works. Thanks.

The next area was a larger editing suite.

For that we used the same bookcase that we used in Karen's office and flipped it on its side and put casters on it and added boxes.

Another issue of closed storage for clients when they come ...

This gives them a sense of privacy from the other clients.

They grab their drawer and get out what they need or take it to the editing table that they're working at.

I put five casters on the bottom of each so it's easy for housekeeping to pull out.

It looks good. It's practical and it looks good.

Before

After

David's office got a large rug.

To help with acoustics. And topped it off with texture with a foot stool.

- Yeah.

- Beautiful.

It's such a big space. It brings it down almost like a cone.

It's a graphic statement. Let me try this.

I'm pumped. It looks good. It doesn't look like we hodgepodged together.

Even a client popped by, looked at it and said, "Wow".

It's going to be a perfect addition.

- Okay.

- Feels good.

Bye.

Mats came by and gave me his stamp of approval and then left.

And then he returned.

When I thought the whole thing was finished and it was beautiful the rug bugged me all the time. There was something unbalanced.

I wasn't going to bother her with that, I was going to leave.

Then, "No, we have to fix this in a way I think would look better."

- Where do you want the other one?

- We've got one poof.

- It feels better. Now I like it.

- Okay.

- The mural and the rug are beautiful.

- Very beautiful.

- It worked out so perfectly.

- Okay. Got to go.

Bye.

It came out so nicely. It probably came out beyond my expectations.

They responded wonderfully. They were so excited to begin with.

When they saw the furniture and ideas implemented in their space it made it so much more real for them.

And excited them to the point that ...

IKEA BUSINESS A better life at work