We truly believe we are better together. In this segment, written by Mary Cook and Associates, articulates our thinking as to why we hire an outside design team to help inspire, implement and follow through.
Have you ever walked into a restaurant or store and walked right out again? Nothing engaged you—or as commercial interior designers say—converted you to a customer. The same holds true in multifamily buildings, where potential residents walk into lobbies or model home apartments and walk right out again, totally unengaged. That’s because they couldn’t see themselves living there, it just didn’t feel right.
In fact, people form first impressions about people, purchases and more in seconds, according to countless studies. And when that happens in a multifamily building, it means the designers got it wrong and didn’t understand whom they were designing for.
We know this for a fact, as a healthy percentage of our work comes from fixing other people’s mistakes—often builders and developers who did it themselves, or used residential interior designers instead of commercial interior designers skilled at designing settings that spur conversion, or in the case of a multifamily building, designing community spaces, amenities and model home apartments that drive high occupancy rates. Here are three reasons why this distinction is critical to the success of your design:
This Sales/Leasing Center located at Riverworks in Phoenixville, PA made a great first impression with tenants and industry leaders winning Silver Award Honors at NAHB’s National Sales and Marketing Awards.
1. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
It might be an old saying but it still rings true: getting the design right the first time is crucial. It’s much harder to go back and resolve the issue. Successful commercial interior design is not just about creating beautiful spaces; it’s creating an experience that allows people to linger longer, come more often, and bring more friends. The elevated human interaction is crucial for creating powerful lasting impressions, now more than ever especially when you factor in platforms like Yelp and Instagram. There’s another old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, but it can also mean revenue.
Prospects touring Hidden Village in Aberdeen, NJ loved Mary Cook’s furnished model apartment so much they wanted to replicate the look
2. Commercial interior design impacts everything.
At its very essence, good commercial interior design connects with an individual and has a powerful effect whether it’s where you live, work or play (and sometimes all three!). By knowing and researching a client or demographic, the designer is able to connect on a higher level which increases productivity, promotes health, instills a sense of community that enhances one’s overall quality of life. In fact, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) just released research for its new Washington, D.C. headquarters showing that workplace design positively influences health, wellness, employee satisfaction, and work performance.
This open plan at Hyde Park Tower in Chicago, IL does double duty as an effective sales tool for leasing agents to review the building’s amenities with potential clients, as well as giving residents an appealing extension of their living spaces.
3. Return on Environment (R.O.E.)
As you would hire a general contractor for their reliable and dependable reputation, you hire a commercial interior designer for their expertise, countless resources, and the net benefits gained from creating these types of designed environments. These elements combine to create a high Return On Environment (R.O.E) enabling tenants to do, feel, and be their best which results in higher occupancies, better use of space, greater value and demand, quicker sales and less turnover. Let’s face it, at the end of the day it’s great to look and feel good, but it’s even better when those add to your bottom line.
