A ground-breaking one-stop shop bringing together the best in Central Oregon home style design choices – incorporating everything from a ‘Zen’ kitchen to a sleek modern garage – is now open for business in the regional geographical hub of Redmond.
The focal point of a new two-story 35,000 square foot building on South Highway 97 is The Design Center, which occupies over half of the ground floor space and boasts an “Artisan Pavilion” showcasing the talents of some of Central Oregon’s finest professionals in the remodeling and new home construction arena.
Over 23 completed real-size interior home spaces – including seven kitchens, two bathrooms, a home theater, dining room, family room, living room, walk-in closets, home office, laundry room and garage – feature the latest design and building trends and materials and provides an optimal setting for more than 30 home improvement businesses to display their wares.
Cutting-edge work in concrete, countertops, custom furniture, painting, lighting, cabinetry, flooring, doors, windows, appliances, electronics, garages, interior design and outdoor living among a host of other categories comes to life in the authentic environment, to help stimulate visitors’ creative juices.
The innovative concept is the product of an “ah-ha” moment of Central Oregon developer Ron Lusk, who spent the last year and a half touring West Coast home design centers with interiors specialist Traci Porterfield before discovering a similar-themed outlet in Scottsdale, Arizona, which formed the inspiration for the new venture.
Lusk said: “No one in central Oregon has dedicated so much space to so many businesses to collaborate in one space.
“Instead of hop-scotching all over the region to find out how to design a kitchen or master bedroom in a home, people now have a centralized space to shop for whatever they need.
“The businesses that are here in The Design Center are all top artisans who are doing the best work and offer the best products available in the marketplace.
“We wanted to create a center that allows trades people and artisans to gather together and put their wares in one spot, so when a customer or prospect comes in, they can look at anything with regard to their home.
“This is an opportunity to think boldly and creatively and we’re very excited about the companies currently on board.”
The central location in Redmond, strategically sited close to the regional airport terminal also convenient for arriving vacation homeowners, allows prospective clients to experience in a very tactile way the products, ideas and designs represented by the center’s tenant partners.
The Design Center is a unique collaborative alliance of the region’s best design and building resources. Rather than leasing space, the tenant partners join together and pay a monthly fee to have their merchandise and services featured in the various interior homes spaces coordinated by Porterfield, offering optimal exposure at a low-cost overhead – especially advantageous in the light of current economic conditions.
There is also a communal conference room available for more detailed discussions, as well as hi-tech workstations where portfolios can be spread.
“Touring The Design Center is an intimate and inspiring experience during which clients can see and touch the beautiful surfaces and furnishings, and gather ideas,” said Porterfield, co-owner of Circa Interiors. “Then, they can easily use their favorites list to order directly from the participating businesses.”
Tenant partners currently involved in The Design Center include Summers Flooring & Design, Cement Elegance, Stonecutters, Fireside, Inc., Area Rug Connection, Haven Home Style, Nelson Tile & Stone, Inc., Robert Seliger Furniture, QB Lighting & Design, Tri-Star Cabinetry, Sonoran Door Co., Standard TV & Appliance, Premiere Home Systems, Home Storage Solutions, Blankenship Garage Doors, Webfoot Painting and Aspen Landscape Development.
“This is like a spectacular show house,” says The Design Center Director Anita Bardizian.
“It provides an opportunity for one-stop shopping – a place where an individual, an interior designer, remodeler or a builder can come for all their interior and exterior design needs.
“Many clients fly into Redmond for the weekend and spend valuable time running around Central Oregon trying to locate suppliers and subcontractors, so we hope to be a destination on the map they will want to visit to find new partners in business and build relationships with local firms.
“We are very much focused on our region’s business community and the opportunity to build the referral base locally.
“The feedback so far has been very positive. Everyone feels good from the moment they walk through the door and are appreciative to be exposed to something this community has never had before.
“It lessens the anxiety of the design choice process, and people also seem to feel comfortable that we are not tied to any one particular designer or builder.”
Another pioneering feature is the use of a custom bar code-linked system, making it as easy as possible for people, when they find something they like, to email the image to their builder or designer or download information electronically. A wealth of collateral materials is also available to pick up on-site.
Bardizian is also excited about the future opportunities for seminars, presentations and educational and fun events at The Design Center, including utilizing a state-of-the-art demo kitchen.
“Our goal is to be part of the community,” she said. “We want people to come and share some time together to, for example, learn about how to hang artwork, or discover more about paint, appliances or flooring.
“We see it as a chance to learn more about our homes and what we can put in them together.”
She also revealed that the center is soon to display work by the High Desert Art League as a complement to the design vibe.
The remainder of the ground floor space in the structure, built by SunWest Builders, is available for rent in different suite sizes and is aimed at compatible co-tenants.
There are also eleven loft spaces on the second floor available for rent, which could provide opportune locations for businesses like builders, designers and architects to build upon the one-stop shop philosophy.
“We are hoping prospective tenants in the community will want to be centrally located in The Design Center and all the deals that are happening there, whether it’s remodeling, building or working with interior designers,” said Bardizian.
“This is a great opportunity to refer business within our own professional community and to grow these synergistic relationships.”
For more information contact 541-548-6900 or www.thedesigncenteroregon.com.
