Origin Story: Business Interiors by Room & Board

Copenhagen Storage by Business Interiors, Room & Board

Cross-pollination of interior design markets have created a double-dutch game of piecing together the perfect blend of commercial and residential product, and companies on both sides of the aisle are jumping into the game – in new and more interesting ways. The newest player is Room & Board.

Aria Tables

Last month Room & Board hosted an official launch of its Business Interiors brand at BDNY in NYC, with a collection of contract-grade hospitality and workplace products.

We’ve written about Room & Board in the past, when Fast Company included them in its 2019 list of “World’s Most Innovative Companies.” At that time, we spoke to R&B President & COO Bruce Champeau and Director of Human Resources Nancy Greatrix Manley, to learn more about the company culture there and how they’ve built their brand experience.

A month has passed and the dust has settled since the launch, and so last week we spoke to Nicole Gaynor, head of Business Interiors at Room & Board, about the brand’s identity, origin story, and product offering. Business Interiors has a long history, working with more than 50,000 businesses, including big names like Google, Twitter, W Hotels and United Airlines.

Ms. Gaynor tells me that the reason Room & Board first put together a business interiors team 13 years ago was to help serve a hotel client they had right in Minneapolis.

“Prior to this official launch, we have been working with business clients for many years, and it naturally grew as part of our business,” said Ms. Gaynor. “In working with them, we were trying to understand what they were using pieces for, and then guide them in selecting furnishings that would last. As we started to recognize those business customers who were leveraging us, we tried to transfer them over to a Business Interiors team we created.”

“We listened to our clients and put confidence in what they were saying – that it was such an easy, smooth process with us, which was not the case when working with many contract companies.”

From Side Hustle to Mainstay

Aurora Dome Pendant

“That was really the spark. There was this little side lane that was happening for us, and then some of those customers really started to grow their business with us. At that point, around three-to-five years ago, we began to look at what we would need to do to get more in front of it.”

The Business Interiors team began looking at how many of their products met BIFMA certification as well as working through other elements they would need to put together to make the Business Interiors piece of Room & Board a bigger focus.

“We looked at what pieces were resonating with our clients the most,” said Ms. Gaynor. “What are we fulfilling a need for already – what have we already provided appeal for? It’s less ‘x’ percentage of hospitality pieces and ‘x’ percentage of office. It’s a curated effort where we’ve focused on what customers love, and what is lasting.”

Gaynor and her team also began finessing the right blend of talent on the Business Interiors team.

“We have some internal team members who’ve worked in both retail and contract, and after a certain point, we started to go for folks who had that mix of experience – contract, product design, retail. We wanted to build a team with a. very diverse knowledge base. We have great vendor partners too, who are awesome at recommending and guiding us.”

The Line-up – Business Interiors Products

>”Business Interiors features a curation of Room & Board’s most durable, best-selling residential products backed with ANSI/ BIFMA -tested furniture, ACT ® performance textiles, and 5-and 10-year warranties. Marrying design with peace of mind, the hand-picked collection offers a n array of products from: office furniture with sit-stand and ergonomic solutions that facilitate wellness in the work environment to seating, tables, and storage to outdoor furniture and beds suited for hospitality spaces.”

>”More than 90% of products are crafted in the U.S. to provide the best combination of quality and price, and fastest delivery, with the least amount of environmental impact.”

>”As a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC), the brand notably received top marks on the prestigious Wood Furniture Scorecard for its commitment to upholding conservation values, proper forest management and responsible wood sourcing.”

Boden Lounge Chair

Key pieces from the curated collection will be on display at the brand’s 16 US showrooms and available directly through Room & Board Business Interiors.

Business Interiors is already capitalizing on its advantages as a retailer – namely, transparency and ease.

Linear Storage

Readily available online, the company’s terms clearly state: “Instilling a consumer-inspired level of service, specifiers will receive advantages, including: complementary space planning and furniture specifications services, transparent pricing, high-volume discounts, flat-rate shipping, white glove delivery, free return delivery service, COM, custom table and desk sizes, and customized storage configurations plus unheard of aggressive lead-times (as few as six days for in-stock items and four weeks for custom items). Commercial orders can also be complemented with rugs, lighting, and other accessories from the residential line in a single purchase order, creating a seamless transaction, delivery and one-stop design solution.”

Hudson Desk

“All of these things help our design clients quote with a lot of confidence,” said Ms. Gaynor. “We’re trying to being a really great partner to every customer we have.”

Beyond all else, the Business Interiors identity is synonymous with that of Room & Board: durable, American-made, designed and built to last.

“We always wanted to stay true to who we were,” said Ms. Gaynor. “We always wanted to create great product. And if something fails, we ask what can we do to fix it. We’re not trying to be someone else in this contract focus, especially moving more into the future. Business Interiors is just a complete extension of who Room & Board is.”

Montego Outdoor Collection