• Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    The tile experience

    Since its founding in 1928, Virginia Tile Company has become a leading distributor of domestic and imported tile in the Midwest, representing the finest manufacturers and suppliers in the industry. From its two distribution hubs, one in Livonia, Michigan and the other in Kansas City, Kansas, the company services 14 states with its premier selections of porcelain, stone, glass, ceramic,…

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    Ford Airport’s operations center

    On June 30, 2021, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan broke ground on a new $7.7 million operations center that will house key teams such as operations and communications, dispatch, and a new emergency operations center, or EOC. The 11,600-square-foot facility will streamline daily activities and day-to-day management at the airport, as well as serve as…

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    Made to measure

    Theodore Alexander Furniture has become synonymous with widely available, luxury home furnishings for the modern residence, with stockists and showrooms around the world. One of these showrooms is housed in the Michigan Design Center in Troy, Michigan, and together with its series of Ralph Lauren Furniture offerings provides visitors from around the Midwest with the best of the global design…

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    Elegant lake charm

    A fixture in Traverse City and Northern Michigan’s interior design landscape, Kitchen Choreography LLC is known for its artful orchestrations of a home’s most traveled and functional spaces. The firm offers remodel, restoration, commercial, and new construction services and construction management, transforming numerous residential intangibles into elegant, welcoming spaces for living. For this ability, the team at Kitchen Choreography was…

  • Featured,  Form,  Print Edition

    The urban home

    In downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, the renovation of the third floor of a historic building transforms a vacant, open space into two individual residences for its owners. Featuring a collaborative design-and-build team, which includes two businesses local to Kalamazoo, Intersect Studio and Buday’s Home Electronics Simplified, the project comprises the restoration of the building while maintaining its charm, as well as…

  • Design Spotlight,  Featured,  Print Edition

    Crafted legacy

    Despite the rise of industrialization in the 19th century and the technological revolution of the late 20th century, craftsmanship has endured. It is an art and craft of making; bridging the gap of alienation between maker and material left in the wake of growing assembly lines, mass-scale production, consumer culture, and an age of digital landscapes. Even as machines replaced…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    Design Corner: Eucalyptus

    Earlier this spring, Motawi Tileworks in Ann Arbor, Michigan released one of its latest handcrafted tile additions: the 4-by-12-inch Eucalyptus art tile, which depicts the gentle draping and verdant growth of Eucalyptus trees in the Pacific Northwest. Motawi, an eclectic art and installation tile crafter, is known for its intricate, handmade tiles inspired by painters, illustrators, lithographers, and designers, from…

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    Tuscan-style villa

    Situated in a historic building in downtown Mishawaka, Indiana, Spalding Design Group LLC was founded in 1991 with a mission of capturing moments through design; the focus being the stylistic vision of the client. The firm’s multi-dimensional enthusiasm for personalized design is realized through its broad range of services and clientele. With three core service areas of architecture, interior design,…

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    Design by tile

    Tiles as an interior finish can bring a distinct style to the built environment. Whether through the clean and contemporary aesthetic of lacquered subway tile or in a punch of vibrant color carried on through an untraditional pattern, there are nearly endless possibilities for crafting the personality of a residence using tile as a medium. At the Michigan Design Center…