Interior Design for Classrooms and Educational Spaces

For a 5,000–25,000 sq ft renovation with custom Rieke furniture: 2–3 weeks discovery and programming, 3–6 weeks design and engineering, 4–8 weeks furniture manufacturing (parallel with construction), 2–6 weeks construction, 1–2 weeks installation and punch. Total: roughly 12–25 weeks. We give you a Gantt-style schedule at contract and update it weekly.

We don't submit permits directly, but we facilitate the entire contractor bidding process and can connect you with trusted contractors if you don't already have one in mind.

Six stages:

(1) Discovery: we visit your space and learn how your team works.

(2) Programming & space plan: block diagrams, adjacency, headcount fit.

(3) Design & specification: 3D renderings, finish boards, custom furniture drawings.

(4) Engineering & manufacturing: our 150K sq ft facility builds your furniture while construction happens.

(5) Installation: phased, after-hours if needed, with full punch list.

(6) Post-occupancy: adjustments, additions, future reconfigurations all stay with us. One team, six stages, one phone number.

Most of our clients can't shut down operations. We routinely phase projects: night and weekend installs, floor-by-floor sequencing, temporary swing space, and dust/noise barriers. We coordinate elevator reservations, security access, and after-hours building services. You get a phasing plan with the design package.

You get a dedicated project manager from contract through punch list. The same person owns scope, schedule, budget, and quality. They run weekly status calls, coordinate trades, and resolve issues before they hit your desk. After installation, your account executive becomes your long-term contact for additions, reconfigurations, and warranty. You're never bounced between departments.

For most office renovations under 25,000 sq ft with no major structural changes, Rieke can serve as your single point of contact and manage licensed trades directly with no separate GC needed. Projects involving moving load-bearing walls, life-safety changes, or municipal permitting often need an architect-of-record. We tell you in the first call which model fits your scope, and we can recommend trusted A&E partners when needed.

We partner with American Capital for lease-to-own financing on any project. Most leases up to $150K are approved within 4–6 hours with minimal paperwork. Benefits: 100% cost coverage (including freight and install), potential tax deductibility, and locked-in payments. We can also structure payments to align with project milestones for direct purchases.

Yes. Rieke laminate furniture carries a Limited Lifetime Warranty. For anything beyond normal wear/abuse, we fix or replace at no cost. Because we still manufacture every line, the warranty actually works long term (no discontinued-part problem). Third-party furniture we resell carries the manufacturer's warranty, which we administer for you. Installation labor is warrantied for one year against workmanship defects.

Every change goes through a documented change-order: written scope description, cost delta, schedule delta, your signature before any work proceeds. For unforeseen conditions (older buildings often hide surprises), we pause, document, present 2–3 options with cost/schedule trade-offs, and proceed only with your sign-off. We carry a recommended 5–10% contingency in every budget so most surprises don't require a hard conversation.

Yes, we handle move management as part of project scope. That includes inventorying existing furniture, deciding what moves vs. what's decommissioned, coordinating moving crews, scheduling elevator and dock access, labeling and tagging items by destination, and managing day-of logistics. We can also arrange decommissioning and resale/donation of unwanted items.

Yes, we've completed projects in 22+ states. Our manufacturing is centralized in Elgin, IL, and we deploy our own install team for projects within a 4-hour radius. For projects farther out, we partner with vetted installation crews that we manage to Rieke quality standards. Design and project management are handled remotely with on-site visits scheduled at key milestones.