insight: hello
Welcome to our next chapter
As Reed Walker Design Collective celebrates our first year in practice, we are pausing to reflect, extend our gratitude, and share our new online home: reedwalkerdesign.com. Whether you’ve been with me throughout the various chapters of my career, joined as we ventured into this new journey, or are just finding your way to us now, WELCOME and THANK YOU. We are so glad you are here.
Our studio was born from a simple but powerful belief: design is more than visual, it is cultural, contextual, and deeply human. Over the past year, we have had the honor of translating that belief into spaces that carry stories, foster connection, and ground people in the places that matter most. We are an intentionally small team, but we think BIG about experiential interior spaces, community-focused design, about preservation of our Main Street buildings, about story and narrative, and about the ways design of our built environment can support a more meaningful life.
Who we are: more than a studio, a Collective
At RWDC, our mission is to co-create immersive, story-rich spaces that honor history, support connection, and bring meaning to everyday experience. We support and guide business owners, community leaders, developers, and homeowners through renovation, rehabilitation, and new construction projects. Our work lives at the intersection of interior design, historic preservation, and design strategy, rooted in research and shaped by the community they serve. While we have decades of experience, we also believe that we are stronger together, and we prefer to partner with a trusted network of expert collaborators, many of them fellow small businesses, to build the right team of experts for each unique project.
We are passionate about people and community. Creating places that foster meaningful connections is our way to give back to the world. Our vision is to foster a sense of community and belonging for all by creating spaces where people come together.
We root our team and our work in our values:
Reed Walker Design Collective’s Values: Connection, Community, Collaboration
Reed Walker Design Collective’s Values: Curiosity, Authenticity, Storytelling
Our Approach: Collective Co-Design
Here’s what sets us apart: we don’t just design interiors. With over two decades of diverse experience, we have created a process that serves our clients in meaningful and unexpected ways. Beyond the traditional design and project management approach, our Collective Co-Design process is holistic. It expands to include in-depth, evidence-based research to ground our projects, change management processes and support to extend beyond the traditional budget/schedule/quality to include how the project will impact the people involved, rich-narrative to express each unique project within the culture, community, and context in which it exists, and ongoing empowerment through education and guidance throughout the process.
Every project starts by filling out our project form. We only take on a limited number of aligned clients per year. After we review the form, we schedule a Discovery Call. Once a project kicks off, we start with Discovery and Concept Development. If it is a historic building and the owner plans to pursue Historic Preservation Tax Credits or other incentives, we analyze and apply the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation at the onset of the design process, ensuring compliance from the start. As we dig into the site context, history, community, we align the owner’s goals and values with the project scope. Our Conceptual Narrative informs everything - from spatial plans to finishing touches. That carries through beyond design, as we continue to stay engaged throughout construction to ensure the design intent is maintained and historic elements are in compliance. Our work blends high-touch service with high-integrity research, creating spaces that are layered, meaningful, and made to last. We are not chasing trends. We are here to provide design that lasts.
Community matters
Reed Walker Design Collective was founded with the belief that design is a shared act - not a solo performance. Whether you are revitalizing a landmark into a thriving hotel, reimagining a historic Main Street space into a community asset, or crafting a custom home to fit your lifestyle, our focus is on connection - to people, to history, to place, to each other.
Many of our clients are community-rooted developers, cultural stewards, and purpose-driven entrepreneurs. They aren’t looking for just a beautiful space, they want a partner who understands their mission, aligns with their vision, and brings clarity to what can be a complex project journey. We bring in the various stakeholders to listen deeply and work to create a design that supports the community of people who will use it. We are here to be a trusted partner and an extension of your team.
Reflection and a preview of what’s to come
As we reflect on our first year, here’s a quick glance, by the numbers:
We are beyond grateful for an incredible first year.
We’ve worked with some incredible clients on projects including the renovation of a midcentury modern library, a boutique hotel adaptive use, a bespoke dental clinic, conducted design research & strategy for furniture brand, partnered on the analysis & research of a historic restaurant for historic nomination, and helped aligned homeowners design their dream homes. We built our internal systems. Found aligned professionals to support the efforts to operate a small business. We reconnected with our vast and incredible network. We presented our business to One Million Cups Ann Arbor. We found community. And better balance. And joy in our work.
In the coming months, we will be speaking at the Michigan Library Association Annual Conference and at the Michigan Downtown Association Spring Workshop. We will wrap up design for two of our largest projects and kickoff construction. We are onboarding new clients and building our team. We hope you will join us.
Thank you for being here
Whether you are here to learn about our work, collaborate on a project, or simply to find some inspiration, we invite you to explore our new website, fill out our contact form for project exploration, and follow along as this next chapter unfolds.
