Featured here is the Maars M923, a flexible wall designed via an app with multiple finish options including a live wall.

What do you get when you cross an entrepreneurial group of self-described furniture fanatics with an overarching business goal to be responsible corporate citizens? The answer: Interior Investments, LLC.

In 1994, a small team lead by Donald Shannon and Michael Greenberg started Interior Investments in Chicago’s northern suburbs. The business partners had a vision to deliver a different buying and service experience for clients other than traditional dealership models. Whether you purchased one chair or four full floors of furniture, Interior Investments’ process would allow for an efficient and seamless buying experience to procure goods and services.

With those values at the heart of the venture, over the past 26-plus years, the company has grown to become one of the most reliable contract office furniture dealerships in the United States, with a solid, dedicated presence serving the Wisconsin region.

According to a statement by the company’s leadership, “Interior Investments has always believed that your furniture is an asset. A chair isn’t simply a place to sit, and a desk isn’t just a work surface—they’re long-term investments.”

A Holistic Approach

That said, the Interior Investments team takes a holistic approach to ensuring its customers make selections that will most benefit their individual workspace by creating a sense of place, reinforcing their brand, and enhancing productivity, health, and overall employee satisfaction.

According to Craig Austin, General Manager of the company’s Wisconsin branches in Madison and Milwaukee, Interior Investments goes well beyond expectations. He says, “We are an integrated service provider and a rare dealer that provides custom websites, our own in-house non-union and union installation team and over 120,000 sq. ft. of climate-controlled warehouse space.” He adds, “Selecting the best possible strategic partnerships is mission critical when planning a renovation or relocation. We believe that several key competencies elevate Interior Investments beyond the conventional notion of what a furniture dealer can do.”

To that point, along with Austin, Tricia Dunning, an interior designer and the A&D Marketing Manager, Scott Krueger, Architectural Solutions Manager, and Trish Fedel, Director of Healthcare-WI, round out the Interior Investments’ leadership team serving the region, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the client experience. The integrated team can consult with clients on furniture placement, movable walls, acoustic products, clinical applications, patient rooms, in-hospital pharmacies…you name it.

The company is a member in excellent standing with the nationally accredited Service-Net Program. Additionally, it follows the Interior Investments Production System (IIPS), which is a waste reduction initiative; it has developed a highly sophisticated portfolio of communication tools to enhance its robust e-business platform; it boasts a dedicated, cross-functional team approach; and has superb asset and inventory management capabilities.

One example of its cutting-edge abilities is its unique customer web portal designed for those clients contemplating highly complex facility projects or who manage multiple locations. Austin explains, “We have the ability to design and maintain a customized, secure website where customers can house sensitive project documents, facilitate programmatic functions, control budgets, maintain inventory or simply access order status 24/7.”

Among the company’s many high-profile product lines is Herman Miller, a brand that is synonymous with office furniture and design built for comfort and performance. Interior Investments is among just 48 dealers that have earned membership in Herman Miller’s Certified Dealer Network. In fact, certified since 2001, Interior Investments is recognized as one of the premier dealerships in the nation.

Solution-based Partnerships

The overall business philosophy is to view its clientele as more than just one-off customers. Austin notes, “Our process begins with you: our partner. We take into account every step that’s involved in your project, and offer unique, sustainable solutions.”

No project is too small or too big. Austin shares, “We treat each opportunity with the idea that your success means we are a true business ally. We’re a comprehensive interior firm and we want to grow with you whether as a startup company or a large complex multi-facility, multi-location company looking for top-level strategies and order process implementation, asset inventory, workplace strategies, and installation services.”

The company services a number of vertical markets, including health care, government, higher education and corporate entities.

Not Just Business as Usual

Taking its dedication one step beyond business as usual, Interior Investments also gives back through its involvement in charitable endeavors, such as an Aeron Hockey event, which benefits the Special Olympics and The Dream & Believe Foundation, which was established by Donald Shannon and Michael Greenberg in 2001 to provide a conduit for good citizenship.

Trust and empowerment, humility, flexibility, passion, perseverance, integrity, and honesty. It is through these longstanding core company values that Interior Investments will continue to support its customers and community now and into the future.