Our Nordic-Inspired Office Redesign

Marvin’s unique heritage blends with innovative ways of working in our reimagined office space.

As you walk into our redesigned office in Eagan, Minnesota, it’s hard to say what you might notice first. It could be the pillars wrapped in Cedro Macho wood—a beautiful and sustainable species of wood that was repurposed from excess supply in our manufacturing facility. It could be the one-of-a-kind wood furniture handcrafted by a Marvin team member to pay homage to the material that started this business. Or, it could be the 8-foot double hung windows flanking the entry and the custom-made TruStile closet doors with soft, rich leather panels—one of the many unique executions of our products found throughout the space to help our employees feel inspired and familiar with the products they support on a daily basis.

With the help of design partner Shea, every detail in the nearly 16,000 square foot remodeled office has been thoughtfully designed to create an environment where our growing workforce can work efficiently and feel their best. Inspired by our company’s origins and the Marvin family’s Nordic roots, clean lines and natural materials typically used in Scandinavian-influenced design abound in the open concept space for a unique look that we like to call “Lake of the Woods Meets Modern Nordic.”

Flexible meeting spaces have been deliberately designed to accommodate large and small groups and meeting needs—from video conferencing to brainstorming sessions. The largest conference room, dubbed “Lake of the Woods” after the beautiful lake that neighbors our Warroad, Minn. headquarters, is designed to feel as welcoming as a family living room. A mix of casual and formal seating solves for different work styles, and a long table accompanied by multiple video conferencing screens provides comfort and functionality for a range of meeting types. A corner lift-and-slide door partitions the interior space, allowing the room to be open to a larger group or closed for private discussion.

Just adjacent to this meeting room, a reimagined lounge space and hot spot for snacking and socializing features an expansive multi-slide door with automatic controls, and a statement wall showcasing one-of-a-kind, custom-designed wallpaper by She She, celebrating our iconic yellow rose and the rich layers of its story. While the meaning of the rose has evolved over the years, it continues to stand for the enduring strength and architectural beauty of our products, the value of warm friendship, and in the words of Bill Marvin, “Because it adds a touch of class.”

An area called “The Cabin” is adorned with white painted wood and an antler chandelier inspired by the North Woods, where many on our teams travel to vacation and unwind. Reflective of the “me” and “we” space found incorporated throughout the office space, The Cabin contains four small lodges for solo or small group work time plus a dining room-inspired collaboration space for gathering in larger groups.

To further foster collaboration for those who don’t always work at the Eagan location, hoteling stations have been designed as a temporary touch-down space where visitors and guests can comfortably dock their computer, make phone calls and work for the day. Specialty shape windows stretch from floor-to-ceiling, creating a sense of openness while still helping delineate the individual workspaces.

With a focus on locally-made, hand-crafted wares, a live-edge Elm wood table from Minnesota’s Wood from the Hood is made from fallen urban trees found a stone’s throw from the office.

Light was a key consideration throughout all areas of the renovated space, and is enhanced by Tala lighting which mimics natural, outdoor light with bulbs built to last ten years or more. When needed, automated window shades can be lowered at the touch of a button to reduce sun glare and heat while still letting the natural light in.

Three layers of sound insulation are used to ensure manageable volume levels in our open-style workspaces, with spray on ceiling surfaces, acoustical panels made from recycled t-shirts and white noise piped in through small hanging speakers.

And, we didn’t forget the love that any Minnesotan has for the outdoors in the summer months. A deck space outfitted with recycled and sustainable outdoor furniture from local company Loll Designs offers an outdoor respite, a space to gather and another source of natural light and fresh air through an expansive bi-fold door.

In the coming months and years, an exploration of ways to continue facilitating better ways of working will see remodeled and reimagined spaces in many of our facilities, including our Warroad headquarters.