Bandura Design recently held an open house to celebrate the redesigned interior at its office in Woodridge, just south of Mount Rainier.

Located at 2216 Rhode Island Ave. NE, next to the Zeke’s Coffee roastery, the all-woman interior design firm moved to the Route 1 corridor in 2021 after seeing how the area was growing.

Founder Jennifer Farris told the Hyattsville Wire they decided to do a full renovation recently to accommodate their growing staff, tearing the interior down to the studs and replacing ceilings, floors and all mechanical and lighting.

They also turned an unfinished basement into a fully functional office, adding a restroom and replacing rusted rolling garage doors with a a full-glass exterior wall.

She advised other business owners thinking of doing a renovation to spend a lot of time planning before they get started.

“For a light refresh it is much easier to manage but when you are transforming or repositioning a space it takes months of careful planning and coordination with many consultants to understand the scope and cost,” she said.

Bandura typically does larger projects such as the Hepburn Apartments in the Kalorama neighborhood of D.C. and the Fox Chase Apartments in Alexandria, but they’ve also given advice to other Route 1 businesses, including Zeke’s.

Farris told the Wire she would like to see city governments do more to help small businesses improve their facades and provide more outdoor seating.

“We need to engage the community and provide a gathering place where they can come and enjoy the businesses and get to know their neighbors,” she said.

Help the Wire grow in 2024!
Make a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.