I have a 10 yr old 3000' Mediterranean house in El Dorado Hills. Needed to replace worn carpet, and update the tile in my kitchen. I have minimal interior decoration acumen so I was a little anxious about the process, knowing I'd be living with my decorating decisions for the next decade. A goal in the process was to create a classy downstairs home office (I'm a lawyer) but balance things with a relaxed feeling of being at home (single dad, an 11 yr old daughter and a small dog). Did my due diligence by visiting a handful of stores, and shocked to find sales people who knew virtually nothing- other than pricing-about their products. More than one store advised me basically "if you want to know more about these materials, google them". I was a little angry as the process wore on as I wasn't making progress, and frustrated because no one at those stores took an interest in my project - or even pretended to be interested.
Then I visited BI Design and it was immediately different. Wow. The owners, Craig Badolian and his wife Alex, first took the time to ask ME questions about my goals to capture what I was looking for though I couldn't quite articulate it myself. I learned Craig's dad spent decades in flooring helping to build the Carpeteria empire, and I later became aware that Craig met Alex at a Design Academy in Italy where they both had formal design training. This isn't their job, it's their LIFE. Clean, organized showroom in the middle of the palatial Montaña center. I see now that virtually any project can be accomplished within any budget if thought and creativity are in the mix. The trick is finding someone who has the abilities and interest in spending time with you, really applying their talents.
Craig made design suggestions that left open the option to add other decorating ideas down the road. Things I'd never think of on my own. He answered my product related questions (no googling necessary!) and there were a few questions that he honestly said he couldn't answer without seeing the home. I respect someone who says "I don't know," rather than make something up or saying "google it". Another pleasant surprise: Craig offered to grab samples we were discussing, a tape measure and drawing paper, and take a few minutes to visit my house. Of course I said sure. We grabbed coffee to go (BI is located next to Peet's coffee- nice!), and drove to my place. After some measuring and sketching, his ideas flowed. The samples made it easy for me to visualize. That was a huge plus for me because the anxiety finally left. I re-carpeted the upstairs, with two bedrooms and a jack and jill bath. I re-did the bathroom floor with gorgeous tile. After installing hardwood in my office downstairs -which I did as a test before I made the decision for the rest of the downstairs, it looked so good that I decided to remove the carpet and tile in the entire downstairs and replace it with 100% Du Chateau vernal oak hardwood, even the closets. It's gorgeous! Struck the right balance between class, relaxation, durability (kid and dog) and all fit in my budget. I come home at night and I almost feel like I'm in someone else's new model home.
My focus now is window coverings, which BI has many on display. After getting used to the floor for a bit, Craig and Alex ordered new sconces for my office, which I just installed last weekend and they look great. I like that I can go at my own pace, take a break, do something else, take a break, etc. It's great.
There are other smaller things I noticed during the process that I really appreciated. For example, I was worried about the demolition part of the job where the tile had to be cut out (I have a slab foundation) before the hardwood could be installed. I was relieved that the crew had certified demolition experience, took its time, put plastic over everything and put just as much time and effort into reducing the dust as they did removing the tile. They're pros. After the entire job was done, I had my regular housekeeper come in for a few hours and do high dusting on ceiling fans, etc., and it was as clean as before the job began. A big relief! There was good communication in scheduling the job, keeping me posted on what to expect, and they arrived and finished on time. Things you naturally expect, but sadly rarely does it actually happen. Went smooth as silk.
I suppose I felt the whole relationship was about focusing on dreaming up and creating a dream home, not about simply making a commercial purchase. Extremely hard to find these days. I've learned a lot in the process, and I'm sure there are folks out there who need flooring, etc, and feel somewhat intimidated like I did, and hopefully this review can help them. If I could say one thing to them it would be of course do your homework, but do yourself a favor and instead put BI Design as FIRST on your list of places to check out, because they really do set the standard. read more