I will start by saying that after an exhaustive search for a contractor to take on our kitchen remodel we had come to the conclusion that no one would meet our expectations and that we would be better off selling our home and buying somewhere else. We interviewed at least 6 contractors and each one takes time, has a cheesy sales pitch and wants you to sign a contract the day the give their pitch, with many unanswered questions and a ton of ambiguity; that didn't work for me. I was, in fact, at the point of discussing an offer on another home with the seller when
a friend of mine mentioned that Cameo had done his mother in laws kitchen, and then subsequently did 8 other kitchens on her street. That certainly got my attention and I looked into Cameo, they don't advertise and for whatever reason didn't come across my radar when I spent the better part of a year researching kitchen remodels. I contacted Cameo and made it clear to the person answering the phone that my expectations were likely unreasonable and that I was OCD picky about things, and closed by telling her up front that what they thought was acceptable in terms of quality, I would likely not. I wanted to set the expectations up front so if we entered into a contract they would know how picky and unreasonable I was from the beginning...
Enter Tammy Clark, our kitchen designer from Cameo. After our first phone conversation she agreed to meet with us, despite my warning of being difficult to deal with. I will say that Tammy has the patience of a kindergarten teacher and is in no way interested in a quick sale or telling you what you want to hear to get you to sign a contract. In fact, they are booked out several months which I thought was another positive sign - and they are worth the wait! Tammy was realistic in her promises, exceeded every expectation, and was happy to offer references. After the first in-person meeting we set some timelines and a date for a first meeting at her place to go over the initial plan. Our house is only 5 years old when we started this but the kitchen was builder grade and our goal was to recreate a true chefs kitchen and not have it look as if we had remodeled; it was important to us to have the kitchen flow with the house and appear as if it were always here. Not an easy undertaking when taking out walls and removing windows, replacing exterior walls, etc. After a handful of meetings to tweak the plan (not because there was anything wrong with the plan, but because each time I wanted something slightly different.) we finalized and started the work on picking out the little things you don't think about - faucets, hardware, light switch locations, light fixtures, etc. All the while Tammy assisted along the way, often responding to emails and texts immediately even at 10 PM - this woman never rests!
Tammy stayed in contact at a frequency that I was comfortable with and was engaged throughout the project. You won't get a sales group with Cameo that then turn their unrealistic plans over to a construction group for execution. They run an operation that has the synchrony of an orchestra, each person having their task and every employee working collaboratively to achieve customer satisfaction. My job foreman Luis is a true artisan and I can tell you he runs a tight ship and doesn't allow quality escapes. These people are not your typical contractors. They show up in force every day by 7:00 am, in a clean uniform, marked vans, ready to work. They are respectful of the displacement this is on a family, work quickly and cleanly and are adaptable to changes in plans that happen in a project of this scope. Neighbors were surprised at just how clean the job site was left every day. Tammy committed to a 6 week timeline for her group to complete the project (minus any delays in the flooring which they didn't do - I would have had them do it but they don't do hardwood. Instead I used another contractor that they partner with on occasion and Cameo took care of all of the schedule coordination.) I mentioned to a number of people that it was going to take 6 weeks and got many offers for wagers that they would not meet the timeline and that I should expect any contractor to go over by at least 50%. Cameo was complete with their work in 5 weeks and 4 days and the finished product was / is INCREDIBLE. The workmanship is second to none, they don't take any shortcuts and in fact I felt like they did more than what I had paid for. This was a huge project and there isn't a single thing that I would say Cameo could have done any better. I am still amazed at the quality and honesty of this contractor and as I stated earlier, I am not an easy person to satisfy. Payment structure is also different than most contractors in that there aren't "progress payments." Instead it was 1/3 down, 1/3 when cabinets are delivered, and the remaining 1/3 at final inspection.
I can't express enough my appreciation for Cameo, especially Tammy, Luis, & George! read more
