Had requested a proposal that went very poorly. Unprofessional to say the least. Notice the difference between the reviews with overly-glowing reports and the ones who say stay away and make you own conclusions. read more

The contact I've had with Design First has been nothing but positive. Their associate was very good at listening to what we wanted done at our home. He was responsive and very detail-oriented. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with Design First. read more

OMG !! Thank you Don Z. and Daisy K. !! I am *vindicated*... We've had the same dreadful problems with DESIGNfirst, my husband and I, that the two of you expressed in your reviews. They're a super hard sell at the beginning, all competent and fawning and prompt, and their showroom very professional looking. Then you sign on the dotted line and begin demo, and they all but disappear. I cannot go into detail with our project because it's not done and I fear some retaliation (exactly the same situation as Daisy's); my husband is working with them mostly and the frustration level has been terrific. Communication is for shit, literally. A complete FAIL. Our so-called foreman has been AWOL most of the time. When work is completed-- mostly by Polish and Mexican workmen whom I suspect are not getting top dollar, and communication can be very difficult-- it's not what was asked for, and has to be redone. The problem is execution with these people...and then when you complain, it's all your fault: you didn't say you wanted that (um....not true), you'd told us differently, oh that can be fixed later, we've been waiting for you to contact us, blah blah. Though the top guys themselves seem perfectly nice and wishing to help when they're with you, it's nothing but the shuffle and blame-game when problems come up. I don't know whether they just have trouble finding good carpenters and workmen; but really it seems the problem is more pervasive. It's taking F O R E V E R, much longer than they specified initially, and the tension and anxiety is literally beginning to affect our marriage. My husband is rather shy and doesn't want to accost them, but both of us are furious and wish we'd never contracted with these unprofessional wanna-bes. On a completely separate note: there's so much waste that has been produced by this project, it's amazing and really shows they are one of those companies that 'green-washes', in other words they claim to be 'green' just because it's the in vogue thing these days. Don't let them kid you-- these guys are about as green as all other uncaring, wasteful construction types these days. I wish I could take them to court, but that would be another hassle and what I really want is for them to be OUT of our hair. Bless you Don and Daisy. What a relief to hear others are having trouble and it's not just us. read more

I was impressed by the work done on my friends bathroom and after some discussion he recommended Design First. I called them up to get an estimate for the work I wanted done to my home and my experience has been very positive. They listened to me, made suggestions and were very aware of whether or not I could accomplish everything within my budget. As a long time Yelper, I decided to read other reviews. As a rule of thumb I generally discard the one stars as either a competitor or someone having completely unrealistic expectations. What I've read of those one star reviews so far has confirmed that belief. As it stands, there is nothing to keep me from moving ahead with Deign First and I intend to do so. If there is anything that would alter my existing perspective, I'll be sure to update this post. read more

We called several companies to remodel our master bath and no one came up with a design plan like Design First. The utilization of the space and the color schemes and materials are impeccable! Every one that has come over to see it absolutely love it! We have since had them do our kitchen and our entertainment room, again the way they designed is edgy and unique......my house looks like no other in my neighborhood! Happy customer...... we are having them do our hall bath and patio this spring/summer. read more

The designer came out promptly to talk about the project we are planning. All went fine for the most part..what became awkward was to get our estimate we were being pressured to go to their showroom for a presentation. It would entail my husband taking off work several hours early so we balked. I was told that people who don't want to come to the showroom are not serious buyers and after the designer agreeing to present at home.. I began to feel uncomfortable. "that's not how we do things" is what I was told, It had been an uncomfortable conversation that was borderline aggressive, I feel that if this demand to be impressed by their presentation in Itasca, going at rush hour, having to meet there in separate cars and missing dinner was such an issue that that it became contentious,..what would the response to my needs be when we were knee deep in the construction? uneasy. but as we had already started, decided to see what they came up rather than start over.. husband picked a day he would take off early for the estimate to be given at our home at 7 pm of 3 evenings the designer finally offered and I waited for the designer to call the next day to confirm. He didn't. Blew us off ..So we are going else where . I am not chasing their estimate. I wish them luck in all their future endeavors. read more

We decided to add an addition and redo the entire first floor of our house in Schaumburg. We shopped around but decided to go with Design First because they were the company that had the best design ideas. Most of the companies we spoke to just wanted to keep the same layout of our 1st floor and add a family room but Tony changed our entire layout and made the space so much more functional. He did a fantastic job with his designs. If you are doing a major project and you think everything is going to go 100% as planned you are dead wrong. Everyone I know that has done a major project told me that we would run into snags along the way and we were no exception. We had some snags- mostly it was delays with permits and inspections. With our village it takes some time to get the ball rolling. Tim, Mike, and Diana did a great job meeting with my wife and I during the selection phase of the project. Diana is an amazing designer and Mike did a great job helping with materials and answering all my design questions. Tim is their manager and did a great job. He helped push things through when we hit a snag. Any time we did have an issue the team I worked with was amazing. Some of the reviews state that Design first lacked communication but that was never my experience. My project manager Gary and I talked almost every day. I have never done a major project and am not in construction so I had a never ending string of questions. Gary always picked up and always had an answer. I learned a lot and he did a fantastic job. His boss Matt would check in weekly just to see how things were going which I really appreciated. The work the production team did was outstanding. They always cleaned up and we always professional. The finished product is exactly what we wanted and the workmanship was great. I plan to use Design first again in the future and would recommend them. read more

We just finished remodeling our first floor and kitchen from top to bottom and Design First did an amazing job. They listened to what we wanted to do then came up with creative design ideas that made our house so much better than we ever thought it could be. They go above and beyond to design a unique space that works for your family and help you through it. The project manager and designers are there for you every step of the way to make sure it gets done how you wanted it and you don't have to worry about anything. I highly reccommend this company. They are creative, professional, caring and dependable. read more

I do not write many reviews but after reading the other review I feel compelled to tell how my experience couldn't have been more different. Tony and his company DesignFirst Builders remodeled virtually my entire home with completion in Spring 2007. Not only did Tony personally care about the quality but he cared about the costs and the inconvenience the construction would be on me which certainly made the construction process more manageable. Tony was very knowledgeable, insightful and sincere and was always available to answer any questions and resolve any concerns. Tony and DesignFirst Builders stand behind their work and are always there for me. To this day I receive compliments on the beauty and quality of the work. I cannot say enough positive things about this company and I highly recommend them. My journey took me to a beautiful place! read more

We had all 3 of our bathrooms done by Design First. We could not be happier with the job they did. Tony was very patient in helping us design the new bathrooms. Everyone we have dealt with at Design first has been wonderful. I would highly recommend them for any remodeling job. read more

We hired Design First to do a roof redesign to correct a problem left-over from a previous remodel. After reviewing their 120+ positive reviews on Angie's List, I called and spoke with Tony Slade and scheduled a meeting 2 days later at our house. I had a rough idea of what I wanted, but after meeting with Tony, he suggested a solution I hadn't considered that tuned out to be much better than my own thoughts. After confirming and pricing the job (using Tony's design) with the Design First staff, we signed the contract. After working with two different but highly-rated remodeling firms in the past, I had formed a definite set of expectations. Much to my delight, these expectations were greatly surpassed by Design First. The thing that impressed me the most was the effort they put into matching the factory paint color on my existing fiber-cement siding that had been discontinued by the original manufacturer. The project was completed on-time and on budget and all of the people we met, whether subs or Design First employees, were courteous and professional. The house now looks much better than before and I would use these guys again in a heartbeat! read more