When we first started shopping around for a small kitchen project, we weren't sure who to work…read morewith. It was our first home renovation project, and we did not know how to go about the process. We first went to a big chain hardware store to get some guidance, but found them to be unclear and Not personable. But then we luckily found Habitar Design and Strategem Construction, and the difference was like night and day! From the very beginning, Mitch and the Habitar's team really took the time to listen to us, and made us feel heard and understood. We actually began our project way back in January, but when the pandemic began, our plans were understandably put on hold. However, Habitar was just stellar at communication overall - especially during the early months of the pandemic, when everything was so confusing for all of us. We never felt out of the loop with Habitar. The design process was thorough, and they explained everything in as much detail as we cared to hear. We fully understood the cost of all of our options, and so we didn't have any nasty surprises at the end. It was really nice to not worry about potential cost overruns through the job. We explained to them that we wanted to try and stick to our estimated cost as closely as possible in order to stick to our budget. However, like with any project, things happen, and sometimes the estimate is exactly that....an estimate! After expressing our concerns, and knowing that we were on a budget, Mitch and his team intervened to make sure that we all arrived to an agreeable situation. The Strategem construction team was professional, courteous, and respectful in every interaction we had. And while they were working in our home, we didn't even feel inconvenienced - they made as minimal an intrusion as possible. Any problems that came up were quickly resolved, and the whole team worked to find solutions. The whole process felt extremely personal - the owner, Mitch, even came out to see the job, and left us a small gift as a thank-you for our business! We would whole-heartedly recommend Habitar and Strategem to anyone who needs renovation work. If or when we ever have more renovation projects, we look forward to working with them in the future!

I had such a wonderful experience with Habitar when they updated my kitchen that, after recently…read moremoving, I decided to use them again to add an electric fireplace and shelving to a blank wall in my new living room. Their work did not disappoint! The designer was so helpful in transplanting my vision into a beautiful design plan within my budget. The workmanship is excellent and the workmen that did the instillation and painting were professional, diligent, and friendly. Everyone at Habitar from the owner, Mitch, to each person that works for him is helpful, thoughtful, and committed to doing good work. Having worked with them twice, I can confidently say that they are a delightful company to work with their work delivers beautiful results.

We worked with Design Inside over the course of a year on projects that continued to expand because…read morewe were so thrilled with the process, working relationship and outcomes. We used Kathryn's design expertise to remodel our kitchen, first-floor full bathroom, and front porch. Working with Design Inside was money well-spent because Kathryn is talented in both technical and creative design. She measured and prepared for every contingency when creating a plan to transform our galley-style kitchen into an expanded and multi-purpose open-concept design that included kitchen, mudroom, and workspace. She was efficient in helping us make design choices to update our bathroom, and concise with material recommendations and measurements needed to replace our front porch. Kathryn and her team were respectful of our time, budget, and input. Every selection for purchase was presented as a choice, and we knew we were always guided to the best price point. Kathryn recommended when to pay for quality materials, and helped us find savings in other parts of the design to off-set the cost. We are most happy with the selections we would not have made without her involvement. We could not have completed our home remodel without Design Inside, and would happily recommend them to anyone looking for guidance on small or large projects!

We used Design Inside for our recent condo renovation, and we were pleased with our designer,…read moreAbigail. We had looked into three or four design firms and went with Design Inside because we got along well with Abigail from the initial consultation. She's friendly and had suggestions from our first meetings. Our remodeling scope was pretty basic (resurface hardwood floors, install new tiling, new lighting, new kitchen countertops/backsplash/hardware, painting, etc.) We weren't planning on taking down any walls or putting up new walls - hence "pretty basic" in our eyes! The initial few weeks involved back and forth with designs and occasional meetings with Abigail so she could get a handle on what we wanted done. Abigail was accommodating with meeting/phone times, and would often meet with us late afternoons or early evening. She created designs we had never thought of doing (enclosing in structural poles, wainscoting, etc). Abigail also was able to easily "read" my husband and I in terms of color schemes and we ended up choosing one of the first few samples of tiling and backsplash that she dropped off with us. Kudos for that! Abigail also provided us bimonthly hours summary / detail so we knew how much we were being charged for her services. She would break down the time she spent working for us by the minute and it was helpful to see where our dollars were being spent. From a "grand overall design", Abigail did a good job, but when we started getting into the details in the later phases, we did run into a few minor issues. I recommend ordering all materials / furniture / art yourself and not going thru Design Inside. With a little work on the intranet, you can find it cheaper, not to mention a lower delivery charge. We had a few material mix-ups with Design Inside - i.e. we received the wrong hardware; not enough tile or grout was ordered. Abigail's measurements for the den were incorrect so she didn't order enough tile / grout - her measurements for the wallpaper were also off, but this time we almost ordered too much. The invoice system used by Design Inside is a little confusing and you should pay very close attention and track your own expenses. It's hard to describe but trying to track all the bills and refunds with the invoices provided was difficult. Overall - I would recommend Design Inside and Abigail for your remodeling needs. I would just offer a bit of advice to double check measurements and order your own materials, but would still recommend the company. Abigail provided different designs and options that demonstrated her design skills as well as her ability to connect with us in terms of what our goal of the remodel was. In our eyes, that was key.

Update Nov 2021, over a year after the projects were finished and we're still very pleased with the…read morequality of the work. Our architect recommended and specified a fair amount of detail that MK did very well. Work included adding new bathroom, relocating and rebuilding the kitchen, adding new windows, new electrical, water and ductwork, structural including steel and LVL beams, new columns and joist reinforcements, a 2-car garage, a second bathroom remodel, floor and wall tile work, electrical, new flooring... whew I can't write it all. It's a completely new house! This 100 year-old house is an absolute delight. (Here are some process photos to show some of the things we appreciated)

After exhausting and many frustrated interviews trying to find a GC to tear down our old garage and…read morebuild a new Coach House and garage, we finally hired MK Construction. Yet we were not sure how the experience would be but I am happy to share we had a wonderful experience that exceeded our expectations. The Project Manager We worked with Greg S. who has been very responsive since day 1, via text, phone, email and in person meetings, as needed. Constantly updating us. Workers and Partners Very professional team. Excavation, electrical, cement, hydraulic, carpenter, installations and others. They are all very knowledgeable, respectful, polite, and focused on what they were doing. They were working constantly even on snowy days and unbearable low temperatures. Budget It was top-notch. MK has met timeline and budget with fair pricing on any extras, which is extremely rare in constructions. Materials. High quality materials, and I could choose what I wanted as brands and models for siding and interior finishing. I am still and denial my project went so well. MK Construction is a very serious company that I highly recommend for your project. See before and after pictures.

I'm so happy that I found Planet Cabinets. I have a small kitchen and I was so ready to update it…read moregiven how much time we've been stuck at home because of the pandemic. I tried working with other cabinet suppliers including Home Depot, but the service was terrible. Ofer at Planet Cabinets was incredible from the first email to set up an appointment! We met and he walked me through his showroom, gave me several options, and followed up with a detailed quote in my price range. We talked to confirm measurements, etc. and he always followed up quickly. He was present when the cabinets were delivered and quickly replaced a damaged cabinet. Thanks to him I have my new beautiful, functional kitchen!!!

We worked with Planet Cabinets as part of a full kitchen and powder room renovation and had a…read morereally positive experience. Ofer was patient, knowledgeable, and never pushy -- he took the time to walk us through our options and helped us feel confident in our decisions. We went with Orange Cabinetry, a more budget-friendly brand that Ofer endorsed in terms of quality and customer service. Even though there was a delay in stock (which we were informed about in advance), the team encouraged us to stick with the sage green color we really loved instead of settling for something else just to speed things up. I'm so glad we waited -- the cabinets are beautiful, well-built, and exactly what we wanted. We've gotten a ton of compliments. Planet Cabinets also helped us source Jeffrey Alexander hardware, and their support with sizing and quantities made that process easy. Overall, we felt informed, supported, and never rushed. Highly recommend Planet Cabinets if you're looking for a company that balances affordability with honest, thoughtful service.

The labor was done on time and the quality of the work was excellent. Gene was amazing at managing…read moreand keeping things moving. I appreciated the organization and especially his diligence in quality, while also returning to the house months later for some quick fixes - no questions asked. My full kitchen and bath remodel along with wooden floor installation is beautiful. The reason I gave it 4 stars is that I wish there were someone specifically coming to my house to show me design options in person. Doing this online with someone was nice, but it was difficult for me to know and visualize my options. Secondly, the price increments and installments were changing from the initial contract and subsequent updates were made that didn't quite match the initial one. Although I paid the same as the agreed upon amount, paying upfront before work completion had me very nervous, and once it was done, it wasn't exactly what I had asked for. That being said, it DID in fact work out, and all work was completed beautifully on time. There were just a lot of people involved, which made communication confusing at times. Dom and Gene are good for their word, nonetheless, and the work they do is fantastic.

Hiring DemoWorkers for our condo renovation is one of the worst decisions we've made…read more Dom's whole pitch was coordination -- that they'd run every trade, stay on top of the details, and keep the job from stalling. The reality has been the opposite. We would have been far better off hiring the subcontractors directly. They sub out all the work and mark it up, and you never see what the trades actually charged. Dom has tried to overcharge us on more than one occasion. Their allowances also have no relationship to what materials really cost, so going over budget isn't a choice you make -- it's built in. Our bathrooms were allowanced at $6,460 and billed at $12,664, more than $6,200 over on one portion of the project. to turn out the way it did. The completed work is a disaster. Our master bathroom sits roughly a foot off the ground and has to be demolished and rebuilt. Doors don't shut. They hung drywall without taping off the vents, so the vents are packed with dust and now need to be replaced -- damage that cost us money and existed only because nobody took five minutes to cover them. We still have no plan from them for fixing any of it. Their planning is just as bad. We submitted our range selection in March and heard nothing until September, when they told us it wouldn't work electrically and we'd need to choose a different one keep in mind it's a 5000 range -- well past the return window on an appliance we'd already paid for. Meanwhile our current electrician has spent his time correcting the previous electrician's work. Avoid at all costs. Dom doesn't deserve to be in business.

These guys are fantastic. They did my tuckpointing and came back later when I had a concern that…read moreactually was not related to their work.

Touchstone Group did a fantastic job tuck pointing our home and repairing damaged glass block…read morebasement windows. Even though the job spanned two of the hottest and most humid days of July, they worked hard and made sure every little detail was perfect. They were pleasant to deal with and their pricing was fair. We would definitely hire them again.

I received a recommendation to check out Artisan Stoneworks from Tile Outlet on Fullerton…read more Initially I was looking for some marble remnants for three bathroom vanities as well as a matching shower threshold and bench top. I walked in unannounced and was quickly shown the vast selection they have. I picked out 2 similar looking white marble slabs and was told to contact the owner, Ray for pricing. Ray responses very quickly to texts (not necessarily voicemails, so keep that in mind) and I was given a very reasonable quote. My bathroom vanities weren't yet installed, so they graciously agreed to hold my slabs so that no one else could purchase (with a payment deposit). When the vanities were ready, their guys were out within 1-2 days to measure and install within another 1-2 days (super quick turnaround as compared to other stone installers I've used in the past). I'm not new to remodeling (this is my 4th large-scale remodel project), so I have experienced the spectrum of stone fabrication and installation quality. Artisan's work was so nice that I asked them for a quote to do my kitchen. There was a new porcelain-like product that I wanted to use in the kitchen due to the indestructibility / stain features it allows - I've got 2 small kids and a messy hubby so I didn't want to worry about cleaning up after every mess. I had asked around to some other stone fabricators I've used in the past, but no one had previously worked with the product or was willing to do so. Again, I reached out to Ray and his guys came out right away to measure and gave me a quote utilizing this new product (which they had previously worked with). He gave me a fair quote, however noted that due the thickness (or rather thinness) of the material, the labor required to miter edges was high. He suggested I take a look at some of the new quartzes that have a similar look and durability but offer standard 3cm thickness which equates to less labor. I followed his recommendation and went to the supplier he suggested and found a quartz that looked exactly like the porcelain product I originally wanted. The quote was more reasonable and the end-result looks just like calcutta gold marble - the look I was trying to replicate. I should note that I had Artisan install the quartz as a backsplash in addition to the countertops. They did a great job matching up veining between the counter and backsplash to create a super high-end look. Additionally, I had some extra quartz material and Ray was nice enough to cut and install on my fireplace surround for no additional cost. All in all, I'm extremely happy to have Ray / Artisan Stoneworks in my rolodex for future projects and highly recommend them to others.

The team from Artisan Stoneworks was very helpful at every step of the process in updating our…read morekitchen countertops to new Quartz ones. Provided useful guidance in style, sizing, installation options, etc... and all at a very fair price. Check 'em out!

This is my second time using Realty Design Group. I used them a few years ago for a bathroom…read moreremodel and more recently to complete the unfinished basement in my new house. The team was able to spend time with me in the basement before we closed, so we did a lot of the planning work in advance and they hit the ground running as soon as we closed. I interviewed 2 other teams and am so glad I went with Realty Design. They were the most competitive, I had peace of mind from working with them previously, and most importantly the other teams thought we needed to bring in an external designer or architect to map out the (simple) desired layout, but that was covered in a couple of conversations with Realty Design during our process. Our new basement really extends our living space. Who knows.. maybe project #3 is in the future!

Bill was recommended to us by our realtor upon buying our home. Our first ever home "project" was…read moreto completely re-do the master bathroom before moving in, and Bill helped us every step of the way. Since this was our first rodeo, he was able to provide insight and thoughts on choices when we felt overwhelmed. Everything was right on time, and all of the people that came to our house not only took pride in their work, but were so nice to talk to. We highly recommend Bill for any renovation project, large or small. He's communicative, timely, and an all-around pleasure to work with. We have Realty Design Group on the top of our list for our next project.