I used Diana Bastone's design and project management services for the full renovation of a condo unit in 2019. Diana is a good communicator. She came up with a much improved layout for the condo. I appreciated her design work. Meanwhile, I am dissatisfied with Diana's project management work, which was subpar: 1) During my absence for the project due to my need to return to my home country for my dad's sudden illness and unexpected passing, Diana released the payment for the remaining balance to Geoff Strong at Georgetown Woodworks (https://georgetownwoodworks.ca/) before the delivery of the cabinets. Diana claimed that she has worked with Geoff for 10+ years. (Before my departure to my home country, I entrusted necessary payment in the forms of post-dated cheques to Diana for services that were expected to be delivered during my absence.) 2) Diana did not keep Geoff accountable on delivering the cabinets on time. The delivery of the cabinets was 2 months later than the original delivery date provided, despite Geoff took the full payment of more than $64,000 beforehand. This issue caused delays in other parts of the project. 3) Diana approved a contractor for taking a vacation out of the country as some of his tasks depend on the delivery of the cabinets. When she filled in for the contractor to oversee his tasks while he was on vacation, she insisted on charging me for her time spent on some of those matters, despite me informing her that I already paid the contractor for those work. 4) Examination of the work delivered was not done thoroughly by Diana. Upon the completion of the renovation, we found certain issues, such as the glass on certain cabinet panels were not installed properly, the stopper in a bath tub was missing. We had to point out those issues ourselves in order to have them rectified. There are other issues, which have remained unaddressed, such as the baseboard was not installed behind the vanity of a powder room, pot lights in the living room and the family room would flicker sporadically. The most disturbing issue relates to the quality of the cabinets. A year after the cabinets were installed (i.e. 2020), some cracks started appearing on the panels of the kitchen cabinets. Two years later (i.e. 2023), I also noticed that some cracks started appearing in the cabinets of the bathrooms. Diana stood by Geoff's explanation of humidity issue in the condo without coming on site to investigate, despite me pointing out that those phenomena only appeared on certain groups of cabinets. In late 2023, I had a personnel who has worked in the cabinetry industry for 20+ years to examine the cabinets in the condo. We were SHOCKED to find out that some cabinets were made of wood, while some cabinets were made of painted MDF. When examining the cabinetry in the master ensuite, we found that there is one panel door made of wood while there is another panel door of the exact same profile made of painted MDF. The materials used for the panels and panel doors were NEVER provided in any forms of writing in the quotation. It was NEVER disclosed to me that different groups of cabinets were made by different materials. There was NO TRANSPARENCY and NO HONESTY regarding the cabinets delivered. Half of the cabinets have become an eye sore in the condo within 4 years due to cracks appearing on the panels. 5) The project went over budget by more than 75%!!! Budget control was nonexistent. I paid more than $32,000 for Diana's services in design and project management, but in return, I did not get services of equivalent values. read more

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I'm not one to usually write online reviews, but I really felt compelled to do this one. I was introduced to Diana Bastone in 2007. She did a small paint selection assignment for me and we've never looked back. Over the last 17 years, Diana has returned to do at least 6 projects for us, each one gradually bigger and more complicated than the one before. After the third one I knew we had reached the point of no return, because my partner stopped questioning decisions, and instead would say "well, what does Diana think?". Every project Diana has ever done for us she handled with professionalism, attention to detail, integrity, and warmth. She delivers creative and precise drawings and brings such deep understanding of colours, textures, "feel". From the very beginning it was important to Diana that she understand us, her client, our likes/dislikes. This is for sure one of her super powers! On our first project, selecting paint colours, she walked all around our home to better get a feel for us. That way when she made suggestions, she was thinking of us and aiming to "get it right the first time". As an aside, we boringly continue to love some of those colours she picked for us all those years ago, although she encourages us to update when the opportunity arises! In 2019 we embarked on the biggest project to date. At our request , Diana introduced us to a contractor she did work with, and later a cabinet maker. We were confident in her recommendations and proceeded to engage both. Diana made it clear that while she made introductions, any decision to engage them was ours and they would work for us, not her. Nevertheless, even though we understood the relationships, Diana still went out of her way to keep an eye out so that the whole project continued to move along smoothly. In addition to these two, we have benefited over the years from Diana's extensive "yellow pages" list of quality suppliers when choosing fixtures and finishes. As in all the past projects, Diana delivered on our expectations. Early this year, we started another major renovation. Naturally we called Diana. We also hired the same contractor as before. She outdid herself providing 3 quality design options, brought us such fantastic finishing choices and introduced a wonderful new cabinet maker. The final job is a beautiful, brilliantly re-envisioned space. Even though Diana brought choices for finishings, ultimately we picked her favoured. After so many years together, Diana knows us so well - she always presents winning suggestions. During this project, we had a particularly challenging, time sensitive situation. On a Saturday when we were out of town, our contractor notified us that due to unforeseen circumstances, he advised we amend our original decision and retile our foyer. The tiler had limited availability early in the week and cabinets were due to arrive shortly after. Tile was urgently needed by Tuesday morning. I called Diana for her help, but she was already fully scheduled that week on another project, not expecting to be needed for mine. She could not promise she would make it, nevertheless, like a superhero, Diana squeezed her Monday, got to the supplier and made a pick. Of course it was exactly what the space needed. Diana's estimates of project costs that are within her control (her fees, and the costs of finishings and fixtures) have been borne out repeatedly. We also keep reasonable expectations and actively pressure test the project as it evolves. Scope creep is almost inevitable in a renovation, so we prepare ourselves for cost add, we take responsibility for the extra spend, and we keep Diana informed of our cost sensitivities. Diana has always been very respectful of this - another reason we keep engaging her. It puts me in mind of the old adage - if it's not broken, don't fix it. That's how I see our relationship. After so many years, Diana has delivered time and time again. She long since stopped being Diana Bastone Designs to us. It's like she's invested in our house. Every room in my home has Diana's touch. Everything flows, it's all cohesive and so lovely. The recommendations she made over the years have been tested and the only things I really want to change now are the things we did without her. I do not hesitate to recommend Diana's services. However, I do remind anyone embarking on a renovation project: do your homework, know your budget, make sure you have a cushion, take responsibility for your decisions, remember what service providers YOU engage and if you're going to pay someone with years of experience to advise you, listen to them. As always, thanks Diana - for your friendship and your expertise! Everyone who has seen the finished job has RAVED!! read more