We hired Karin Ross Designs to remodel our main floor, including a full kitchen, and work started…read morein February 2026. Dealing with this company was absolutely horrific. We own rental properties and have hired many contractors, and we have never been treated this way before. As of this writing, the project still isn't finished, and we are in a dispute over tens of thousands of dollars. We have the contract, texts, emails, photos and videos to back up what we describe here.
We were told the project would take about two months. We made it clear multiple times that it could not go past May, and we were assured it would not. Instead, we lived without a working kitchen for seven months. Seven months of eating out and living in a construction zone. We often got no updates on what was happening or why no one was working. Weeks went by with no work at all. It was beyond frustrating.
We chose this company for its premium, award-winning reputation: magazine features, TV appearances and glowing reviews everywhere. We paid premium prices, including nearly the whole construction contract in weekly installments within the first two months. Yet the countertops weren't finished until mid-August and the floors until September but we paid for everything in March. We normally don't prepay, but we made an exception. When work slowed and we asked to delay one payment, Karin replied that she would hold back more products until payments were back on schedule. It felt like a threat, so we paid that same day.
Our contract specified a tiled range hood, naming the insert brand and the tile. A different, less expensive insert showed up, and we were told ours would not fit. Then the explanation kept changing. We were also asked to pay extra tariff and shipping charges on the tile, with no invoice presented despite repeated requests. It turned into months of frustrating, unnecessary back-and-forth. In the end the hood was dropped, and we had to find new tile and another contractor ourselves. We hired one company to handle the whole project, and instead parts of it were dropped and left for us to figure out.
We wanted a company that knew what it was doing, so we would not have to worry about codes or doing things right. We got the complete opposite. For example, the city's final inspection failed because the kitchen outlets were not GFCI protected. It was corrected, but it should not have happened.
The bar is still not finished. The bar cabinets were damaged when they were resized, and the company acknowledged the problems in writing. We were even blamed for not catching the problems during installation of the cabinets. The glass doors listed in the contract were not installed. There was no final walkthrough with us. Instead, we got an email saying the bar would not be finished, with an offer of only a partial refund and a list of conditions. After we asked for refunds for what we paid, we received a bill for new charges for thousands of dollars for work done months earlier. None of it was priced or approved in a change order, as our contract requires, so we dispute all of it.
We did not feel real care about how our project was going, and we did not get an apology for the delays. Our questions to Karin were often treated as complaints, as if we were stirring up drama. Her texts were snappy, and she yelled at us on multiple occasions. Imagine paying this much for a remodel and being treated that way. We feel this company took advantage of our trust and that we were misled throughout this project. Our kitchen was supposed to be the heart of our home. Instead, it became a nightmare we are still living through.
If you are considering Karin Ross Designs, read your contract very carefully. Ours was vague, and not asking for a line-by-line cost breakdown was a mistake. Most importantly, do not prepay for the whole remodel like we did. Research the company and its owners, including public court records. We would not wish this experience on anyone.
