I originally posted a negative review based on my 2025 experience with one of their design teams…read moreand some problems with a bathroom addition in 2018. To his credit, the owner, Jef Forward, intervened to provide an alternative that I requested of the design team. He devoted significant effort to submit a revised proposal.

We loved working with Forward on the exterior renovation of our home and we love the results!…read more In the almost 2 years since the completion of the project, I cannot tell you the number of people who have stopped to compliment how the home was transformed by their planning, design, and construction team. Forward Design has put so much thought into their comprehensive approach from the initial meeting, throughout construction, and down to the final details. We not only love the results, but we were regularly impressed with how they handled every step and detail of the process. Organizationally, it is clear that there has been a high degree of intentionality and investment in the cultivation of their work place culture. This translates to clarity, open communication, and collaboration with the client. Each member of their team we worked with were talented, artistic, responsive, and skilled. Rob, our project manager, needs a special shout out for his patience and willingness to indulge all of my questions. The whole team made our experience positive and enjoyable. We look forward to the next project we can tackle with Forward Design.

It all started one day, my wife (then girlfriend) were living in Ferndale. We were walking along…read morethe street and we had a hankering for a tasty drink. She suggested bubble tea, and I was happy about the idea. To my dismay, after doing some searches on Yelp... I realized that the closest one was 30 miles away. How could this be? A city like Ferndale would be PERFECT for a bubble tea establishment but nobody is doing it. Which gave us the idea, if any great location opens up, we need to start a Bubble Tea shop. Fast forward 3 years when we got word that a Radio Shack was moving it's location a mile down the road, this Radio Shack being located on the corner of 9 mile and Woodward. We jumped at the chance and with the collaboration of friends and family, we were able to lease the location. Which then came to the building plans. Given that we were putting all of our eggs in this basket, I wanted to make sure that had got the best architecture firm that we could get. We met with atleast 6 companies until we met the team at Design Team +. First and foremost, this group is unlike any other team I have ever seen mainly because... they have tons of fun. I walked into the office and I see a home-made beer dispensing vending machine, popcorn microwaving and awesome decorations mixed with music and laughter. It's like, what party did I just walk in to? That being said, although they are playful, it does not impede on their quality of work. They work hard and play hard ~ just like we do! We came into the office, went over the project, got a very competitive quote and couldn't wait to see what they came up with. Within a few weeks they gave us plans that knocked our socks off... I mean it was incredible. The dream was starting to come together and they proved themselves 10 times over. So now here we are a few months later, under construction for the most part and waiting on the glacial pace of getting government approval. We don't know how this is going to pan out, but we are hoping for the best. Many of our worries were extinguished by Design Team Plus, as they are well connected and always pointed me in the right direction. We worked with Harold Remlinger, the principle architect who happens to teach at my wife's alma matter, Lawrence Tech, and Shari, the interior designer who was also a lecturer in the same school. Both of them are elites of the industry and are responsive and great to work with. If you are looking for a fun team that not only will give you a great price but also top-notch service, then you need to come to Design Team +, in my opinion are hands down the best architectural team in Birmingham anywhere in Oakland County for that matter. I will continue to work with them in the future! P.S. Keep on the lookout for The Detroit Bubble Tea Company on 9 and Woodward in August 2014 :)

Working with Shari, Design Team Plus' interior design guru, on my new apartment was a pleasure. Her…read moreguidance on colors was extremely helpful, as what I thought I knew about colors that created a warm, welcome feeling, wasn't actually the case. I love the colors that she suggested (and that I used) on accent walls; I never ever would have come up with them on my own. She also was an extremely effective contact person in negotiating with a retail furniture chain then new to the area regarding delivery fees and extra tarifs. Also, she gladly offered to push through orders on items that I hadn't worked with her on, with other furniture retailers so that I could benefit from her pricing. Once I am finally unpacked I plan to ask her back again for further advice as to making my place more homey and sharper in design. Shari is very dependable and trustworthy, and she listened to what I wanted for my space without imposing her I would highly recommend Shari and Design Team + without hesitation

I would also be happy to provide a copy of the police report investigating Meadowlark for fraud,…read morethe State of Michigan LARA report which resulted in them paying a fine, and the DTE report finding that there are multiple hollow external walls in my house and that only one room in my entire house was properly insulated. Have fun trying to fire them for cause and getting sued by them when you do.

1) Start date May 14, scheduled end date July 27 (74 days). Date they asked for final payment was…read more10/25/18 (164 days). So 90 days late, 222% beyond time budgeted. Minus 1 star for taking all damn Summer and part of the Fall. 2) Initial demo of bathroom tile on second floor shook loose a connection in the copper piping in the floor, flooding first floor and basement. Took months to get everything cleaned-up to near-original condition, required constant hounding to get their attention. Minus 1/2 star for the poor attention to a problem they created. 3) They asked for a progress payment when only 1 milestone associated with the payment was finished, a walk-through with a subcontractor. Minus 1/2 star for requesting money for nothing. 4) Remodel included repair to water-damaged ceiling in laundry room. The work was not on the original schedule, kept asking when the work would be done, they responded with, "What work?". Had to break out the contract and quote them back their scope-of-work. The project manager's response? "Wow, I didn't realize that, sorry". Paraphrasing. Minus 1/2 star for Read Your Own Damn Contract. 5) Had a gas fireplace insert installed. Three times. Installed before the wall behind was insulated and finished so it was removed for that, then re-framed and re-installed in the wrong place, had to be re-re-framed and re-re-installed. Minus 1/2 star making something simple so complicated. 6) Had portable storage pod in driveway. Had some landscaping scheduled for after the original finish date which required the pod to be gone. Project manager "guaranteed" work would be done before landscapers started, which wasn't true. Had to schlub everything back into the house where it sat piled-up and in-the-way for a month, then had to get another pod and put it all back. Minus 1/2 star for that bogus guarantee. 7) When the project was almost 60 days overdue, it took a negative post on their Facebook page to get some additional resources and oversite from the owners. Minus 1/2 star for making me complain. 8) We kept having morning meetings, sometimes changes were discussed. I'd come home to find work was done without the changes. We kept having meeting, I kept bringing up the same issues, time and time again. Minus 1/2 star for not taking notes. 9) It's the 4th of July, were on vacation in Chicago, our neighbors call and say there are 2 unmarked cargo vans at our house - is everything OK?. I call the project manager, who says there are no workers at the house, so I call the police and start scrambling - what is the best way to ruin our vacation so I can get back home fast? But - Oops! It's some painters, they're in the house, false alarm. Minus 1/2 star. 10) Had a hardwood floor put into an office space room. On a Monday, the project manager e-mailed me to say the wood would be delivered that day and installed on Wednesday. I get it, it's called "acclimating". I get home that night and the floor is down. Then it sat there for maybe a month before it being top-coated. Minus 1/2 star for what was the rush to ruin the wood? 11) The bathroom remodel is at "plumbing final inspection has passed". My wife takes a bath in her long-awaited, life-long-dream of a soaking tub. I hear it raining in the house. Something came loose, water is poring through a light fixture into the room below. The next day, the project manager - who I haven't seen in a month - comes in, doesn't say a word to me. Not, "Hey sorry this happened, glad your wife didn't get electrocuted, we'll get this fixed...", none of that. Not a word. I ask for Meadowlark to come up with a plan in writing to put GFI's on the circuits that could get flooded if this happens again. Their response displays a genuine lack of concern for my family's safety. Minus 1 star for making me so angry that I post a video of the water pouring through my ceiling to their Facebook page. 12) Lots of other issues I didn't even cover (e.g., the "4-star" painters). In their defense everything looks pretty good, finally. So plus 2 stars for that. So, unless my math is poor, that means 5 stars minus 6 stars plus 2 star = 1 star.