I will be spreading praises of Moogie Kennedy of Avenir Kitchen and Bath, and her teams, for years…read moreto come.
The summary: If you want thorough, careful, thoughtful renovation of your home in a well-planned and executed manner, Avenir Kitchen and Bath is for you. Do you want the cheapest option? Look elsewhere. Do you want fair, clear, predictable pricing for good-quality, custom work, with a top tier project manager to boot? Call Moogie Kennedy. I will be calling her again the next time I need a renovation. I will refer her to my closest friends and family without hesitation.
The scope: Moogie took on renovating the entire upper story of our split-foyer house in Fairfax over the course of two and a half months. This included demolishing walls between kitchen, dining, and living rooms to create an open plan, building a new combined kitchen and dining space, fully renovating two bathrooms (including stripping out and rebuilding all plumbing, fixing water-damaged subfloor and studs), uncovering and restoring original hardwood floors, painting all walls, ceiling, and trim, and extensive rewiring. She also redid the plumbing in our laundry room and installed a new electrical panel for the house.
The experience: Timely. On schedule. Responsive. Moogie is a delight to work with. Her original walkthrough and estimate were extensive. Her contract was detailed and the scope was thorough. She was careful to outline everything that was in scope, and mention some items that were not. She obtained all permits and inspections in an incredibly timely manner, working closely with the county to ensure the lowest possible delays.
Moogie is personable, thoughtful, and detail-oriented, and has an eye for design. When we chose fixtures, she was careful to ensure that they would work for our lives and for our house style, and provided feedback when she thought something would seem cheap or out-of-place. She does not skimp on quality construction, but she did provide feedback for when she thought something was needlessly expensive, and pointed out cost savings whenever possible.
As with all renovations, ours unearthed surprise problems. She handled each of them with creative custom care. She was very precise about budget, and communicated to us immediately when something deviated from the plan. She made thoughtful suggestions on finishes and layouts, and helped to solve our practical needs, such as our need for an especially durable kitchen, and consideration for our pets' and children's lives.
Moogie's teams of carpenters and tradespeople are top-notch. Her master plumbers and electricians did great work for us. Her carpenters were truly wonderful and I would provide references for all of them individually. We even traveled for two weeks during our renovation, and I had no problem trusting Moogie and her team with management of our home in our absence.
TL;DR: Hire Avenir Kitchen and Bath. You won't regret it. But Moogie, please pick up the phone when I call you next. :)