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    Monk's Design Studio

    4.9 (18 reviews)
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    Services - Monk's Design Studio

    Deck construction

    Deck design

    Deck repair

    4 More Services

    Deck replacement

    Floor installation

    Floor refinishing

    Floor restoration

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    New Kitchen

    In 2021 we decided to update our kitchen/dining room area. We had some ideas but wanted a highly capable company to take us through the process. After much research and references, we selected Monk's Home Improvement. We decided to add the original dining room to the kitchen layout. This meant removing a separating wall. With the space now about 1/3 larger we worked with our designer at Monk's, Denise, to layout our kitchen, choose cabinets, decide on counters, make decisions on lighting, choose colors, hardware and tile. With the design software Denise utilizes we were given remarkable computer-generated renderings with which we could visualize our new kitchen. There was a 7 month lead-time for the cabinets and it turned out the was a 7 month lead-time for our appliances as well. In March the cabinets and appliances arrived. We were assigned an overall project manager, Chris, who got the ball rolling with a pre-work meeting to present the project schedule. It was Chris' job to maintain the schedule, overcome construction issues (there were a few) and communicate with us. Chris is high-energy and knowledgeable so he was perfect. He was at our house every day for 10 minutes to an hour. There were 10 milestones to the project: 1. Demolition of the existing kitchen, including all cabinets; removing a ceramic tile floor; removing the wall; dead-ending electrical wiring and plumbing, removing the existing window, etc 2. Installing a wood floor which matched the existing wood floors in our home 3. Installing a new, much larger window over the sink 4. Sheetrocking the walls and the ceiling 5. Prep painting everything 6. Installing the cabinets 7. Running new plumbing and electric 8. Installing lights 9. Installing appliances 10. Final painting The project took about two months, which is what Monk's told us it would take. I found myself calling Chris a few times when it seemed like the progress was slow; my wife reminded me to be patient. In retrospect a couple things about Monk's stand out: * The designer did an unbelievable job. * The project manager is essential to keeping things on track and having one person to communicate with. * Each of the crews were competent, CLEAN and COURTEOUS, especially important since they were in our house for 2 months. * The subcontractors (electric and plumbing) knew their stuff. Everyone who has been in our house loves our kitchen; but not as much as we do. We would use Monk's again for future projects and have recommended them to our friends.

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    9 months ago

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    Ty M.

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    1 year ago

    We're very happy with the new master bath window shutters. Once again, Ward and Bill did a GREAT job. Thank you!

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    So far the design process as been great. Denise is very good at design and listened to what I wanted. I would definitely use Monks again

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

    The best service, quality work and hands down the greatest company we have worked with. Don't bother looking elsewhere.

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    Review Highlights - Monk's Design Studio

    Working with Anina on our new kitchen in Short Hills, she demonstrated her experience and talent design.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Speedwell Design Center

    Speedwell Design Center

    3.4
    (12 reviews)

    Good selection of flooring in the showroom. The installation was quick and it looks great!read more

    There is a series of negative reviews below which really surprise me. I've only had great…read moreexperiences with this business. I think I know what the problem is which I will state later in this review. ABSOLUTELY BEST PRICES They absolutely have the best prices in northern New Jersey. How do I know? Well, it's sort of my job to know. I've literally gone to every single flooring/tiling store and Speedwell has beaten them all, sometimes by a very significant margin. If you don't believe me, call any store and get a quote on a piece of flooring. A lot of them will say they don't quote over the phone. (That's double-speak for we want you to come down and then hopefully, when you hear the price, you'll be too lazy to go back to the cheaper place and you'll just order then and there. What's crazy is that this actually works. Ask car dealers.) Think about this observation I made about them. Their normal prices are better than the sale prices of other places. It makes my job easier since I don't have to always comparison shop because I know I'm going to get the best price. I still do time to time to make sure but it's always cheaper. WHAT MIGHT BE WRONG I think the reason for the negative reviews is that this business does a lot of business with commercial buyers who buy in bulk. (Thus, the cheap prices.) They don't do as much business with residential customers so they don't have their own in-house installation crew. They sub-contract the work and that is the problem. They try to find good people but quality control is pretty tough when you are subcontracting the work out. This is probably the reason why there are so many complaints about the workmanship. Speedwell isn't overseeing the work so they can't control the results. Speedwell probably just offers installation as more of a "favor" to residential customers. (I'm not sure of this but I'm just speculating.) If I were them, I would just sell floor products rather than include installation. It's the better business model. But, what do I know, right? SELECTION AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE The ladies in the store are absolutely the nicest people you'll meet. They let me take their only sample piece over the weekend so I could bring them to job sites. My designer could now see if the sample piece's color truly matches the room's surrounding fixtures. That's really great customer service. Their store has a real wide range of products to choose from and the ladies' technical knowledge is solid. What's more important is taste and they've made some great suggestions in the past. BUY THE MATERIALS HERE. FIND YOUR OWN CONTRACTOR TO INSTALL. This is how you save a few hundred/thousand bucks. The contractor is not going to go looking for the best price like you will. But, they do get a slightly discounted contractor's price sometimes so when you go shopping around, just say that you're a designer and you want the contractor's price. Not so hard, is it? I'm a property manager so I have previously used contractors lined up to install the product. I suggest you guys to look for contractors that will just do the install. To find good contractors, ask to take a look at work projects that they have done a year or two ago. (Newly installed product will almost always look good; the bad quality reveals itself over time. Look really close and be anal.) If you still want to use Speedwell's subcontractors, ask them to only suggest contractors that they absolutely know to be awesome. I'm sure they will tell you the truth. They really are nice people.

    Gemini Design Group

    Gemini Design Group

    4.9
    (8 reviews)

    I met Carla several years ago playing tennis together. I learned she had a design business, and…read morekept that in mind as we were considering redoing our master bathroom. Several years later we decided to reach out to Carla for her opinion on a redesign of our 1990's bathroom. Carla came up with a great design to maximize and enhance the space, including a jetted tub and larger shower. Working with Carla was easy and she asked great questions to make us think about what we really needed and wanted. Carla also helped us avoid costly mistakes. She came up with some great solutions for our backsplash, counters, tiles, and hardware. The trades she recommended were also very good to work with. I would not hesitate to recommend Carla to others and use her in the future for any redesign projects.

    We are very happy we chose Carla Gaeta, owner of Gemini Design Group, to design our new kitchen and…read moreto serve as general contractor. Carla gave us the kitchen we had imagined only better. Carla spent significant time with us listening carefully, evaluating our space, answering questions, and offering suggestions. The planning process was thorough and all estimates were on point. Carla brings 30 years' experience in design and construction to the process. She worked to make us happy, but stood her ground when what we asked was not a good idea. From planning through execution, her communication was superb. Questions were answered quickly. We always knew what to expect and when subcontractors would be at our job. Her subcontractors did excellent work and were a pleasure to have in our home. Carla personally checked on each day's work, ensuring that all aspects were up to her very high standard. As with any construction project, not everything went perfectly. Carla stepped in as our advocate with suppliers, always exhibiting grace under pressure to ensure delays were minimized. Her mantra is, "There is always a solution!" Then there is the "above and beyond" aspect of working with Gemini Design Group. Carla noticed the step from the kitchen into the garage was too high thus a bit dangerous. It had always been that way so over 20 years we had become used to it. Being comfortable with picking up tools to make things right, Carla designed and built a proper step into our garage. We are grateful to have found Carla Gaeta of Gemini Design Group. You can place your trust in her to deliver a beautiful, functional kitchen, bath, or both! In fact, Gemini will be starting work on our main bathroom very soon.

    Tri-State Stone & Tile

    Tri-State Stone & Tile

    3.3
    (21 reviews)
    $$$

    Most recently, Tri-State replaced my kitchen counters with quartz. From start to finish, Daniella…read morewas EXTREMELY responsive and had a solution for all of the quirks that came with my project. I especially appreciated the same-day demo and installation and the attention to detail in every step of the project. Previously, Tri-State installed quartz in our new bathroom. We are very happy with their work on both projects.

    We hired Tristate Stone and Tile for a custom sink and countertop install. While the final sink…read moreitself turned out beautiful, the overall experience was frustrating and disappointing. As others have stated, they aren't very customer service focused with emails and phone calls left unanswered for days and weeks. Communication was poor from the start, with very little sense of urgency. Their installers broke our medicine cabinet during installation -- then blamed us and our contractor, saying it shouldn't have been installed yet. This was never communicated beforehand, and we had made it clear they would be responsible for any damage. While they eventually agreed to cover the cost, we had to chase them for weeks to get reimbursed. They also removed the doors from our vanity cabinet and lost the hinge screws, which caused further unnecessary delays. The sink arrived unfinished, with glue all over the inside of the custom basin. We were empathetic to the fact that they're short-staffed, but the delays dragged our project out by months. To their credit, they were honest and ultimately made good on everything -- but only after persistent follow-up. If you choose to work with them, be ready to stay on top of every detail yourself.

    Monk's Design Studio - kitchenandbath - Updated June 2026

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