Jim consulted with me several times on my gut renovation project and provided expert advice. He…read morebrings expertise from two decades of experience to the table, and also his work is of impeccable quality. I saw a passive house he was gut renovating in Park Slope, and it was absolutely stunning! Jim knows how to preserve historic details while bringing the design into the modern era in a tasteful, classic way. He exudes calmness and wisdom and is a pleasure to be around. Full disclosure in that I ultimately had to choose a less experienced architect because Jim's fee, although completely reasonable given his level of skill and expertise, was a bit out of our price range.

Jim was great to work with. We did a semi-gut renovation in 3 bedroom/2 bathroom apt. The quality…read moreof his work and suggestions were exactly what we wanted based on my husband and my feedback. Jim is very detailed and each week during renovation, we had him manage the project with the contractor to ensure the final output was done properly. Most Manhattan apartments are not symmetrical, so the early stage on doing things a certain way goes a long way on the final look. He understands plumbing, and electrical well to communicate to our contractors. He referred us to a HVAC engineer. When it came to interior design, we had Sarah who provided feedback and suppliers information. She was also very helpful. Jim knows the DOB process well and helped us resolved many issues even during covid and DOB rule changed in 2020 and 2021. We also had him manage the project with the contractors. The contractors don't have the same design eyes and were a bit sloppy and forgetful so it was imperative to have Jim help us. Urban charges by the hour and provided an accurate estimate of the cost. Make sure what projects he's working on so he can allocate time properly. In the beginning with the design drawing schematic, it took a while cause he was on a couple of brownstone projects but overall still have a very positive experience with Jim. He was responsive.

It was a great experience to work with this interior designer. They closely heard my thoughts and…read moremade my house a fashionable and practical place that feels like it is mine. Their sense and color are amazing. The whole environment was stress-free and relaxing

I cannot begin to explain how much I love Marissa and design Macs! They transformed our 2 bedroom…read moreapartment into the most incredible home. We have loved living here. She creatively used every inch of space and was able to maximize storage for us. The ideas she thought of, we would have never thought of and I am so thankful for. Her attention to detail during all steps of the process is so appreciated. The best part is, all the work and designs have paid off in multiples. We recently put our place on the market and received 10+ offers within 5 days at ask and above. Everyone loved all the built ins (entertainment center, mudroom area, built in benches, desk are, storage column) all which were her ideas and vision. I cried happy tears! I cannot wait to work with her again!!

We worked with Mel on the drawings for our 1 bedroom condo renovation. We absolutely loved our…read moreexperience with Mel and would highly recommend him to anyone in need of an architect. Some reasons why we enjoyed working with Mel are: -he was very quick to reply to all emails and phone calls -he's very organized, methodical, calm and personable -Mel always delivered on time, meeting every deadline -he is thorough -Mel was patient with us as we asked all our questions. He listened and our drawings reflect all of the components we discussed and that were important to us We highly recommend Mel of Gesture Ink!

I had the pleasure of working with Mel from Gesture Ink on a project for my home church in Jersey…read moreCity. We needed professional architectural drawings and diagrams of the building, which is dated almost 100years, and were under a time crunch to complete the project. Mel was punctual and easy to communicate with throughout the project. Mel's professionalism definitely made us more confident in the vision at hand. We were more than satisfied with the completed project and would definitely hire Mel & his design firm in the future for any architectural needs. Gesture Ink demonstrated excellence in our project and if you are looking for a licensed architect for your needs I would 100% recommend this company.

Steve helped me to get a 19-year old outstanding DOB permit approved for an apartment in a landmark…read morebuilding. This wasn't a creative project for an architect. Actually I am sure it was very painful to deal with all the red tapes. During those 4 months, he even contacted me in the after hours to give me the progress. Thank you.

My answer to your response is - I guess you never worked with an expeditor. I never asked you to…read morepull permits yourself. ---------- Where do I begin? This architect is disgustingly unprofessional and more importantly, a bad person. He was 15 minutes late to our meeting, walked in while I was speaking to his co workers, Jasmine and Dong, and was completely dismissive about the entire meeting. When I started to ask him about the next steps to move forward, like how to pull permits and the pricing for the design, he completely FLIPPED out telling me why would he pull permits when that's the contractor's job? I was a bit taken aback since my previous architect pulled permits alongside my contractor. He then started to allege that I use unlicensed contractors. I started to wonder what he was getting at and why he was being such a rude jerk. He then had the nerve to pull out the BIS gov website and ask me about the contractor I used and the address. When I tried to tell him the architect firm, he got very angry and said why would I care about the architect? HELLO! You asked who pulled the permits! He found my previous project and everything was up to code. This guy is disgusting. There is NP way he's a legit architect because he doesn't have any skills on how to speak to clients. Stay away. You can find architects who pull permits alongside the contractors. This means he has very bad relationships with the DOB.

Over the years WL Kitchen & Home have done a number of projects for me, the latest ones being a…read morelibrary, display cabinet and ceiling molding. From start to finish their work has been excellent. From the design phase to the preparation of the woodwork materials and then to the installation all of the work was done in a seamless fashion by very knowledgable and talented individuals. I recommend them very highly.

"Ce magnifique" is what comes to mind to describe our library. We're very happy with the quality…read moreand the craftsmanship. The team was helpful, knowledgeable, and available every time we needed to talk with them. The installation was beautifully executed. We can recommend this company.

If you are thinking of going with Vanguard...don't hesitate. Just do it! Oleksii and his team did a…read morefantastic job with our long and complicated project. The quality of his work is tremendous, he has a great eye for design and is extremely hardworking! He is also able to work with you on your budget. I highly recommend him for all of your design and architectural needs!

what can I say about Vanguard development? I went in the process of buying a home that was in need…read moreof complete renovation. I personally know virtually nothing about renovating or decorating. As you can imagine, this can be a rather stressful situation to be in when you consider that you will be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. It is my unequivocal opinion that hiring oleksii and vanguard is the best single investment you can make throughout this process. Vanguard creates extremely detailed 3-dimensional representations of all of your spaces. I consider myself to be a person of pretty good taste, but having reviewed the images I realized I would have made many costly and disheartening mistakes if left to my own devices. As it goes now, I rely on Vanguard to create beautiful, functional, and unique designs and concepts for each area of the house. as I begin the construction phase, I know exactly what I will be getting and I couldn't be more excited. To add to all this Vanguard displays an exemplary level of professionalism, courtesy, and are just plain wonderful to deal with. I would recommend them to all my friends and family without the slightest hesitation.

I am a real estate broker and have referred Victoria to many of my clients whether it be small or…read morelarge scale work. They have all come back to me very happy with her service and work. She is extremely talented and I will continue to refer her!

Victoria drafted plans for a complete apartment renovation. She worked with the board and managing…read moreagent to get all of the alterations approved.