While I've been gone from Glen Ellyn for two years, I felt compelled to share my experience with…read moreP&O from 2020-2021. At that time we were doing a whole house renovation of our center entry colonial in the GE village area, coveted location half block to Ben Franklin. I called and spoke to whom I assume was an assistant. I told the woman I had an open ended budget and described what I was looking for, a Reno true to the character of the home and GE. I was given a snotty response that they were extremely busy and most likely couldn't take me on. I left my information and never so much as received a follow up call. Fast forward, I found a GREAT GM construction company who worked in tandem with my designer from Geneva IL. Our home was stunning, all finishes top end and bespoke. In 2023 we listed our home and got two offers for list and ended up getting 50k over. I knew our decision to move past P&O and not be discouraged by their rude behavior would yield good things and it did. My advice, look for a designer who's as vested and excited about the project as you are and values their customers.

We hired Park & Oak to furnish our newly purchased house while we continued to stay in our current…read morehouse. We shared our design preferences (coastal, transitional, light and airy) and provided a Pinterest board reflecting our design preferences. P-Oak reviewed everything we shared over a new client screening call and indicated they could deliver on what we wanted. We signed up as a new client, and after three months, we were called in to review their Rev-1 designs. The only touchpoints we received between signing up and seeing the Rev-1 designs were requests for measurements of various spaces (we are a remote client). This should have been our first warning sign. We arrived in Chicago excited and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm faded fast. The designs, although true to Park & Oak's brand, were not what we asked for. We made the mistake of assuming that P-Oak would flex to meet our design preferences and put their spin on our style and the style of our house--they did not. We asked for revisions and provided specific feedback about what we didn't like in the current design. They came back with a Rev-2 that was...pretty much the same thing--true to their brand but not what we asked for. We were beyond frustrated. At this point, it became clear that we could keep asking for revisions but it's unlikely we would get what we were looking for. We were stuck. We could buy $150-$200k of furniture we don't like, or we could walk away entirely with over 5 months of lost time and having to start all over. Neither scenario sounded good, but we didn't want to compromise on the aesthetics of our house, so we terminated the service. If you have a 100-year-old house (Victorian, Colonial, Prairie style, etc.) and you're looking to preserve the old-time charm of your house, Park & Oak will perform true to its brand. In our case, we have a 20-year-old house built in the Hamptons style, and we're not looking to make it feel older. We shared very specifically what we wanted. Why didn't they tell us we weren't a fit during our screening? Why didn't they validate the designs were directionally correct by sharing even just a single room's design? Why not collaborate with your client and calibrate your work before doing a waterfall dump on them, only to find out it's all wrong? If you are considering this service, know that P-Oak will not stray from the pictures you see online. If you can't see yourself buying those exact pieces for your house (not the house you see in the photos--your house!), I recommend you look elsewhere. The final and most frustrating part of this: after we terminated our services, our bill spontaneously tripled what all of the prior invoices combined added up to. Although the project was nowhere near completion, the total amount we were invoiced had clearly been accelerated, and it was now just shy of what they estimated the entire project would cost. Final, final bit: without going into the details, I don't recommend hiring them for remote work. There will be errors. If they can't drive to your place from their office, you will likely experience some pains--furniture too big for the space, wrong placement, etc. They won't be able to really connect with your place.

Joanna was excellent! She designed three of our main floor rooms including the family room, formal…read moredining room, and front sitting room. It was my first time using an interior designer and I couldn't be happier with the experience. She was very professional, easy to work with, flexible, and patient when we weren't ready to make a decision. She adapted our style beautifully and we love the result. I will definitely use her again in future when we're ready to redo other spaces in the house.

I was a bit nervous about working with an interior designer for the first time, but Joanna has made…read moreme a convert! When I enlisted her to redecorate my dining room, she came over to hear my ideas. She collaborated with me and was also direct when she thought I was going astray- which was just what I needed! Within days, she had a Pinterest board with recommendations and partnered with me to narrow down the purchase list. I love the results!

Working with Dawn was amazing! I reached out for help selecting a paint color for a tricky room in…read moreour house (the kitchen). During our 2-hour consultation, Dawn not only found a color that perfectly matched our style, counters, and backsplash but also spotted opportunities to refresh the colors in the dining room and entry to bring the whole design together. Her color savvy is fantastic, and she asked great questions and listened carefully to incorporate our preferences and ideas. She left us with paint swatches for all three rooms, and the new colors look incredible. Dawn's color consultation more than exceeded our expectations, but she didn't stop there! She also suggested ways to update the kitchen and dining room lighting to be more functional and coordinated. Her after-visit email summary included links to all of the ideas she had offered, including multiple options for fixtures that were very affordable and perfect for our spaces. We love the new lighting. To top it all off, when we told Dawn about our longer-term goal of renovating our kitchen, she offered fantastic ideas for reconfiguring the space to make it more functional and appealing. She followed up with detailed recommendations in her after-visit email summary and included rough drawings to help us visualize thew space. The 2-hour consultation with Dawn was an incredible value, and we definitely want to work with her on the kitchen renovation project!

"I had an absolutely amazing experience working with Dawn Bach on my apartment layout and design. I…read morereached out to her before moving from Colorado to Illinois, and she took the time to schedule a call and clearly explain her role as an interior decorator and how she could help based on my space and preferences. Dawn provided detailed layout plans along with furniture, bedding, electronics, and artwork recommendations--all of which perfectly matched my style and lifestyle. Her guidance not only made the process easy, but it also saved me over $900. I truly got everything I asked for and more. Thank you, Dawn! I will absolutely recommend you to anyone looking for an interior decorator."

I rarely write negative reviews, but I was disappointed with my visit to the Kitchen Studio. I was…read morelooking to install new countertops in my kitchen and bathroom. The Kitchen Studio popped up in my google search as being a local dealer of the specific higher end material I wanted. Upon arrival, an employee told me "they don't do just countertops". Okay. That isn't clear on their website. Then she went on to tell me she can't think of anywhere in the area to refer me that "just does counters". First, of all, there are at least 10 countertop fabricators within a 10 mile radius of Glen Ellyn. Someone in the industry should know this. Second, I'm sure the Kitchen Studio has an in house fabricator or they subcontract it out to someone local (most likely) and thus, why on earth would you not give this person my business??? I have a fairly large kitchen and master vanity. My quotes from the other local fabricators, who do, in fact, exist, are coming in at $120/sq foot and up. I'm giving 2 stars instead of one because all their kitchens on houzz are truly lovely and I'm sure if you hire them they would design a beautiful kitchen.

We signed a retainer to remodel kitchen and small bath and powder room with the kitchen studio of…read moreGlen Ellen that clearly specified their design and project overseeing fees as % of material ( I had to buy everything from them except appliances) and their labor cost. However when cost estimates were developed for contract signing for the project implementation phase, her personal fees were 3 times of what they should have been per our retainer agreement. When I pointed out the retainer terms, instead of correcting, they sent me a new retainer document and told me their process has changed. The change is permanent and sometimes there is a little fallout like this. These were Susan's words in her email to me. I took them to court ( case#2019SR000483 in Dupage county) to get my money back which I did. Susan herself is talented and personable but her business partner and company co-owner's dealings are disappointing and ignorant of basic business ethics. Susan kept saying he handles all money and pricing aspects. I had to walk away! Update 1/10/2020: I stand by my comments and the fact that you completely disavowed the terms of retainer and when I pointed out the pricing terms that we agreed to In the retainer, you emailed me a new retainer document with all pricing terms removed from it. I would have never signed anything or paid you $7k based on that new retainer devoid of any specifics. This was an act of complete lack of integrity. If you are serious about building reputation, practicing integrity will help. Good luck

Had a good selection and pricing was fair - everything half off for the last day. Good experience!read more

Was just at an estate sale run by this company and while the prices were very high, I do understand…read morethat the first day can be that way, but the woman in charge was so rude to me that I put down what we had picked up and walked out. It's OK to not accept an offer on something but it's not OK to be disrespectful and rude.

The Drury team did an amazing job transforming our kitchen - we absolutely love it!…read more Mario & Linda

Drury Design was invaluable to us for our kitchen and bath renovation in Southwest Michigan. They…read morewere the constant in the process that provided us with a high quality product in cabinets and countertops, measurements and oversight. Even though the project was in a different state, we heavily relied up Drury (Alicia) to obtain a high quality finished product. We would use them again in a heartbeat!!

I can't believe how remiss I have been in not writing up a review for Interiors by Maribeth!…read more Maribeth and Jovita have been an essential part in sourcing fabric for our upholstery projects over the last 3 years. Maribeth's eye for color is unmatched. The team is talented and fun to work with, and really approached our projects with enthusiasm and insight, never pushing an agenda. Our relationship began when we were looking for a particular upholstery fabric and color-way from an English fabric company that we hoped to use for a pair of heirloom chairs .... I'd refer anyone who is making big decisions about fabric to check in with Maribeth and her team first!

I cannot say enough good things about Maribeth. She's the only decorator I use & I've been in the…read morereal estate game for thirty years. Maribeth is mind boggling, actually. She really knows her craft, it's like she was born to be an interior decorator. Her ability to put design schemes together is amazing. I swear I think she knows all the paint colors and their number designation(s) by memory. One time she was explaining something to me and I said: "What do you mean?" She drew a sketch of it and it looked like a masterpiece in the Art Institute. Years ago, the rental market was 'down' and I'm a landlord. I couldn't rent out an apartment and I had at least seven showings. I said to myself, I'll call Maribeth (get the color schemes) and have the apartment repainted. I did just that, first showing after Maribeth and the new paint, the apartment rented in the FIRST showing. As a matter of fact, I will NEVER use any other interior decorator, but Maribeth.

We recently needed to upgrade the interior of our restaurant with new blinds…read more Not only did Laura get us exactly what we were looking for, she did so in a cost effective and timely manner. The blinds she helped us select are beyond perfect. We are thrilled and our customers compliment them constantly! Thank you, Laura! MAPLE HOUSE CAFE MOKENA

Laura's work in gorgeous! She recently helped us remodel our master suite and the experience was…read moreamazing. Laura brought several ideas to the project that not only enhanced the beauty of our bathroom and bedroom, but also ensured they were timeless additions that would increase the value of our home for years to come. She kept an eagle-eye on both costs and details. Laura has great ideas for money-saving tips that do not sacrifice quality. Plus, she is a perfectionist, so every finishing touch was completed with exactness.