Stephen Wang + Associates were the architects on a gut renovation of an apartment we bought that…read morehad not been renovated since the 1940's. We were not quite ready to "hit the ground running" when we closed on the purchase as we were then still going through the process of meeting with different architects, reviewing their portfolios and checking with former clients. I don't know what higher compliment I can give Stephen Wang than to say that in a process that extended almost two year from the beginning of the design phase to the day we walked into our fabulous new home, there hasn't been a day, a single day, that we haven't said how lucky, and how grateful we are that we selected Stephen as our architect. During the design process the five traits that I think stand Stephen head and shoulders above all of the other architects I met became clear. First, and probably most important, he's simply a great architect. I won't elaborate here because I think his portfolio speaks louder and more eloquently to this than I ever could. Second, he truly listens. There was so much we wanted in our apartment, from my wife's desire not to be isolated from our guests when she's in the kitchen (he put a pocket door in the wall that had separated the Living Room from the Kitchen, so now she never feels like she's missing out when we're entertaining and she's cooking) to my wanting to keep an antique French fireback that was in our old apartment but didn't fit the fireplace in our new home (he mounted it as a beautiful bas relief in the Powder Room), and he listened to what was important to us and addressed both our concerns and our desires in professional and stunning ways that never smacked of an architect merely catering to the whims of a demanding client. SWA is all about collaboration, and while it's become a cliche today when people say "the client comes first," Stephen Wang uses his genius to make your dream a reality. The third thing I found so impressive about Stephen during the design of our apartment was, to borrow the refrain from the musical "The Music Man", "you gotta know the territory!", and Stephen does! Stephen's knowledge of every aspect of the design process was beyond incredible. When it came to the trades and professionals, Stephen was always the one leading the discussion because he was just so damn knowledgable, telling the HVAC consultant where the bends in the ducts should go and what angle would be most efficient, advising the acoustical consultant how to provide the best soundproofing, and directing the millwork guys how they could fit a closet in a seemingly inaccessible space. And the "knock your socks off" part of his expertise was how it extended to every choice we had to make during this adventure, from the selection of wood for the floors (and the best stains and finishes for the wood), to the best stoves (don't know any other architect who can talk at length about the pluses and minuses of dual-fuel oven vs. all gas) to the TVs for the Study (telling the AV consultant to wait to buy the TV as Samsung was coming out with a new model in a month), Stephen knew the marketplace as well as (better!) any of the experts. The fourth thing about SWA that really needs to be highlighted is Stephen's experience in the New York City design community and the broad range of contacts he has made who, I can tell from my experience, all have tremendous respect for him. When friends in other coops heard that our plans included a "wet over dry" relocation of the Powder Room, everyone said "no chance", and that was even before they learned that our coop had never before in its 85 year history approved a wet-over-dry proposal. While I think Stephen's planning and design were largely responsible for us getting this approved, I believe his long background of dealing with the building's architect was tremendously helpful; they knew that if Stephen put his name on something, that meant a lot. The fifth, and final qualification that I believe makes Stephen Wang so special is his calm and assuring (and re-assuring) manner. He never gets ruffled or excited, and views every insurmountable problem as just another challenge to be conquered. When my wife and I first interviewed Stephen, he said that his job was to break everything down into small discreet decisions and to give us a few options from which to chose in order to keep the process from becoming overwhelming. I don't know how he did it, but he did. Priceless. While I've spoken about Stephen Wang and SWA synonymously, I'm a bit neglectful and should mention the fabulous people he has working with him, who provide powerful support and follow-up, making dealing with this firm a very positive and truly rewarding experience. To anyone looking for an architect in New York, I would recommend Stephen Wang whole-heartedly and without reservation.

I have never written a review on the internet until today. I read the review on Stephen Wang…read moreArchitect by Viola E and I felt an overwhelming need to respond. I am a Department of Buildings filing representative/building code consultant and have been working with Stephen Wang for over 20 years. During these years, I have never been retained by Mr. Wang's firm. I have been retained directly by the apartment owner or building owners. As such, I have gotten to know the owners relatively well and not once has there been any complaints against Mr. Wang. During the years that I have worked with Mr. Wang and his office, I have experienced first-hand how Mr. Wang treats every project and every client. He treats each client exactly the same regardless of the size of the project, cost of the project and wealth of the building owner. It has been my experience that Mr. Wang pays exceptional detail to every aspect of the project. It is Mr. Wang's personality to insure that the apartment/building owner gets the best possible result and is completely satisfied with the finished project. Viola E states that Mr. Wang's "team made many mistakes including false filing with the DOB....". This statement can be considered libel or slander against me and my firm because a "false" filing can be punished by the DOB. I take this statement personally because I too provide the best product possible without taking any short-cuts in the DOB filing process. The DOB filing process includes the preparation of DOB forms which is complicated, tedious and time-consuming. As such, there is always a possibility of a discrepancy in the preparation of forms versus the information on the plans. In fact, it is very common for many projects to require an amendment because of some discrepancy on the forms. Therefore, this discrepancy is far from a false filing!!! The review by Viola E is unfounded and unfair, she is extremely unreasonable. Mr. Wang has been the architect in close to a hundred projects in New York City with not one review that has been less than stellar. Could it be that Viola E blames the architect Stephen Wang when in fact she was the problem on her project.

We have James and his team to renovate our new home. We are new buyers and have no experience with…read morecontractors, but James took care of all the things so well. His attention to details, aesthetic, and craftsmanship really help us to get the final look of our beautiful home now! James and his team did an amazing job painting our entire home, and upgraded the hardwares. We have changed the countertop, got customized closets. He even quickly fixed some of the pumping issues near the end of the projects. Super reasonable price, and we definitely recommend him to anyone!

I highly recommend James McGhee and A Better Craft for your home renovation and construction…read moreprojects. James is a pleasure to work with (so easy going and professional) and he is always around working and managing during the project. For the work A Better Craft did for my project - see below. WORK COMPLETED: Painted my unfinished basement from top to bottom (including painting and tacking up messy wires and finding a way to conceal them), smoothed over an uneven concrete basement floor, patched up parts of the ceiling where you could see the rafters, installed recessed lights and moved electrical outlets, built a closet with doors that his team constructed from a picture I showed them, patched up and painted my cracking concrete steps in the front and back of my house, installed a ceiling fan in my bedroom, hung heavy gym wall mirrors on the concrete walls in my basement, eliminated my rodent issue by adding wood siding under my steps and deck and had my iron gate repaired in front of my home. James is a talented painter and he knows his team well in addition to knowing all the local hardware, paint, and electrical stores which helps with product and pricing. You will enjoy working with A Better Craft!

SLA contractors did an excellent job renovating my kitchen. They were professional, efficient, and…read morethe end result exceeded my expectations. What I appreciated the most is the good communication and updates I received. Thank you SLA!

These guys were great, professional, and did the job on time! I highly recommend them. Their…read moreestimate could not be beat!

My wife and I were delighted by the beautiful work done by ATOZ Renovations. We're not in the habit…read moreof writing rave reviews. (We're New Yorkers after all.) But the job they did deserves recognition. Among the many people worth a shout-out: designer Chaya Uzan whose enthusiasm and ideas gave us a sense that our project was quite special; and Robbie Goldberg, our day-to-day contact and project manager, who brought a craftsman's eye to all aspects of the job. When problems were encountered, problems were fixed. An example: once we installed a new oven in the kitchen we realized that we would have to do without a favorite built-in spice cabinet. Robbie came up with ingenious fix requiring some custom carpentry so that the spice rack did not disappear but became an integral of the whole. Anthony, our renovation expert, was our first contact with A to Z. He encouraged us not to give up on what we wanted the project to look like even though other renovators had told us it was impossible to do. He also offered to answer any questions we might have along the way. Then there's Shevy, the permit and insurance coordinator. She dealt with the necessary paperwork and kept the inspectors at bay so we did not have to deal with those headaches. And last but not least, Mario, the site manager, who was there every day, hands-on, always professional and pleasant. On that note, the entire team seemed to like one another and treated us and each other with a refreshing degree of decency and consideration. To summarize: The team at ATOZ was thoroughly professional and kept us informed with clear, consistent communication every step of the way. Importantly, the team worked efficiently to stay on schedule and were fair when an unexpected issues arose, providing clear solutions. The final result is exceptional, and the quality of work exceeded our expectations. We would not hesitate to recommend ATOZ to anyone.

I couldn't be happier with the renovation of my townhouse in Greenpoint! Finding a company I could…read moretruly trust was not easy -- I'm very cautious when it comes to my home. But after meeting the team at A to Z Renovations, I finally felt confident I was in good hands. They were on point, punctual, and extremely detail-oriented throughout the entire project. Every step was handled with care and clear communication. The quality of their work exceeded my expectations, and I felt completely comfortable from start to finish. I honestly feel blessed to have found them. Trust is everything when you're doing a renovation, and A to Z truly delivered on every level. I highly, highly recommend them and will definitely be using them again in the future.

I am very happy with my decision to use Affordable Interior Design and with Stephanie, the designer…read moreI worked with. First, the design questionnaire was excellent - especially for someone like me who doesn't know much about interior design. It was able to identify my design preferences by showing different living rooms and asking which ones were to my liking. In addition, its questions served as a great preparation for the home visit, so Stephanie came well prepared for our meeting. Stephanie was very creative, professional, and helpful throughout the process. When she visited my place, we decided on a design together, in an efficient process, where she was able to translate my needs and preferences to interior design decisions and furniture choices. After two weeks, she assembled a furniture shopping list, within the budget I requested. I purchased all items she suggested. The furniture items were sourced from many furniture stores and I felt she did an excellent job finding items that were beautiful, fit the overall design, and reasonably priced. I get nothing but compliments about my place (even from my Architect friend who is quite stingy with design related complements...). Well done Stephanie! As to the cost-effectiveness of the service - had I done this process myself (even with friends help), I would have surely spent more time, more money, getting worse results. Finally, the service was well structured and transparent. Good stuff overall.

Paulina helped us get our dream bathroom! She has such a great eye and helped us save money on a…read morelot of materials too because she knew the right places to look. It's my favorite room in our house now, and I'm excited to work with AID on our kitchen renovation too.

We have been working with Sandra for a couple of years now. Sandra was really patient and guided us…read moreevery step of the way. We initially wasted time weighing other options, only to select what Sandra had originally recommended! We purchased all of our bedding in only half an hour, because we finally learned that what she selected would look 100% fabulous and it wasn't worth the time to look at anything else. I also appreciated how Sandra never pressured us to buy anything and took the time to understand our style. She even came over to our new apartment to see what our preferences were and provided tips for how to place items (purchased through Ethan Allen and other places, so that it meshed together). We went to other stores, but never felt that the designers were invested in helping us to achieve a home that would feel like it was ours. The quality of Ethan Allen furniture is also top notch. We've had our couches for 17 years now. The warranty is also no hassle at all. One wood table developed a crack - I made one phone call, the technician came to check it out, and then delivered the replacement. No forms to fill out at all or receipts to provide - I just gave them my name and that was it.

We purchased a sofa, two Caden chairs, a coffee table and two end tables in good faith. We also…read moreused a designer to be sure we were informed. We are older adults so wear is light. First the shark fin finish on the coffee table was delivered not showing the interesting wood grain (opaque) which WE HAD ASKED about several times and were shown floor samples and of a piece of furniture. No help to exchange. The shark fin surface of the wood on the coffee table and chairs does not wear well showing white seams months after use. The EA staff informed us that the protection program we purchased does not include wood only when we noticed wearing months after purchase. The only solution given was a furniture marker to continue to use several times a year as the white seams begin to show to cover up the flaws. As I continue to color my furniture several times a year, I am more frustrated that we trusted your company. This is not quality or service.