Paola was recommended to us by our realtor. At first we were skeptical that we needed a stager (it…read moreseemed frivolous) but we were wrong. Paola met with us for about 2 hours at our house, two months before we were going to sell. She gave us a run down of what she thought should be done. This included changing a carpet, painting a small room a neutral color, chopping down a small bush, getting rid of various pieces of furniture, moving some art work. We decided to go with it as we liked Paola's style. She is very direct and businesslike and we felt that she knew what she was doing. We did what she said and then about 5 days before the first open house she came back and she dressed each room with vases, throws, paintings, decorations. She moved furniture from one room to another, making me wonder why I hadn't thought of doing that while we lived there! In the end, our 36 year old house looked like a new house. We were delighted. I am pleased to say that our house looked so good that it sold the day after the open house for the asking price. It was a nice house anyway, but Paola made it really shine.

Paola was recommended by our realtor to stage our home in Acton which we sold in June 2018. She was…read moreextremely thorough going from room to room and our realtor was kind enough to type up all the notes so we could remember it all! We appreciated that Paola tried to use as much of our own furnishings and decor as possible - moving items from one room to another or simply "decluttering" them. She ended up providing some small decor, pillows, and wall hangings and along with all the changes she suggested, our house showed really well. Our house went under agreement the first Open House weekend. Paola was easy to communicate with even answering last minute decor questions. She was mindful of all the costs of selling the house and accepted her payment when we finally closed. We really appreciated her help!

We cannot say enough good things about Spring Green Interior Design. We turned to Kathryn for…read moreadvice when blending households and she was exceptionally helpful, taking the time to get a sense of our tastes as individuals, then using our input to help us create a harmonious, welcoming home together. Kathryn was generous with her knowledge, such that we came away not only with recommendations, but with an understanding of the principles behind them. She answered our questions intelligently, then expanded into possibilities we hadn't even considered. We particularly appreciated the fact that she was sensitive to our budget, offering suggestions that could be implemented now as well introducing possible ideas for the future. While she has lovely taste and excellent instincts, Kathryn took care never to impose her ideas; instead, she offered guidance, then encouraged us to embrace the choices that spoke to us. She helped us with paint colors, furniture dimensions, traffic flow, lighting options, and all sorts of additional things -- from the small to the structural -- that we never would have known about. To top it all off, she was professional in every way, as well as a personal delight to work with. When it's time for our next interior design project, Spring Green Interior Design will be our first call.

Maureen just staged my condo in Cambridge which I was able to sell quickly at a great price. I was…read moreskeptical about retaining a stager because my place is fairly small and I wasn't sure it was worth the cost. The issue with staging is that you have to have faith. You will never know how much of an impact it had, if any. I think Maureen did a great job though! She told me what items to put into storage to make my place look bigger and she reorganized my things in a way that made the condo more inviting. She also brought in some of her own things to complete the picture. I would highly recommend DaVinci if you are going to use a stager. My realtors use her themselves when they sell their own homes too. She is definitely an expert at what she does! The only reason I am giving 4 instead of 5 stars is because of the cost. My condo is only 700 square feet and the cost was $2,500. Maureen came for an initial consult and then spent one full day staging. Again, I have no way of knowing how much added benefit the staging had with the sale price and while I'd like to think it increased the sale by at least $2,500 I just don't know. In any case, I would still highly recommend DaVinci, especially if you have a larger home or you are selling in a less desirable area as I think the added benefit will be more noticeable.

Maureen at DaVinci Designer Gallery was a pleasure to work with. She transformed my South Boston…read morecondo before we listed it and we were able to sell it within 2 weeks. Maureen is so easy to work with, which was such a relief considering how stressful moving can be. She was able to use most of our own furniture and she mainly added pieces and moved things around to bring it all together. She's so creative and has a great eye for design. She understands who the target market is and creates a design to appeal to it. I agree with a previous review that the staging is pricey and there's no way to tell what your ROI is, but I'm a firm believer in 'you get what you pay for'. Being able to trust Maureen and not have to worry about a single thing is so worth it.

We are homeowners who needed to install protective surfaces on some of our doorways to ward off…read morecaster damage to baseboards & door jambs. (One of us uses a wheelchair.) Heard of MGI's weekly remnants sale & found a Carrara-like fabricated quartz that went perfectly with our newly renovated colors. We liked it so much that we decided to make a mantel top it out of it as well. Although most of their trade is with installers, Tony was happy to explain the fabrication process to do-it-yourselfers like us: cutting to size to a customer-provided mockup, softening selected edges, polishing added faces as needed. He was very patient with my mistakes & revisions. We got a very attractive & affordable result. Tony obviously enjoys what he does, including his customer interactions. I couldn't recommend MGI more highly.

Mimi really saved the day at Marble & Granite International. Her level of customer service,…read moreresponsiveness, and overall helpfulness was really amazing. I work for a residential remodeling company and we had an issue with the stone fabricator we had been using for a project that had resulted in us needing a counter fabricated, delivered, and installed on pretty much a two business day notice. Not only did Mimi provide me with an accurate quote within the hour, but she went out of her way to be pleasant about it and make sure I absolutely had everything that I needed to have our project continue without a hitch. Working with vendors every day, I rarely see this type of attitude and commitment. I cannot say enough good things about how smoothly and pleasantly the process went. We will definitely be returning to provide more business to MGI.

I needed help for a modest kitchen renovation: new flooring and countertops, with a limited budget…read morefor design help. Rosita provided exactly what I needed. We met at a flooring store where she helped me select a small number of options that she thought would work with the existing cabinets and walls, then headed to a countertop store to find options that would work with the floor samples. I then took the samples home to see them in place, which clarified what looked best in the space. Rosita did exactly what I needed: provided the guidance to get me past the paralysis of being overwhelmed by too many choices, plus pointing me to some good floor and countertop retailers. She was great about working within my small budget, but stands ready to provide more help if needed.

Heidi provided excellent service. She was pleasant and helpful every step of the way. She made…read moremany recommendations that we implemented. I would recommend her service whole heartedly.

We had finally decided to renovate our condo and had no idea what we wanted. In comes Brad and…read moreKendra to the rescue! They were very thorough and had a lot of reference material we could look at to help us narrow in on our vision. Both Brad and Kendra asked us a lot of questions of what we were looking to achieve and through our input were able to come up with a final look we were absolutely thrilled with! They were very responsive and quick to follow up and came up with multiple alternate ideas when we were unsure about something. Overall we were most happy with the design and color choices that perfectly matched what we had pictured in the back of our minds. They are very flexible whether you're a person who love every minutia of choice or want to throw caution to the wind and let them use their imagination to come up with a design! We would strongly recommend them if you want a unique design or vision that has yet to be discovered!

I was overwhelmed at the prospect of staring at paint chips and second guessing my selections…read more Brad came in and did a walk through on short notice. He accounted for the flooring, direction of light and our existing furniture and transformed our dated home with his paint selections. His picks were spot on. He followed up and communicated with us impeccably. Save yourself the headache and let his eye do the work!

OK, I see one review for Mandarina Studio here, and it's pretty stellar. Let me second that, and…read moreadd a few more things. I retained their service when my partner and I bought a house in Brookline about a year ago. We decided that we basically get rid of all the stuff we had at that point and do the whole house based on a new concept, which we weren't sure about at that point. Plus, we are super busy people, professionally, so we couldn't spare lots of time on this project and so needed someone who was cool and dependable. And here (after we interviewed a few potential candidates) comes Amanda Reid, the principal of this design firm. She was something! First of all, she has such cool, sophisticated taste on everything we need advice on: furniture, wall color, redoing the whole kitchen and bathroom etc. We were originally into the super modern, kind of cold look, but she persuaded us to introduce some eclectic elements like antique pieces into the whole mix, and the resulting space is just unique, tasteful, and functional. Whenever we throw a home party, people who visit our house for the first time usually gasp entering the door. And we tell them we did everything by ourselves (just joking: we give the studio full credit gracefully and gratefully always). There are so many other things I can say, but this is already getting too long. Just a few more things. Amanda is super organized and a crystal clear communicator. Over the course of three-four months, she probably made hundreds, possibly thousands of decisions, small and big. She always presented in her inimitable perfectly clear way what our options were and executed everything in her effortless manner (her presentation skills are something to behold). At work, I interact with some of the smartest people in the world, but rarely have I witnessed such efficiency and transparency in communication. We wanted no headache, no pain, no drama because we are so busy, and Amanda definitely made our life easy. Anyway, to sum up, if you live in this area and have some big complex project, go with her. You wont' regret.

Principal designer and owner of Mandarina Studio, Amanda Reid has designed my personal residence, a…read morenewly acquired loft in Midtown West area of Manhattan in New York City. She was also responsible for interior renovations of common areas for several of my residential income producing properties in Boston and Manhattan. Through the entire process, Amanda demonstrated ultimate taste and passion for interior design. Her vision transformed outdated properties into contemporary stylish spaces. She was very considerate to my requirements and budget constraints. She didn't replace my vision with hers, like many designers do; instead, she adapted her vision to accommodate my needs as a client, while transforming it into a design masterpiece. Amanda is the best designer I have ever worked with through my career of thirteen years as an architect and real estate developer. I highly recommend her to everyone in my professional network for a variety of projects. Max Drivin

Mark designed my South End loft and it was GORGEOUS! I had failed miserably at trying to design it…read moremyself. Mark made my loft a home! I fully recommend Mark and his impeccable taste!

Mark Allen is a young, upcoming designer who is located in Boston. His designs are fresh,…read moreinnovative, and cost effective. He is a personable man who always considers the client's needs when designing for them. He is adept at a variety of design styles, from traditional to contemporary. What distinguishes Mark from other designers is his drive, which enables him to satisfy his customer's needs in a timely and efficient manner. When Mark designed my space, he was able to incorporate my favorite pieces with new purchases in a cohesive manner, blending them as if they had always been together. I was completely satisfied with the work he did for me and would wholeheartedly recommend him to others