Vas Gaberov from VASDESIGN.COM provided outstanding craftsmanship on two built-in book cases he…read moreinstalled in our home. Matching the crown molding and trim of our antique fireplace mantle in the book case design really pulls the whole wall together. I can't underestimate how well this all came together including finishing of the flanking French closet doors in the book case lacquer color. He also clear coated our antique mantle to match the gloss level of the cabinets and the adjacent French doors. The whole project has really changed the look of our room. We are very happy with the outcome and our friends who are in the interior design field wholeheartedly concur that this is a fantastic job.

Vas Design is a great company to work with, he has done many things to for our home, he has done 2…read morefireplace mantels and a wall unit of book cases with doors. What I truly appreciate about his work is his attention to detail on all of his pieces.

I had a wonderful experience from design through installation! I worked with Brad on the design,…read moreand he was incredibly patient as I went through several iterations. Since the closet was still under construction, there were changes along the way, and Brad was always flexible, accommodating, and helpful throughout the process. Scheduling the installation was also very easy, and they worked around my availability. The installation crew was fantastic--professional, efficient, and respectful of my home. They did a beautiful job and made sure everything was thoroughly cleaned up before they left. Overall, I'm extremely happy with the entire experience and would highly recommend them!

Edit to add to the owner's response:…read more The owner is a blatant liar. Also, near blind as he doesn't seem to recognize the difference. To correct his lie, they never offered the free replacement. I initially held the remaining payment expecting them to address the issue, but they threatened me with things like filing a lien. So I paid the remainder. I even paid extra to replace the incorrectly installed drawers, which were flat drawers. The second time, they were installed incorrectly again, differently designed shakers. The result is what the photos here show. Extremely irresponsible. BTW, you are the one who did incompetent job and you want to move on without fixing it? What a joke. --- This was our 2nd time working with them. The first time, back in 2020, went very smooth, so we decided to work with them again for our new home. This time it was night and day. It couldn't have been worse. We chose shaker everywhere, but noticed the design draft showed the top drawers flat. The designer told us it was a glitch in their new software, but they went ahead and installed the flat ones anyway. I asked to have it changed and held payment until they fixed it. Instead, they blamed me for an outcome I supposedly approved, and insisted I pay extra to make them shakers. So I did. Then the final result came out like the photo. There's an obvious discrepancy in the width of the cove area (the sloped section between the outer and inner profiles). The designer couldn't even see the problem. The owner never responded at all. I even filed a complaint with the BBB, and they never addressed it. So the BBB closed the case. It's painful to see them treat me like this when I liked them so much 5 years ago. Avoid these crooks if you can.

Mike and his team are spectacular! We've worked together on half a dozen projects over the past 8…read moreyears since we met and he's always delivered an impeccable result. In addition to having a very friendly, flexible, respectful, and responsible crew, his team's work in incredible! I won't have anyone else work on projects that matter to me around the house. These people are seriously talented. Mike is also a stand up guy. He delivers what he promises and he's honest with his pricing. He's also very flexible and reasonable as plans adjust mid job. It's not too much to say these guys are magicians. I'm so happy I found them. It's made my life so much less stressful. I know the work is going to get done to my very high standards AND I don't have to manage or oversee them at all. I'll pop in once in a while or ask Mike to share pics...but I always know I'm going to like what I see. Working with a contractor I trust makes all the difference for us. I hope you get a chance to work with these guys!

We needed our deck replaced, so our landscaper recommended Carpentry by Michael. We contacted…read moreMichael to discuss our plans and cost. Michael provided us the opportunity to view a deck that he had just finished, and the quality of work looked good, so we contracted with Michael to replace our deck. The pricing Michael provided was reasonable, which allowed us to expand on the features of our new deck. The results far exceeded our expectations. Michael's team provide great craftsmanship and a customer friendly approach for making changes. His team kept a very clean job site and were very timely with their work. Since the deck replacement, we have used Carpentry by Michael for two additional home improvement projects. One was a complete replacement of our fireplace facade and mantle, and the second project was a remodeling of our master bathroom. We are pleased with the outcome of both of these projects. Michael has a talented crew that gives special attention to detail. I would recommend Carpentry by Michael without hesitation.

The company is terrific! Ben is very professional, kind, creative and hard working. If you have…read morequestions, contact him and he is quick to respond. He is always willing to listen and bring your ideas to reality and go beyond. His crew is amazing. They possess the same professional qualities as Ben. We could not be happier with the design and workmanship. We had a full yard redo, including a pool; it is paradise.

Himsben Design designed and created a stone patio in our front yard that seamlessly integrates with…read moreour existing stone path and stairs. You can't tell that the patio is new and the stone path and stairs are 50+ years old. In 2020, Himsben Design is reworking our stone patio in the backyard and I cannot wait for the results.

I waited on writing this review hoping I could write a glowing review but unfortunately I can't…read more  The owner, Justas Dambrauskas, is a nice guy but his business practices are something to be desired.  We contracted with Silver Birch to design, build, and install kitchen cabinets, a kitchen island, a basement wet bar, and 3 bathroom vanities.  This was a new construction home project and we were going with Silver Birch for these items separate from our builder.  We contracted with Silver Birch in May 2018 and had various items installed over the next two years based on where we were in completing our new home.  The kitchen cabinets, island, wet bar, and vanities were installed but the kitchen cabinets had missing drawers/hardware.  The island was the wrong color including the matching cabinets above the stove.  Justas met with us on site and agreed these had to be replaced since they did not match our agreed to color.  Months went by with no follow-up work.  In December 2022, Silver Birch came back to replace the panels on the island but did not have all the panels and the panels that were replaced did not all match since the doors were of a different shade.  In replacing the island panels, the installers scratched our wood floor where they pulled out the dishwasher even after we told them to be careful.  We thought they would be installing the toe kicks under the kitchen cabinets, island, and wet bar on this visit but they did not.  After they left, we contacted Justas who said they would come back to finish up.  From December 2022 to present, I have called, texted, and emailed Justas almost daily to know when they are coming back to finish up the remaining work but never received any response whatsoever!  We paid Silver Birch over $25K for this work.  We have been living in our new home since early 2021 with missing drawers, no toe kicks, and an incomplete island.  They still have not installed the panel for the wet bar's mini fridge nor the toe kick.  Silver Birch was paid in full and we were promised they would come back to complete the missing items.  They have not!  We trusted Justas that he would come back and so far they have been back once with little to nothing to show for it!  Some businesses don't deserve to be in business. Silver Birch has left us with a mess and potentially having to spend thousands again to finish their work that we already paid for!

wish I could leave a better review as he does nice work! it's been over a year since my custom…read morekitchen was scheduled for install. no responses to my calls or texts and my kitchen install is not complete including cabinet doors and toe kicks. I finally had to hire another company to finish the job.

High quality craftsmanship, reliable, creative, fairly priced for the quality and artistry, and…read morehonest. We have been wanting a custom fireplace mantle for a while and have walked past Kyle's studio a number of times to admire his woodwork. We had some ideas going in, but working with Kyle helped us refine what we wanted, and we were able to see samples of comparable pieces to finalize the design and finishes. From start to end, Kyle was very responsive and kept to the schedule and price, even though the cost of materials did spike. He delivered a superbly crafted mantle and installed it perfectly, the final product looked like an intentionally designed and well executed finish to our fireplace. During the process, you are invited to help select the material and the finish options. Most importantly, when asked, Kyle will provide helpful recommendations and feedback. Highly recommended, this is more than supporting local and small businesses, it's about getting the extra care for the piece you're buying, from the sourcing of the materials to the custom finishes. Kyle's carpentry is impeccable, he's very pleasant to work with, and he brings a wealth of knowledge, artistry to his work.

My husband and I had found a DIY outdoor bench project but simply did not have the workshop space…read moreavailable to do the project ourselves, so I took to the interwebs and found Southern Oak Studios. I spoke with Kyle over the phone, sent the project to him (actually via Etsy - he has some cool stuff there you should check out) and we agreed on the price. The project was scoped as two kinda "simple" benches, one longer than the other, and purposed for outdoors so has to withstand the weather conditions here in Chicago. Kyle built them, they looked amazing. He stained them to withstand the elements (I was meh on the color, but all things considered still groovy), dropped them off at our door (SO NICE) and we had our benches. Here's where things get interesting. We decided to keep one bench inside, just based on preference when we saw the layout out back - kinda crowded for our small-ish patio - fine. The bench that went outside... within ~45-60 days pretty much disintegrated. I noticed the wood started to separate in weird ways, but honestly didn't want to even deal with it... finally when my in-laws were in town, my father-in-law was sitting on it and the whole leg kinda just flopped off. (This is funny, now). I reached back out to Kyle about it, and he was pretty darn awesome about the whole thing. Note: 5 star review. He came back over quickly, installed some metal hardware to the bottom/inside of the bench as a temporary fix, APOLOGIZED (!?!), and said he would come up with a new/better design for us. Then, he went back to the drawing board. He found a design that wouldn't allow for water to pool atop, built it with more weather-resistant materials than the prior had been built with, and again, dropped it off. It is beautiful. We don't demand perfection, never. But customer service yes and so often are disappointed. Not this time. Kyle, thank you for all of your hard work. We really appreciate it, and I'm guessing you'll never want to see another bench project in your lifetime but here's to hoping this one lasts a lifetime! Or at least, just a season. :)

Austin & Josh were wonderful to work with from start to finish on our kitchen renovation. We used…read moreGuided Design for both our cabinets and as our GC for the gut rehab of our kitchen. I'm not a big yelp reviewer, but these guys are worth recommending. Austin's creativity and expertise were instrumental in making our quirky vintage apartment kitchen into a true gourmet kitchen experience. Austin cares about all of the little details and it shows in the finished product. We enjoyed bouncing around ideas and really valued the Austin's expertise in kitchen design. Working with Austin, we asked if he had any recommendations for contractors. He gave us a competitive bid and we couldn't be happier we chose to team up with Austin, Josh and Pawel on this piece of the project. Austin's crew was very professional and a pleasure to work with. Josh & Pawel are true craftsmen and cabinet makers. They are very passionate about their trade and will help you get it perfect. We are very pleased with the result.

The team at Guided Design did an amazing job with our kitchen and bathroom remodels! We were on a…read moretight deadline trying to finish the project before our baby was born, and they delivered on time, even though the scope of the project grew. They accommodated all of our design "must haves" with ease and the attention to detail was impeccable. We couldn't be happier with the outcome. Would definitely recommend Guided for projects big and small!

We had a great experience working with Creative Mirror. Our installers, Jesus and Garrett were…read moreprofessional and very knowledgeable about the product they were installing. They answered all our questions, no matter how many we had, and gave instructions on how to care for our new glass enclosure / door. They were professional, courteous, respectful and would show up on time. Jesus and Garrett made us feel like we were their the most important client, and making us happy was their goal. Both Jesus and Garrett really love their jobs and it really shows!

From beginning to end, the team was absolutely amazing! From conversations with owner, Mark, and…read moremeeting TJ in the showroom to view options to Tim configuring precise measures in my home to Tim's collaboration with Jonathan, Chuy and Jakey on site. As they replaced old doors with broken wheels from another company, they took so much time and care to get everything right--patiently testing multiple combinations of track and wheel options while including me in the process and explaining things clearly. We were all incredibly collaborative and patient and Jakey cinched it with an idea that truly paid off! I completely agree that going forward with new doors was the right decision. They look beautiful, roll smoothly, and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. The service was exceptional from start to finish. I thanked the guys several times and tried to show my appreciation with treats and tips (though one would not accept). They were such a pleasure to work with on this complicated job: efficient, tidy, respectful, cooperative, and very mindful of my home and furnishings. They really knocked it out of the park. Please know how much I appreciate your giving the green light on this project. After navigating many challenges, It ended up being a total success--and I think the team learned a lot in the process, too, given the creativity and analysis it required. Tim also reassured me that if anything comes loose or needs adjusting, he's only a phone call away, which gives me great peace of mind. He's not only a perfectionist in his craft but such a thoughtful, kind person and a wonderful representative of your company. You've truly assembled an excellent team from TJ and Karen to Tim, Jonathan, Chuy and Jakey--all so professional, conscientious, skilled, and committed to doing things right. Thanks again for all of your help and for seeing this through. I'm thrilled with the final result and wish you much continued success!