Smooth, good listeners, and a fine finished product. Their photography was top notch, and their…read morescheduling department understood the demands of working with difficult condo rules.

We wanted to sell our condo in Edgewater but one room, the sunroom, had absolutely no furnishings…read morein it and needed to be staged. Our realtor recommended O Designs along with two other staging firms. I wasn't impressed with the response I got from the other businesses, but O Designs was responsive and excited to work with me from the start. The designer came to our place and took a look around at our mid-century style furniture. Based on the photos we saw on O Design's website we felt confident that they could design a sunroom that complimented what we already owned.....and they did. The furnishings were delivered on time as promised and expertly arranged. The sunroom looked terrific. We received an offer on our place within two days and signed a contract within a week! I highly recommend O Designs. Their flair for design and professionalism really added value to our sale.

Arete Renovators was completely wonderful to work with. You hear a lot of horror stories about…read moreChicago contractors, and I can say with 100% certainty that working with Arete is the exact OPPOSITE of those horror stories. My contractor, Ned, and his team saved my sanity this year, as my initial bathroom remodel turned into a bathroom remodel PLUS gut rehab of the kitchen due to a flood in my high-rise building. More details below, but the tl;dr version is the Arete team, led by Ned, was easy to communicate with; had great systems in place for keeping track of everything that was going on; deftly navigated the challenges of working in my high-rise condo while a major riser project was under way at the same time; and gave me a fantastic finished product in exactly the time frame they had promised. I honestly cannot recommend them highly enough. I initially hired Arete just to update my small bathroom in my 1-bed, 1-bath condo in a high-rise. From the minute I met Ned, I knew he listened to me, understood what I wanted and knew which questions to ask to make sure the end result was exactly what I was hoping for. Arete's initial estimate came in a little higher than the other companies I got estimates from, but I had a good feeling about their systems and their great communication, and I am SO GLAD I went with them. When the Arete team came out for the initial walk-through of the bathroom after I hired them, Arete's owner was with them. While he was in my unit, he noticed a significant amount of damage in the kitchen from a flood a few weeks earlier, damage that had been completely missed by a vendor sent out by my insurance company. He encouraged me to contact the insurance company again and request the proper insurance vendors come out on site to investigate. Those investigators eventually discovered a huge amount of water damage and mold behind the walls, which necessitated a gut demo of the kitchen. If the Arete team had not noticed the telltale signs of this damage, I would have never known to push back on the insurance company for additional services, and I would have been living in an unsafe environment as a result. Then, when the insurance vendors gave me the runaround and claimed they couldn't rebuild the walls in my unit for at least three months, Arete agreed to step in and complete the work, and it was done within a week. Then they helped me upgrade my countertops as well. At the same time, they were diligently completing the bathroom remodel (the initial reason I hired them). Throughout that process, they effectively communicated the timeline, contacted me with any hiccups, made sure they got approval for any changes, talked me through the choices, handled all the logistics without my having to do anything (they even picked up some of the the supplies I ordered and stored them for me until they were needed!). They were just generally fantastic to work with. They finished the bathroom in the 5-week timeline they had initially anticipated in their estimate to me. I am SO happy with how the bathroom turned out. Their work was impeccable. So, so grateful for Arete, and for my beautiful new kitchen and bathroom!

I tend to put off my home renovation projects just because how difficult and stressful it is, to…read morework with contractors. Working with Arete for my bathroom renovation, was a refreshing change and a delightful experience. From start to finish, everything was delivered and executed as promised and in fact, ahead of schedule in some cases. Ivana provided excellent guidance for material selection and overall design. Marina, Luis and crew were excellent and worked really hard to finish the construction part on time. Overall, Arete will be my "Go to" company for any future renovation project. And, lastly, my dog loves their crew :)

Our real estate team has worked with Julie to stage multiple properties and she's as good as it…read moregets (not to mention just a general pleasure to work with and be around!) Not only does she have a keen eye for this stuff, but she's incredibly flexible in the type support she provides. If clients have the budget and need for full-on staging, she can do that (and she does it WELL!). But for those who just need a little help refreshing their properties with a more modest budget, she also provides really valuable home styling services, using the stuff they already own. And whatever service she provides, the results are beautiful/fresh/on-trend/welcoming/and all those other good things. Our clients are happy, which makes us happy, and it's why we continue going back to Julie again and again and again!

I am so thankful that I found Julie! With small kids and pets, I had no interest in purchasing…read moreexpensive or designer furniture. So, I assumed no interior designer would be interested in me (and my budget). Then I found Julie! Julie came to our home and helped us figure out a very functional and sophisticated use of our space - one that is kid and pet friendly. She charges hourly for her services, so she can work with any budget - and found some really incredible new pieces for my home from Ikea, Target, Wayfair and Macy's. She also incorporated as many of our old pieces as she could into the design to help us save money. Julie does anything from basic design (sending you a floor plan design with a link to the items she suggests you purchase) to full service (accepting deliveries at your home, installing, constructing, styling, etc). She also does home renovations. With Julie's design, our home feels brand new and we have gotten countless compliments on how beautiful it looks. I am happy we were able to stay in budget and felt very comfortable buying the nice, but not over-top-expensive, pieces that she selected. Her styling was excellent and gave it all a really polished look. I just wish I would have hired Julie sooner!

Great designer . I hired her to design my new apartment downtown Chicago. She did amazing job …read more Very reasonable price was a big plus. I contacted few designers and nobody had a time for me. She responded fast 100% professionalism

We are in process of building 5 townhouses in Chicago . Ana prep all architecture design for us. We…read moreare extremely satisfied with her job . Definitely recommend her

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.

Paula is the best…read more She helped me turn my old apartment into a real nice place I can call home. Thank you Paula!

We hired Paula to assist with tile, paint, and furniture for our remodel. She helped us make our…read moreideas a reality, all while saying in our budget. Thanks!

I had such a wonderful experience with Stratagem and their sister company when they updated my…read morekitchen that, after recently moving, I decided to use them again to add an electric fireplace and shelving to a blank wall in my new living room. Their work did not disappoint! The designer was so helpful in transplanting my vision into a beautiful design plan within my budget. The workmanship is excellent and the workmen that did the instillation and painting were professional, diligent, and friendly. Everyone at Stratagem from the owner, Mitch, to each person that works for him is helpful, thoughtful, and committed to doing good work. Having worked with them twice, I can confidently say that they are a delightful company to work with their work delivers beautiful results.

Mitch and his team at Stratagem saw thorugh the entire process of the construction like I've never…read moreseen another contractor do. They built two beautiful bathrooms and, crucially, managed the project such that we could sit in the spectator seat comfortably. We live in a high-rise, and, for example, they communicated with the HOA so we didn't have to (insurance, freight elevator, loading dock, etc). When a minor issue surfaced years later Stratagem fixed it without questions asked. Great experience overall, haven't had another re-modeling project done in such a professional and (to us) easy way.

Modern Spaces did an absolutely wonderful job staging our condo in Albany Park! I truly believe it…read morewas because of their magnificent work that we received an offer within 1 week of listing for sale. They were super responsive and could not have been more professional and all around AWESOME to work with! If you're looking to sell quickly, I would highly recommend staging. Though we initially reluctant to do the staging thing, we're so happy we decided to have it staged AND called Modern Spaces. It made such a huge difference - we almost immediately received an offer! If you're looking for a good, reliable staging company in Chicago, the Modern Spaces team will definitely not disappoint!!

I highly recommend Modern Spaces if you're looking for a staging company on the Northside of…read moreChicago. They are responsive, professional, affordable and most importantly did an excellent job staging my condo in Lakeview. I was very impressed with them overall. Especially after several companies didn't even respond to my inquiries. They immediately responded and had everything completed within a week of first contact!