AVOID AT ALL COSTS We cannot recommend Hide Studio or Hanin…read moreSmith in any way. What started as an exciting project that we patiently saved for turned into one of the most frustrating and expensive experiences we've ever had with a business. Hanin presents herself as professional, caring and passionate but in reality is quite opposite. She lacks accountability, is dismissive, and refuses to address concerns. Instead, she twists things around and makes personal jabs. She basically WASHED HER HANDS with us once we raised concerns and dissatisfaction with our room after the install day. From the beginning, there were red flags regarding transparency and communication. Despite our concerns, we trusted Hanin and Dominique to execute our vision. I provided an organized, detailed list of items- including dimensions, rooms, how many etc. based on my prior experience working in an interior design studio. I specifically emphasized the need for performance fabric (due to a cat, dog, kids and entertaining) and appropriately scaled furniture. These were the two main reasons we hired professional designers. This should of made it simple to have all the specifications. Yet, despite clear requests, they IGNORED OUR SPECIFICATIONS and delivered items that didn't align with what we desired. So once we raised concerns, instead of taking responsibility or trying to come to some resolution, they hid behind rigid, one-sided policies rather than making an effort to correct or make things right. Hanin repeatedly DEFLECTED BLAME and refused to engage in a reasonable discussion about solutions. Her only offer was to buy back items at a fraction of what we just paid- but only if we spent even more money ordering replacements through her. NO THANK YOU. Major Issues We Experienced: * Payed over 50% for window treatments we never received. Hanin canceled the labor, but we never received the fabric and hardware. * Spent $2000 on accessories during install day that we never saw before or approved. They were boxed up as Hanin delayed pickup for weeks. We returned 90% of them and still have not received the credit. She also charged pick up & restocking fees. She kept pulling money out of the credit we had through wire transfer. * Received a sofa in the wrong size. We payed for a 98"L x 35"H x 41"D, but what arrived was 94"L x 31 'H x 39"D. The back skirt was also defective. When we addressed the issue, Hanin claimed WE MEASURED IT WRONG and refused to fix it. We had no choice but to buy another sofa from elsewhere, which added unnecessary costs. *Ordered a sofa table that would of been 2" taller than the back of the sofa that came in too short. When we tried to cancel due to the backorder and other sizing issues, she only refunded 50%. * A coffee table that we now have to sell at a loss. The color is completely off and doesn't coordinate with anything in the room. *Four Lounge chairs that are comically short. We should have double checked whether Hide Studio actually honored our specifications for PERFORMANCE FABRICS AND CORRECT SIZING. Instead, Hanin's response was, "You approved them." But isn't it a designer's job to ensure client requests are met and that the room looks like a professional did it? * Two side sofa's that we assumed were in performance fabric turned out to be dry clean only. One of our biggest priorities in hiring a designer was sourcing durable, easy to clean fabrics that could withstand pets, kids, and everyday life. Despite emphasizing this need, Hanin provided sofas that are not performance fabric at all. We found they are grade S. Now, our cat has already marked them with his nails (with trim and caps), and we need to cover them every day just to prevent further damage. This completely defeats the purpose of investing in new furniture. *Paid over $3600 in warehouse fees and never received a breakdown or clear invoicing. After multiple attempts to resolve these issues fairly. Hanin has been unwilling to negotiate in good faith. We even attempted mediation- which was clearly outlined in the contract- but she outright DECLINED. She said we were harassing her. At this point, our only option is legal action. The lack of professionalism, responsibility and customer service is STAGGERING. I really tried to avoid writing a negative review and hoped that she would come to some kind of resolution after many months. We would of been happy with getting partial buy backs and returning the items that weren't right but that was never an option she gave us. I feel compelled to share our experience to help someone else avoid this situation. If you are looking for a designer who truly listens, respects their clients and takes accountability, LOOK ELSEWHERE. There are plenty of talented and ethical designers out there that wont leave you fighting for refunds on misrepresented items or bad design. Do yourself a favor and avoid this firm. If we can help just a few people then this review will be worth sharing.

Unprofessional, no transparency with costs. Original reason I had requested services was not…read moresatisfactorily addressed. You do not get to see furnishings until it arrives. Quality of services lacking especially with trying to communicate concerns.

The folks from Sicre Design are unbelievably awesome! Seriously! I had never hired an interior…read moredesigner before, but Genesia and Maurice, made the process delightful. They were considerate in every way, timely, and given my limited budget, did an incredible job. This pic is from a room in my house that has a room next to the kitchen with a fireplace in it, and I didn't know what to do, but they sure did! I simply cannot recommend them more!

Genesia and her team are AMAZING! She has such an eye for design and makes every property I list…read morefeel welcoming and like home. I received so many compliments regarding the staging on the last home I sold! Even another stager commented on how well it turned out! Using Sicre Designs for staging is worth every penny. In this crazy market we sold within a week and had several offers above asking and I know that this is in part because of the staging. She is also so wonderful to work with and super flexible to meet your needs. I 100% recommend Genesia and use her for all my staging!

I cannot say enough great things about Sharon Fox! If you are considering hiring a designer for…read moreanything from help with paint colors to a total remodel - HIRE SHARON! Not only is she talented, creative, and full of great ideas, but she has an incredibly warm and joyful personality. I had never worked with a designer before and was somewhat skeptical, but I am sooooo happy I worked with Sharon. She totally understood the look I was going for and turned it all into a beautiful reality. Her rates are super reasonable and she was always very responsive when I needed her or just had a question. I love Sharon and you will too!

After reading many reviews on the internet and interviewing several designers, we chose Sharon to…read moredesign our whole home remodel. We live out of state so we were really focused on selecting a designer who could not just create an incredible design, but would also work with the builder to insure the execution was in line with her vision. We are so happy with all that Sharon has done for our home. Her attention to detail really made the difference. There are several good designers in North County but Sharon just goes the extra mile to insure it's perfect. We love our home. Ron B.

Rachael is very professional and came into my project with a clear vision. She helped me from the…read morebeginning with floor and paint choices to change the entire flavor of the house. We then went on to update much of the furniture, the cabinets, accessories, and back yard patio to make the project into what she dubbed "French Coastal". I love my house! She has a keen eye and was able to incorporate my style into her vision. When all was done (it's never done!) it came together beautifully. Rachael has a quiet confidence that brings results.

Rachael helped design our dream kitchen, dining room and pantry. She provided her expertise and…read morespent countless hours helping us in our decision making. Rachael was professional, creative and attentive to detail. She was always quick to respond and constantly accessible throughout the process. We couldn't be happier with the space she designed and highly recommend her!

Jaki and Jennifer were wonderful to work with! They understood our vision and the outcome was…read moreperfect. They helped us design an addition and refresh to our main house and building a new 1,200 sqft ADU. They walked us through every step and provided beautiful options that fit our aesthetic. I would would recommend her and her team 10/10! Thank you JY team!

Unfortunately we had an awful experience with Jaki and cannot recommend her work at all. There were…read morered flags from the beginning but we wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Please don't make our mistake. Ultimately, Jaki did not understand our vision and kept pushing her design preferences on us. We had to fully create our own PowerPoint deck with reference photos to get our ideas across room by room; source our own tile (when she claimed the design we wanted didn't exist in the tile we wanted); ordered the wrong quantity of products; among many other issues. Additionally when we chose not to use her preferred contractor, she became even more difficult to work with. She claimed she didn't know how to use IKEA's closet building tool to help us build our master closet, was always running late to our meetings; nor did she know how to use Gmail to schedule said meetings. Due to COVID and vendor supply issues our renovation took much longer than anyone expected. But the most egregious and unprofessional behavior was when she quit the job BEFORE any of the fixtures she ordered were even installed. She literally took our money and ran. We were still in the middle of our renovation and had been project managing the majority of the work ourselves. To reiterate-- we paid Jaki in full for her services but she would not even honor returns or exchanges for products that we DID NOT install (because they didn't end up working in our space and were misrepresented in the renderings). In the end, we had to go directly to the vendor ourselves, who graciously honored the exchange given that we had such a terrible time trying to get that through Jaki. The whole experience has been extremely disappointing and we would not recommend her services.

We visited the beautiful Arhaus showroom in Carlsbad and were fortunate enough to meet Monica. She…read morepatiently walked the store with us, helping us find pieces that were perfect for our home. She is a great listener & has great design ideas. When we purchased a floor model, she went above and beyond. On the day we picked it up, she met us in the parking lot with the item already on a dolly, ready to go! Monica is kind, thoughtful, and incredibly easy to work with. Thank you so much, Monica, for making the experience so enjoyable! We will be back to work with you.

I had read the reviews but got lured in by the beautiful presentation of furniture. Unfortunately…read moresince paying for my order, nothing has been good. The lead times are pure nonsense, the reps honestly buy time with loose language on when to expect an item. I have buyers remorse and I have yet to get a single item. The lead times are more like 5-6 months realistically.

Wow, SO happy beyond words that we had Michelle during our kitchen remodel! She was such a joy to…read morework with from start to finish. She's so sweet, personable, caring, attentive, TALENTED, smart, and more. She really helped us every step of the way and our kitchen would never have turned out so beautiful and functional without her. She helped us achieve our dream! Highly recommend looking no further than Joli G for your project, you will not be disappointed and will be so glad to have her help! She's the best. Thank you Michelle!!

Avoid Michelle Meyers of Joli G Interiors & Designs - Unprofessional, Disorganized, and…read moreSelf-Serving We hired Michelle Meyers of Joli G Interiors & Designs under a $17,000 flat-fee contract to design our entire home -- including the kitchen, five bathrooms, and family room. We paid a $5,000 deposit up front. Unfortunately, what we experienced was poor communication, missed deadlines, and very little actual work. Michelle visited our home once for a walkthrough and measurements, which took about 1-2 hours. Our second and final meeting was at an appliance showroom to review appliances. She arrived over half an hour late, handed us rushed SketchUp designs, and left us little time to review or discuss them due to the time we had scheduled with another appointment. After that meeting, we went on a planned two-week vacation. When we returned, we attempted several times to reconnect and schedule a follow-up. Despite our efforts, she was unresponsive and failed to move the project forward. We had a clear deadline of July 1 to begin construction. At that point, no designs were finalized, no materials were selected, and we had received no usable deliverables. It was clear that she was not aligned with our goals or timeline, so we made the decision to terminate the contract. According to her 20-page contract, cancellation reverts her services to an hourly rate of $125/hour. She refunded only $275 from our $5,000 deposit, claiming the rest was spent on design work and software time. We questioned this, since we received no completed plans, no documentation, no layout packages, and no material selections -- nothing justifying thousands of dollars of design work. Her response was dismissive and defensive. She compared herself to an architect, emphasized how valuable her time was, and made no effort to account for the complete lack of deliverables. In our opinion, Michelle Meyers is self-serving, disorganized, and unaccountable. She seemed more interested in defending her fees than delivering meaningful results. This was a waste of our time, trust, and money. Buyer beware: We strongly advise against hiring Michelle Meyers or Joli G Interiors & Designs. Think twice before signing a contract, she is not an ASID Designer. We would not recommend her to anyone. Response to the business owner's reply: Michelle's response contains several inaccuracies. We had only two brief meetings -- one at our home and one at a showroom where she arrived over an hour late. We received no completed plans, no material lists, and no final layouts. Our previous designer left due to maternity leave, which Michelle knew from the start. We tried multiple times to reconnect after a planned trip, but communication broke down on her end. Ultimately, we paid $5,000 and received no tangible results. Her refund of just $228 lacked justification. We stand by our original review.

Jessi was extremely helpful selecting tile, colors, decorative bedding and especially contractors.read more

It pains me to revise my stellar review because I think their designers are very talented. But they…read moremust get things in order on the business side or they will continue to lose clients. While they work on hourly consult rates which is a refreshing option for many of us, on a recent project, my business was clearly not valued. Calls and emails were not returned for days or weeks, plans not sent as promised, all eventually resolved through my repeated follow-ups. The justified reason is that a bigger client was requiring all their time. Customer Service 101. I pay my invoices on time and without question. I will set aside the sales tax issue which required multiple emails to be resolved. The last straw was the requirement to pay for a 4th consult by a sharp deadline or my consult would be canceled. What choice did I have? I will find an interior design firm that will appreciate my business.

I have hired 1st Stage for multiple properties over the years. In the past, they generally did…read moregreat work and I was impressed with their staging style, professionalism, availability, and pricing. That said, my most recent experience was disappointing. I had them stage a modern townhouse in Costa Mesa near the beach. Unfortunately, the staging style they chose did not match the aesthetic of the property at all. I am not a designer, so I typically trust their vision and let them take the lead. This time, I reached out to their team and simply asked if we could swap out a few items to make the space feel more modern or beachy. I was told I would need to pay a restocking fee. That response was frustrating. I had referred them many jobs and clients in the past, and while the fee itself was not a large amount, it felt unnecessary and left a bad impression. They did eventually waive the fee, which I appreciated, but the situation already felt mishandled. Fast forward a bit. The property did not sell, and I requested that it be de-staged. Their team came out a few days later and removed the furniture. A few months after that, they emailed both me and my client, who was the actual party to the staging contract, claiming there was a prorated balance due for a few extra days the furniture remained in the home. The amount was under $400. The contract was between my client and 1st Stage, not me, so I was confused as to why I was included. Shortly after, Mark Sutton emailed me directly asking if I could take care of the payment by the next day. I found that extremely unprofessional. Agents are the ones who bring them business, and asking me to personally pay an invoice that had nothing to do with me showed a real lack of business judgment. I expressed my disappointment with their customer service, and the only response I received was a payment link. If you are looking for a stager who truly feels like a partner and values long-term relationships, I would think twice before using this company. In my experience, once an issue arises, you are treated like just another number, and preserving relationships does not seem to be a priority.

What an amazing experience we had with Janice and the entire team! Not only are they creative, hard…read moreworking, and professional, but they have the most beautiful and quality items! You can put your complete trust that they will stage your house to perfection so that it will look great for the photos and the tours!! Our home went into escrow 4 days after listing and we received $100,000 over asking price! The 1st stage service is a great value and will pay off tremendously in the end.

Therese designed my fireplace focal wall in my family room and it turned out…read moreabsolutely beautiful. She added new sconce lightning and the stone she chose for the fireplace facade is perfect for my house! Therese suggested a new color for the living room and it tied my whole open concept downstairs together. I would definitely recommend Therese for any projects that you have; She can save you time and money by helping you make the right selections the first time.

Therese is a genius when it comes to making a house feel like a home…read more My wife and I bought a new home with no idea what to do with it, but we did have a certain style in mind. This is where her company shines. She has the uncanny ability to get into her clients heads and create what your dream home is. She handled everything from the furniture choices and flooring, to the nick-knacks and wall finishes that tied everything together! I HIGHLY recommend her for just an update/refreshing to complete remodeling needs.