I hired Nancy Reicino of Nancy Interiors Corp. (DBA Nancy Almeida and Decora Ltd.) to do a complete…read morerenovation of my home, which included the entire first floor, basement and exterior. The entire project exceeded well over $200K, thanks to Ms. Reicino adding a huge cut for herself onto all of the pricing she gave me.
The early months of the project seemed to be going well, but then I started noticing inconsistencies and questioned them. Nancy does not like to be questioned, and becomes defensive. She is unorganized and deficient in communication skills.
I ordered six custom made panels, which cost me $18,000. The design itself was the one I approved, but they were not made to my specifications. She took it upon herself to change my approved specifications to the ones she wanted, without my knowledge, approval or concent. She has refused to accept responsibility, even though all is "documented in writing". They were done wrong twice. When I brought the issue to Nancy's attention the second time, via text message, I was told "they should be installed". She was not concerned that I was displeased with this custom order. My concerns were dismissed. These panels were designed to block off two rooms from my dogs. The largest open spaces in the design were not to exceed three inches. These panels had openings which were four inches, and presented a safety issue for my dogs. Her solution was to use them anyway "with retractable baby gates to add protection for the dogs". I asked her to provide me with the contact information for the person who made these panels, but she refused, thereby making my efforts to work with this supplier futile.
After three months, I received an email from this designer offering to have these panels fixed. On January 6, 2017, we agreed. She sent me an email stating that the furniture maker was away for the month of January. I was told "rest assured these will be taken care of" in February. February has come and gone, and this designer has made no attempts to contact me any further. This is representative of the type of service this designer provides, and further establishes her lack of credibility.
In April, a desk chair was purchased for me. On the day she delivered my furniture in November, I did not see it. I asked her about it via text message, and was told she did not remember purchasing one. Once I reminded her, I was told it was never received. When I asked what happened, I was told it was never shipped, and that she just emailed the dealer to find out why. I contacted the dealer myself. I was told that she did not pay for the shipping. The dealer informed me that she did not reply to his requests for payment, therefore, he did not ship it. I forwarded his response to Nancy, and was told "he was obnoxious" because he would not accept the payment methods she offered. I paid the dealer and the chair was shipped. He sent me an email thanking me and noted, "I work with designers all over the world and have never seen such an unprofessional attitude. Nancy seems to blame others for faults of her own".
Lamps without shades were purchased in April. I asked Nancy for months to order shades for me. I never received them. She did not contact her custom lamp person until the week before Thanksgiving, even though the lamps were purchased seven months prior, this is when she found out that the lady retired. I asked what I was supposed to do for shades, and was told "I don't know, find something online". I told her that she was the designer, and that she should find someone. Her response to me via text message was "GO TO HELL TONY".
NANCY NEVER RETURNED TO MY HOUSE TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT SHE WAS HIRED TO DO, LEAVING ME WITH AN UNFINISHED PROJECT. I HAD TO ENGAGE SOMEONE ELSE TO FINISH THE PROJECT SHE STARTED.
Nancy's unprofessionalism and ineptitude in getting a project completed are disconcerting. This so-called designer is unqualified to refer to herself as a professional, as she has repeatedly proven that she is nothing but amateurish, at best.
Perhaps if she spent less time planning vacations and more time focusing on work, things may have been different.
Complaints have been filed with three US Government agencies. All agencies have documented and recognized these complaints.
Emails and text messages noted above are all well documented IN WRITING.
"The review above is based solely on my experience with this project and designer, and therefore not influenced by the comments, observations or opinions of others".
