Emily Slavin Designs

Emily helped us finish our house and we absolutely LOVE the end result!! We needed fresh eyes on our space and hers were incredible! Her vision, attention to detail and execution of completing numerous projects at the same time was seamless and the end product was exactly what we wanted! I have recommended her to all of my friends and neighbors and love her approach in working together. She's an excellent listener and is able to dig down into what we were saying and bring us incredible options for our project. Call her, she's the best!

Emily served as project manager and designer on the renovation of my vintage apartment in Chicago. My husband and I are thrilled with the outcome of the renovation and Emily was an absolute delight to work with. The apartment’s infrastructure and décor hadn’t been upgraded in decades, and Emily transformed the space into a clean, modern and very comfortable family home. She completed the project on time and within the budget. What I think is truly special about Emily is her combination of technical expertise and her incredible design sense. She is as comfortable dealing with the intricacies of a plumbing issue as she is choosing fabrics for a sofa or planning the overall look of a room. We felt completely comfortable allowing Emily to manage all aspects our project. She hired and supervised multiple subcontractors including electricians, plumbers, HVAC engineers, flooring specialists, painters, an architect and builders. In one instance when a subcontractor’s work was not acceptable, Emily handled the situation with grace and professionalism, advocating on our behalf so that we didn’t have to worry. She always went above and beyond, even cleaning up after subcontractors who left too much dust or debris behind. Emily was extremely sensitive to our budget constraints and managed to achieve big results with minimal changes. She advised us on how we could improve the flow of the apartment by making a few key structural changes, and we are so happy with the new layout. The kitchen needed a total renovation, and Emily was able to bring to life my vision of a high-end Scandinavian modern kitchen while staying within the not-so-high-end budget we had agreed on. Most importantly, Emily is simply a lovely person. She’s intelligent, funny and compassionate. She listened to my endless questions and concerns with saint-like patience and did everything she possibly could to make the process a pleasant one for us (including bringing us delicious home-baked treats!). I can honestly say that our renovation project was fun, because working with Emily is so much fun. I hope you’ll have the chance to work with her yourself.

I have worked with Emily on various projects and have been VERY happy with everything she has done. Most recently, Emily renovated my kitchen and I LOVE IT! She captured the exact look I wanted and made it better than I imagined. She thought outside of the box, had a unique perspective and came up with a much better layout than what we had previously. In addition, Emily paid attention to every detail and took care as if she was working on her own kitchen. She coordinated all the trades (carpenters, electrician, plumber, flooring, countertops) seamlessly and the project came in on budget and on time. Emily was also good at preparing a budget that was not excessive - she knew where to spend money and what items we could spend less on. The end result is our kitchen has a unique look yet is comfortable and practical. I couldn't be happier!! In addition to the kitchen, Emily has worked on other rooms in our house. We finished the living room about a year before the kitchen. This was a smaller project (lighting, window treatments, furniture) and she still gave it her fullest attention. She made some small changes (like painting the mantle black) that gave the room a totally different feel. Emily, utilized some furniture we already owned by reupholstering/refinished it and added new pieces to create the exact look we loved. She tied the room very well to the rest of our house. I can't say enough good things about Emily and hope to work with her more in the future.

I was introduced to Emily through our Chicago realtor right after we bought our vacation condo in the Gold Coast on Michigan Ave. The unit needed work. It needed a completely new kitchen and master bathroom, as well as new flooring in both bedrooms, some new furniture, and interior decorating. Our realtor said Emily had completed work for her other clients and they were pleased. My concern was that I lived in Los Angeles full time and this was only my vacation home so I would not be around to manage the project. Emily assured me that she would handle “everything” at the condo and that I would be able to return to a gorgeous new home before our arrival for the holidays. This seemed complexly impossible because she would have to start the project in August and finish before Thanksgiving that same year. So over that 3 month period she sent emails, texts, and videos to help me pick materials and appliances/furniture . We face-timed constantly and I really felt so comfortable that she was managing the entire process in my absence. My condo building also has an on-site Management Office with very strict rules & regulations so I was nervous for months as I sat back with my hands tied in LA. However, each and every time I contacted my building, the Management would tell me how wonderful Emily was and what a pleasure she was to work with. I was really excited to get back and see the finished product. Emily not only managed the complete project on my behalf, but she helped me design each detail and helped me furnish the unit to my personal taste. She went over and beyond each day and was very careful to stay exactly within the budget we provided to her. This was new to me. Every home I’d ever worked on always finished late and came in way over budget. She treated my condo unit as her very own for months and spent countless hours making sure each detail was perfect. Our family arrived 3 months later for Thanksgiving and I felt like I was on a reality tv show - walking into a new home for the “revealing”. Everything had been transformed. It was BEAUTIFUL! Even my husband couldn’t believe his eyes. Emily exceeded all of our expectations. After Thanksgiving came and went, we flew back to LA and Emily still handled all of the final touches on our behalf before our return for Christmas that year. I even had an artificial tree shipped before I got there and she took it out of the box and surprised me when I walked through the doors by having it all set up and ready for me and my kids to decorate. Emily became like family to us and I would absolutely recommend her to ANYONE!!! I miss working with her now that we’re back in LA again - Tonya E