Once we decided we were going to do a full home remodel, we knew that we needed a Designer to help make the work look professional and also point us to contractors that were reliable and did excellent work. After interviewing three different Designers, we went with Linda as we liked the work she had done on previous remodels and the fact that she seemed sincere in capturing our design inputs to create our own individual space. It is sometimes hard to pull the trigger on hiring a Designer as it seems like this step is one of those things you can cut cost by "doing it yourself". However, we knew ourselves and while we know what we like when we arrive, we have no idea on how to get there. Walking into a Design Center, a product Show Room or even a Home Depot can be absolutely maddening and overwhelming in our humble opinion. To have a Designer with a trained eye bring us 3 or 4 samples of carpet or paint and see how it looks in our space is really priceless. Or to have a Designer meet you at a show room and walk you through what will work in your space is also amazing. In the long run, the money spent on Linda was a small percentage of the cost of our project. However, the satisfaction reached through Linda's design results and the stress alleviated by her guidance throughout the project has been priceless.
People walk into our remodeled home for the first time and almost always gasp in delight. We have heard comments like "Your kitchen is a work of art, it is just so beautiful." People also love the custom work that we have done throughout our home to include our completely redesigned, upgraded and beautiful master bath to our home wide lighting choices to even our mud room! Now there are oohs and aahs every time someone first visits which never was the case in our out-of-date, builder-grade, non-custom house of the past.
More importantly we did this remodel to live in the space we wanted to live in and not to impress people. Needless to say, we have not been disappointed. Living in our newly renovated space over the last year has brought immense joy to our family. Out of our many examples, I can point to two in particular. We love the way Linda's design suggestion to improve the flow of our downstairs area opened up a narrow thoroughfare from the kitchen into our formal area. Over the past year, we have had dinner parties where it has felt that no matter where someone is sitting in our downstairs area, that they can be included in the conversations in the kitchen, which is always the primary hang out for guests. Before the thoroughfare was opened, the formal area always felt completely cut off from the kitchen and therefore we really didn't use that formal space. Another example is our built in table, designed right into the Island area in our kitchen. It is so convenient for our family to eat and be together at the end of the day. And the clean up is a breeze with the same quartz counter top throughout the kitchen used as the table surface.
We also continue to be impressed by the quality of the custom work by the contractors Linda recommended. We love, love, love our cabinets, counter tops, and custom painting as well as expanding our wood floors to the entire downstairs. The floor contractor seamlessly wove the floors into the existing wood floors in such a professional manner that no one can tell where the new wood floors begin and the old end. Our cabinet and counter top contractors also had the eye for detail to make both a thing of beauty. I never thought that cabinets or counter tops could be works of art, but apparently they can! In addition, the tile work in our Kitchen, Master Bath and Mud Room are outstanding examples of the high quality attention to detail that we are enjoying and relishing every day.
At the end of the project, Linda made sure to walk with us and show us where to place and hang our art work as well as make custom shades recommendations to match our new paint colors. She also made furniture recommendations to match the work in our "new" house. We had an extensive remodel and touched the whole house. However, she has the ability to tailor back if you are looking for a single room remodel instead. She definitely has design ideas that she brings to the table which we really wanted and appreciated. However, more importantly, she will adapt to your style preferences and collaborate with you to reach your vision instead of just hers. She is also respectful of your budget and will find alternatives that fit better into your budget as needed. She definitely lives up to her vision statement: “My job as an interior designer is to provide my creative abilities and co-create a uniquely individual space which meets your needs and budget.”
**For pictures of our remodel, our Project is accessible on the Diversified Design houzz website under the "Redmond Residential Remodel" and our kitchen is featured as the background on Linda's houzz home page.**
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