Restore North Shore

Exceptional Craftsmanship and Delighted Homeowners! As an architectural photographer, I've had the pleasure of working with many home builders and remodelers, and I must say that my collaboration with Margaret and Nef has been a truly standout experience. The quality of their homes is unparalleled, and it's evident in every detail I capture through my lens. One of the aspects that truly stands out is the sheer happiness of the homeowners. When I arrive to photograph the homes built by Restore, I'm always welcomed with enthusiasm by the homeowners. It seems that in nearly all the projects I have photographed for Margaret and Nef, they have figured out how to solve some major problem; be it moving walls, relocating staircases, or unearthing hidden pipes and electrical wires in 100-year-old Winnetka homes. I wholeheartedly recommend Restore North Shore to anyone seeking a top-tier builder who not only delivers on quality and design but also ensures that homeowners are genuinely happy and content with their investment. They have a knack for turning dreams into reality and creating spaces that evoke pure joy. Ask them about secret cereal drawers or hidden extendable countertops. Thank you, Restore, for making my job a delight while capturing your incredible work.

The RNS team was incredible, from the day we met Margaret and Nef, until they completed our new kitchen, they were great to work with, brought unique design ideas, and delivered our dream kitchen. We are almost 1 year post delivery of our kitchen and we could not be happier!

Margaret and her team were a dream to work with and we love the results. We used Restore North Shore on a 3 different projects in Chicago (a kitchen/pantry redesign, refinishing our floors and adding new moldings throughout the living areas and two bathroom redesigns). Margaret is a creative and inspired thinker. She listened to what we wanted and excelled at delivering as well as making added value suggestions. She was conscientious of budget and timing. She is an excellent project manager and designer and I would recommend her to anyone. When we ran into space or plumbing constraints, she and her team were able to think out of the box and solve problems. She is fun, conscientious, inventive and hard working.

It's been my pleasure to work with Margaret and her team for at least the last 10 years. The projects are always unique and professional. Margaret's hands on approach gives a personal touch to each and every job!

Restore North Shore has completed several projects for our home, and condominium in the city. Margaret and her crew have always done top-notch work, offering creative design solutions to tricky problem areas. RNS works in a professional and timely manner. We have always been happy with the quality of work! We will be sure to hire RNS for any future projects.

Margaret is unbelievable! Her interior design style is right on point. She is extremely professional and a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her services.

Margaret was professional, flexible, and did a great job with our house. She is very talented, and always kind!

We hired Restore North Shore (Margaret) for two remodeling projects: our kitchen and a bathroom. We are very pleased with the end results of both projects. Both were significant (complete gut jobs, moving load bearing walls, etc.) and Margaret and her team did everything from design, to material selection to construction. We would absolutely use Margaret again and encourage others to consider her as well.

This is a picture of Margaret Spaan, the co-owner of Restore North Shore.. Margaret and the other co- owner Nef are a superlative design-build team. They have done at least six projects for me including two built-in fireplaces, a painting studio for my wife, our master bathroom and three bathroom renovations in a commercial space that I was responsible for. Everything turned out better than expected. Margaret and Nef are easy to work with, creative and always live up to the promises they make. Importantly, the jobs are always done close to budget and done well. My wife and I continually marvel at the way Margaret overcame the problems in the bathroom space that was 100 years old. Margaret and Nef are a terrific team and I'm getting ready to use them again on two new projects

Restore North Shore has been my trusted advisor in 2 major home renovations in 2 separate homes. This review is for the 2nd home renovation which required an addition (Master BR, Master BR, Basement (which required extensive excavation and foundation work), Screened Porch). We had plans drawn in October 2020, broke ground in May 2021 and completed in November 2021. The entire team was hard working, driven to deadlines and remained close to the details that the Village required throughout the process. Issues always arise during large projects and Restore North Shore addressed all issues large and small. I would also add that both project Margaret and Nef were open to ideas once the space was open to make modifications. I would highly recommend Restore North Shore and would contract with them again!

It was a pleasure working with Restore North Shore. They were amazing collaborators and very professional throughout my kitchen and dining room renovation. The team was always willing to brainstorm solutions and make the vision a reality. Reliable, thoughtful and enthusiastic. Good eye for detail. I will use them in the future.

Restore North Shore was professional, realistic, great sense of style and design and approached our project with empathy and a real understanding of what we wanted to accomplish. Final results are stunning and better than expected. Final cost was inline with quoted project estimate. We will absolutely be hiring Restore North Shore again for our next project.

I was referred to Margaret and Restore North Shore from Studio41, to remodel my outdated 1980’s master bath. The project was somewhat complicated because the bathroom was extremely long and narrow. Margaret suggested that I relocate my shower and create a water room, which would enable me to enjoy both a spacious shower and a huge soaking tub. The result was a complete transformation into to a luxurious spa bath that I enjoy both beginning and ending my day in. Also, because I didn’t have a designer, Margaret offered her services as a designer. She wears many hats and has fabulous taste!

Restore North Shore executed a detailed kitchen demolition and rebuild. Highly recommend. The service and attention to detail was outstanding.

Margaret & Nef were great. The crew on site daily was respectful, hard working, and did a good job cleaning up at the end of each day. The end result was beautiful.

Margaret is one of the most creative designers I have worked with! She also brings her attention to detail that satisfies even the most particular clients like myself :) Her very talented side-kick Nef is also absolutely amazing and as a team, they helped me create the most cozy and playful attic space for our children. The built-ins that the Amish group built are the best quality on the market. Unlike many other groups we have worked with or interviewed, they stand by their work and will not hesitate to fix even the smallest issues if they ever arise. The finished space is where we spend most of our spare time now and we have received countless compliments that Restore NS rightfully earned! We are so happy with them that we would absolutely consider working with them again once we are ready to remodel our kitchen!

I would highly recommend Restore North Shore. The project scope was accurately assessed and quoted. The project remained on task with flexibility that allowed us to make some changes mid-stream. I found this valuable as it's hard to envision products and scale on paper. Also, the project was on time and on budget (with no surprise overages). The team was great to work and made the project fun! VERY pleased with the end result and I will definitely use Restore North Shore for all future renovation projects!

We were referred to Restore North Shore by a friend who's kitchen was beautifully re-modeled by Margaret, Nef and their team. From the first day we could not have been happier with their work. Every phone call or text was returned promptly, problems were addressed calmly, and every effort was made to stay within the initial budget. We have had other construction projects in the past and this one was by far the least disruptive to our everyday lives and the results far exceeded what we thought could be done with the space.

We have had an outstandingly positive experience with Restore North Shore, and have and will continue recommending the company. When we first considered our kitchen remodel, we interviewed a few contractors, but Margaret Spaan brought to the table a few things others did not immediately show: (1) creativity in handling design and construction challenges while appreciating the unique character of homes from a different era; (2) a true desire to work with us and honor on our creative vision, rather than pushing her own creative or bottom line agenda; and (3) building a relationship with us to better understand our needs for the remodeled space and our taste, while always making recommendations based on her experience and expertise. Our kitchen remodel went from an early 1990s remodel of a colonial "cottage" with seating enough for a family of 4, to a stunning space I could see in a colonial "estate" that I can envision entertaining and raising a family in for years to come. We were so happy with the end result that we are now working with Restore North Shore (Margaret and Nef) on an entire basement remodel. As with the kitchen, the RNS team listens to clients' ideas, makes informed recommendations, provides multiple potential solutions and viable options with challenges typical of construction projects, and has an incredibly skilled, professional, and trustworthy team to execute. We could not be happier with our results, and are thrilled with our working relationship with RNS, as well as with our newly remodeled living spaces.

We first met Margaret when Restore North Shore was doing a complete rehabilitation of a townhouse that was purchased by a good friend of ours. It needed lots of work before it was ready to be lived in. The remodel was transformative. We were especially impressed with Margaret's sense of style and the design of the kitchen. The large cabinets she designed and had built for the kitchen and dining room were terrific. With no changes in available light, the downstairs was made to feel more open and spacious---the result of removing walls and installing an archway into the living area. All Margaret's ideas. Since then, we have completed four separate projects with Margaret and Restore North Shore. She helped design and then built fireplaces and surrounding bookcases for 2 rental units which made the living room more livable and warm. We were delighted with the end results. Restore North Shore also took raw storage space with a cement floor and turned it into a living area with a splendid adjacent bathroom. Only pictures can convey how cool the space now is. Next, she remodeled the master bath at our North Shore home. End result: we have a nicer bathroom than I ever would have imagined could be built into the available space. The project was done reasonably quickly and within our budget range. Her attention to detail and the design made the project a stunning success. So, would I use Margaret again? Absolutely. She is fair, easy to work with, always cares about trying to come up with a splendid work product and her sense of style and ideas helped make everything we've done with her a success.

Restore North Shore did a fabulous job on my kitchen. High quality and great workmanship! They did a fantastic job making my vision a reality, and it turned out better than I could have imagined.

I had a wonderful experience working with Margaret and Restore North Shore. My upstairs kids/guest bath was totally gutted, redesigned and rebuilt by Margaret and her team and we are so pleased with the results. Margaret has an excellent eye for design as well as an understanding for what my needs were. I have a very traditional home but wanted a more clean, modern feel for this bath and she made it work. She was a pleasure to work with and she worked hard to keep the project on schedule and within budget. I was very impressed with her professionalism as well as the professionalism of the people she brought in to work on the project.

We hired Restore North Shore to remodel the first floor of our 1927 house. Our goal was to improve the flow by changing the layout, and optimizing natural light paths. Margaret understood our aesthetic vision and our family dynamics and helped us create a space that reflects what we were looking for. The construction process went as smooth as can be expected, and Margaret and her team were able to finish within the given time frame and budget.

Margaret (restore north shore) did a complete redo of our townhome in 2010/2011. This was her first official general contractor job. Over all we were very pleased in fact thrilled with everything that Margaret did. We did 3 new bathrooms and a new kitchen, took a wall down and put in and archway. Margaret has strong eye for design and function and she gets very high marks for this. My only constructive comments are about the subs who I think were perhaps not as good as she was at everything. Hard to say they were really good at some things and not so good on some of the fine details. I think this was more a function of their inexperience than anything. For example a few of the mountings were loose shortly after for thinks like toilet paper and they probably could have used different more substantial wall bolts. The quarter round was not installed securely. These were things that were not apparent right away but after a year or so. Not big things but definitely things for the crew to improve on. Margaret has been very attentive to all subsequent issues . I would highly recommend her and feel that small things I mentioned are probably something that is better now.

Margaret and her team were absolutely wonderful to work with. Her ideas and creativity allowed us to finally have the kitchen we have always wanted. We had a few structure obstacles to overcome with the then current interior space. Margaret and her design person were able to create a seamless design that looks and functions flawlessly. Her suggestion of using Amish cabinet company to construct the cabinets and built ins was spot on. They are luxurious and rich pieces that were very affordable. Her professionalism and constant attention to detail enabled our kitchen to be completed in a timely manner. She and her partner, Neff, were always available to help with any questions or concerns during the project. It's been two years since completion and it still looks fantastic! We love it!

Margaret and her team realized (and improved!) our vision for our home. Their work didn't just make the house look better, it made us live better. And the renovations fit with the feel of our 100-year-old house, but with an open and family-friendly feel that we didn't have before. And Margaret's experience as a realtor gives her a special, unique eye among contractors for the details that will matter for the long-term value of the house--as well as those that don't.

Margaret and Nef remodeled my master bath. They helped in design as well as construction. They worked with my budget and helped me find deals and selections to keep the costs down. The bathroom is beautiful. they did a great job.