Bare Root Design Studio

I could not recommend Nancy and Bare Root Design Studio more highly. After several challenging home renovation experiences (and more than a few regrets), we decided it was time to do things correctly from the very start. When it was time to renovate our 1960’s finished basement, we reached out to Nancy for some help. We wanted to maximize the space, incorporate functional storage areas, and most of all, make it beautiful—something I feel basements are so often lacking. We started with a zoom consultation and we immediately knew that Nancy was the one we wanted to work with. The next step was a Design Work Session, where we first submitted our “inspiration” to her and then she came out to our home to discuss how we can bring it all to life. Both my husband, who was a bit apprehensive about hiring a designer at first, and I were blown away by how invaluable this session was. Nancy does such a wonderful job at putting you at ease and truly listening to what you want to accomplish in the space (while also giving you the added bonus of Design 101). She is so knowledgeable in her craft, very respectful of cost, and just a joy to work with! We have some unique challenges to contend with in our space, and she offered potential solutions that we would’ve never considered without her insight. It was immediately clear that we would’ve made some major mistakes had we done all of the planning ourselves. We are so excited to continue to work with her to turn our dingy, dated basement into a true retreat for our family. Also, we were so impressed after the session that we will be using Nancy to help us with some design and furniture layout assistance in other areas of our home. She is a true professional with impeccable taste and we would not hesitate to recommend her studio to anyone!

Working with Bare Root Design has been an absolute pleasure. Nancy has great vision and guided us towards making worthwhile choices with the biggest impact. We can wholeheartedly say that this investment has been money well spent!

Professional, talented, intuitive, knowledgeable, dependable, communicative. Nancy has delivered on what was promised, and then so much more. She is an expert at all aspects of a construction project and guides her clients gently through each step with clear communication, direction, and expectation setting. Nancy comes in and feels the space, gets to know her clients, and draws out of conversations the vision you had in your mind. I won’t even paint a room again without her thoughts and recommendations!

We are nearing the completion of a multi room residential renovation. Our experience with Bare Root Design and Nancy has been exceptional. Throughout the entire process, Nancy has partnered with us, carefully listening to our vision and executing flawlessly. A true creative talent, Nancy is also a great communicator who manages a myriad of vendors to ensure a positive end result. We could not be happier and enthusiastically recommend Bare Root Design to those who want creativity, quality and thoughtfulness.

After many years of contemplation and internet searching, I started in earnest planning our kitchen renovation in 2021. I hired a very experienced kitchen design group, but was concerned, based on having looked at many remodeled kitchens online (and some in person), that while they were very knowledgeable about cabinetry and kitchen function, they may not be as exacting with respect to the final product visually....with respect to proportion of the elements of the kitchen, as well as the use of color, pattern, etc. So, just before ordering cabinets, I went in search of a designer with both the education and talent to advise on these matters while also respecting my desire to not allow the budget to run amok. Nancy challenged me to rethink the overall design to fit our space and was patient as it took me some time to consider and take the plunge with this substantial change. I highly recommend Nancy. If you would like to check out her style, I strongly recommend checking out her Facebook page.

I first reached out to Nancy at the beginning of Covid-19 in an effort to make sense of the limited space we had to work with in our Robbinsville NJ kitchen. I chose Nancy because I admired all of her work and of course because of her extensive credentials, and spacial planning expertise. Nancy was 'extremely generous' with her time, especially when answering my endless questions, whether during a video conference, in-person consultation, or via email or phone calls. Nancy equipped me with the tools I needed to make educated decisions that allowed me to act as GC for my kitchen remodel. I was sorry to see the process come to an end because I so enjoyed Nancy Gratis of Bare Root Design Studio. She was more like a friend than just an incredible interior designer. BTW, her studio is STUNNING!

From the very first meeting I had with Nancy regarding our kitchen remodel, I knew she was the right designer for us! She has a special way of putting you at ease--there's a comfort level there that I can't explain! We were apprehensive at first to hire a designer, but I can say with 100% confidence that it was the best decision we ever made! It was clear from the start that Nancy was there to help us design our home in the way that we wanted, while making sure we made best use of our space and always keeping our budget in mind! She was always patient and attentive, and always made sure we felt heard--however her expertise and knowledge was evident throughout! This made a huge difference in our meetings at various vendors when choosing items for our kitchen. What could've been an overwhelming experience- never was! She would gently coach us through the decision making process and then help narrow the choices down to 2-3 options that were always perfect. She exposed us to new ideas, designs, and products that we would never have known about! I believe this saved us money in the long run, as well as saved us from making some costly mistakes. Along the way, she was always clear and transparent about costs, availability, and timeline which helped tremendously when dealing with a pandemic throughout the process. After our decision making meetings were done, she continued to be involved and responsive throughout the whole process. Not only has Nancy given us the kitchen of our dreams, she has completely transformed our space downstairs! She has brought joy and beauty to our lives that we are now experiencing every day! I feel so grateful and blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Nancy! I cannot recommend her enough! Thank you Nancy!

Starting a home renovation can be daunting…we were struggling to come up with a plan. Once we involved Nancy, we were able to exhale as she helped us develop a plan and cleared a path forward. Nancy asked pertinent questions regarding our likes and dislikes and made us think about how we were going to best utilize each room we were renovating. I was especially grateful for the visual images provided so we had a clear understanding of what Nancy was suggesting. We also welcomed the economical suggestions provided so we could trim costs. We are extremely pleased with the services provided and highly recommend Bare Root Design.

Nancy Gracia's approach to our project was innovative, cohesive and well executed. She suggested state of the art ideas in areas of lighting, electrical and venting. Throughout the project she listened to our ideas, style and budget while working well with all contractors. Nancy provided unique options that truly made a tremendous difference in the total project. I would highly recommend Nancy, her work is exceptional.

Nancy at Bare Root Design Studio is a wealth of knowledge and rescued us from going down the wrong path with our kitchen renovation. She told us our house was speaking to us, and so perfectly knew exactly how we should design our kitchen to maintain the integrity of our home. We moved into our home last year, and it was a cacophony of different styles put together in such a way as to make very difficult to determine what the next move should be. We now have a clear understanding of what needs to be done, thanks to Nancy. Once the basics were determined, Nancy was able to finesse the design to truly wow. Her idea to extend our current standard size window into a big, beautiful window looking out to see the extent of our yard was a revelation. She struck the perfect balance between form and function. We are so excited to see the finished design. Not only was Nancy able to jump right into our conundrum that we had been dwelling on for months as soon as she walked through the threshold, but she also was very flexible with her services. She wanted to help us and so offered us a service that would work for us and our budget. We can't wait to get started, and now that we've met Nancy, we are able to!

Nancy has excellent knowledge and experience with her subject, and was flexible to work around our plans and taste. Thanks, Nancy.

We cannot say enough about how wonderful it is to work with Nancy! She brought our historic home renovation vision into form through her impeccable taste and attention to details. Nancy has a unique ability to integrate contemporary elements into a historical home which was a perfect match for our project. You can just feel that she loves what she does and it’s definitely reflected throughout her work. Nancy is a pleasure to work with and we highly recommend her services.