When we purchased out first and forever home almost a decade ago, we knew a gutting of the kitchen and main floor living space would eventually be in our future. After eight years of finding all manner of excuses to kick such a daunting project down the road, we finally decided (three kids, a pandemic, and years of saving later) to start making calls for quotes to see exactly how overwhelming, both financially and mentally, this huge renovation would be. We might still be procrastinating about whether to take the plunge had Mary not been the first (and ultimately, only) meeting we had.
From the first time “Kitchen Mary,” as our young kids affectionately referred to her, waltzed into our home on a sticky summer day in her tie dye maxi dress and peace sign earrings, her down to earth, breezy demeanor put us at ease. She took her time evaluating our current set up, listening to our ideas, offering suggestions, and gaining our trust with her obvious design experience and strong connections to other professionals in the industry. When Mary left that afternoon, our then-six year old daughter declared, “Kitchen Mary’s style is right up my alley,” and her professionalism, confidence, and candor were right up ours.
Mary’s contacts alone are reason enough to use Cutting Edge Design for a home renovation. Not only did she connect us with the most incredible, talented, reliable, hardworking contractor we could have dreamed up, but she also pointed us in the right direction for flooring, countertop, and design help. Gutting a kitchen, bathroom, and living room down to studs and essentially starting from scratch requires input from many different professionals if done correctly, and we were confident throughout the project that we had the best of the best on our team thanks to Mary’s trusted professional contacts.
Connections aside, Mary herself is an absolute gem. She is a creative problem solver who always finds a way to make your vision a reality, even when you’re not even quite sure what your vision is. She is up front and honest when offering advice but so approachable with ideas and questions. We had absolutely no design or construction experience when we started our project, but Mary’s encouragement, patience, and enthusiasm always made us feel comfortable in exploring our visions. She helped us learn to trust ourselves which ultimately led to design choices that worked best for our family. Our biggest fear with this renovation was having regrets, and working with Mary provided us with the skillsets, time frame, and financial flexibility to make the right decisions (and there were many, MANY decisions) all along the way. When Mary came to see the finished project in person for the first time, she burst into tears, which just goes to show both her passion for her job and dedication to her clients. We don’t regret a thing about this massive home renovation, least of all our choice to use Mary and her team at Cutting Edge Design. We are forever grateful!
29 Comments