Spectrum Design + Build

Spectrum Design + Build did an amazing job remodeling our master bathroom. They were professional, efficient, and the final result is even better than we imagined. Highly recommend their services!

As a vendor, it's nice working with a company that does high quality projects and stands behind their work. I have heard from numerous clients about their professionalism, attention to detail and efficiency both in communication and work in the field. I would highly recommend Keith and his team to family and friends who are looking to do home renovations.

The Spectrum design process is impressive, using computer modeling, and being able [for us] to see exactly what was going to be built removed our "fear of the unknown". Keith is an expert builder who understands code and permitting and the craftsmen in the field possessed superior - and diverse - skills. These guys deliver La Dolce Vita!

I have nothing but the highest praise for Keith and the entire Spectrum Design+Build team, and reckoned them without hesitation or reservation. We were looking to take down a wall that divided a basement. The project - very complex, structurally— required installing a 22ft beam across the length of the ceiling. Keith was great at explaining what would be involved in the initial project, as well explaining necessary changes when unexpected matters arose one we got inside the walls. Keith was professional, on time and on budget. But I believe the best indication of my recommendation is the fact that we are now engaging Spectrum again for a project on our new home.

Keith and the team at Spectrum did a fantastic job. After another builder abandoned our project and left permits open and poor work, Spectrum came in and saved us both headache and heartache. Keith's expertise was able to help us diagnose the issues that needed resolved in order to finish the renovation and get the permits closed by a reputable inspector. He identified structural issues and defects in workmanship which needed resolved, and recommended expert tradespeople for plumbing and electrical issues the Spectrum team didn't handle directly. All of the recommended subcontractors were excellent and professional. The Spectrum team did fantastic work - they were friendly, professional, and worked quickly. The project managers were communicative and proactive, and the carpentry and build teams were great. In addition, the quality of their work was really high; they took the time to make sure the fit and finish on everything they touched was excellent. One example - part of the renovation was securing lose balusters on a stair. They could have added a few wood pieces, painted them, and called it a day. But the Spectrum team took the time to finish the wood, rounding off the corners in a way that fit with the rest of the house and added a neat design element while also serving a functional purpose. It's a small touch, but one we really appreciated I can't say enough good things about the work Spectrum and the team did. The inspector had no problem closing the permits and the project was finished thanks to Spectrum's help.

This firm is the absolute BEST. The level of design and construction is superb. Our renovation has received numerous compliments for the quality and design. We have never worked with a more professional group—especially the carpenters who we spent a lot of time with! Our home is a National Historic Landmark which adds a level of complexity that Spectrum took in stride —amazing attention to detail. Absolute best renovations to our 150 year old DC row house. Thanks team! Our renovation required infrastructure work which we discussed at length with Spectrum during the planning process. As a result, we had very few change orders due to site conditions because we had incorporated those needs into the original scope of the contract. The project was done mostly during the pandemic and we collaborated closely with Spectrum to communicate about how to work through the unknowns and keep us and their staff safe and comfortable. Communication is their strength. The project manager was always reachable and we talked through any problems that we encountered and managed to achieve mutually agreeable resolutions. This was a very large project and undertaken at a deeply uncertain time and we are thrilled with the results and how we got there.

Spectrum Design came to me highly recommended by a friend who was familiar with several of the company’s projects and the company more than lived up to that recommendation. My project was primarily a complete renovation of the first floor of a DC rowhouse (living area, dining room and kitchen). I had several meetings with Keith Vaughan, the owner of the company, to discuss the various options I was considering. Keith patiently and thoroughly discussed each of the changes I was thinking about, helping me clarify my objectives and suggesting alternatives to several of my initial ideas, especially in the kitchen. The process of coming up with a final plan was thoroughly professional, collaborative and comfortable and I learned a lot during this phase. The actual renovation project proceeded smoothly and on schedule under the on-site direction of Dan Gardner. Dan was easy to talk to and always willing to take the time to answer my questions during the project. I was more than satisfied with the finished project and I will certainly call on Spectrum Design if I undertake further home projects.

The Spectrum team took over a botched English basement apartment project and created a phenomenal living space that exceeded our expectations. They incorporated their experience in design with our ideas and communicated well throughout the process. They attended to the smallest of details, thanks to the skill of the workers and the outstanding supervision.

Keith and the Spectrum team are the best contractors we've worked with. They're detail oriented, responsive to your design needs, and respect their warranty. Keith designed and his team built a highly-custom stand-alone garage behind our townhouse that serves as a parking space, work space and entertainment space when we have guests in our backyard. When there were small changes in the design required because of construction challenges, they explained the options and worked with us to come up with the best solution. It turned out perfectly, and Spectrum has returned a couple times to fix minor issues under their warranty. We have relied on Spectrum repeatedly for other smaller projects around our house and have recommended them to many friends.

We've worked with Spectrum Design + Build on several projects in our home, most recently on a full renovation of the upstairs full bathroom in our Petworth rowhouse in DC, which had last been updated 20+ years ago. We were able to expand the bathroom to accommodate a full-sized tub and linen cabinet as well as update the vanity and all plumbing fixtures. Keith Vaughn was terrific to work with in designing the renovation, choosing high quality materials and designing a great look for the bathroom that was both modern and fitting with our 100 year old home. We've gotten many compliments on the renovation and have recommended Spectrum to many of our neighbors -- we'd gladly hire them again.

Spectrum just completed building a custom kitchen island for our kitchen which had been renovated before we purchased our house. They were very helpful in the design phase - discussed how we planned to used it, made sketches, computer renderings, and mapped it out in the kitchen with us. They also took the time to make sure it would be a good match with the preexisting kitchen so it looked like it was always meant to be there. All of the staff I met, who came and built/installed the work were very polite, tidy, and friendly. It was an easy process and I plan on using Spectrum to handle larger projects (bathrooms) in the future.

Bravo Spectrum and thanks for doing such a great job on our renovation projects. Your thoughtful approach and honesty is greatly appreciated. As well as the design options you proposed, which greatly improved the project outcomes. I would highly recommend Keith and his team. They are such a great group and highly professional. Cheers!

We worked with Keith and his team on a major renovation project at our home. Prior to that we partnered with them on a property development project. The level of professionalism and quality of work was consistently excellent. We would highly recommend this company for all your construction related needs.

Keith Vaughan & his team have been hired and helped on my rental properties and renovation projects for a number of years. The most recent was a refurbish of a single family house, prepping for new lease starting up -- kitchen got spruced up, new fixtures and full paint job throughout -- job finished on schedule as promised, and in time for tenants coming in.

My wife and I had a horrible experience with Spectrum. After months of major mistakes and a failed inspection, we had to move the case to lawyers and ultimately had to get another builder to finish the job. While the project manager and workers were pleasant, the owner was so angry, so unwillling to own his mistakes, and so ready to fight us at every turn that we could not continue the process. We strongly recommend NOT working with Spectrum.

Dan at Spectrum Design + Build is very pleasant to work with, and he always had the customers intentions in mind! One of the most outstanding qualities that we had noticed was how amazing they are when it comes to custom work! This team is not afraid of a challenge whatsoever. Our team at Capitol Glass & Metals would highly recommend Spectrum Design + Build to any homeowner in need of renovations or remodeling.

We hired Spectrum for a full renovation of our 1938 colonial in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Washington, DC and highly recommend their work. The Spectrum design team worked together with us while we were in the process of purchasing the house and helped us design a fantastic new kitchen and master bathroom. Spectrum was professional throughout, charged fair prices and performed excellent work. Their staff was always friendly and respectful of our privacy, and communication was excellent - they are highly collaborative with homeowners. Highly recommended.

Amy and I are delighted with our new kitchen. It works better for us in every way as a result of your combo of smart design with fine workmanship. We now have more storage space in corners, drawers, and surface spaces. The higher ceiling and new lighting make this small space look bigger. We especially like your recommended floor treatment. And we daily appreciate the convenience of a pass-through to the sun room. Your great crew made a pleasure of a disruption we had feared. They all were focused on delivering a good job, and they left the house clean and neat every day. We' were and are grateful!

We renovated a kitchen and two bathrooms with Spectrum and are very happy with both the process and the end result. We needed an update as well as a more functional space for our growing family, and Keith helped us to create a space that gave us more counter space in the kitchen, a bigger master bath, and an overall modern/airy feeling. He was able to accomplish this design while accommodating our own style preferences and making excellent suggestions along the way (such as the built-in dining room hutch that matches the kitchen cabinets and increases our storage capacity with a small footprint). With such a large project, we also appreciated the team's ongoing guidance and ideas with the numerous aesthetic decisions along the way (e.g. bathroom fixtures, kitchen appliances, tile) helping us to narrow down some selections while coming up with new ideas and recommendations as time went on (e.g. storage shelves in the kids' bathroom). This way, we didn't have to choose everything up front. It made the process less overwhelming and more fun for us as well. Finally, we cannot speak highly enough of Keith's team. The team's attention to detail and quality was exceptional, with several members of the team making new design suggestions as we went along at our in-person meetings. Everyone was also respectful, prompt, kept our space clean and tried to accommodate us as quickly as possible (e.g. with our move-in date). Our neighbors even commented (while we had moved out for the work) that the Spectrum team was friendly, always said hello, and cleaned the area outside the house daily. We had near daily communication from the field team letting us know what would be done at the house and/or guiding us through new decisions and aesthetic selections. We would not hesitate to recommend Keith and his team and are very much enjoying living in our renovated home!

Keith and his team at Spectrum get an A+ grade... it is tough to say enough good things about them but I'll try. I moved from LA and bought a house from a flipper in Washington DC in April, 2016. Perhaps a bad decision from the start but it seemed to make sense for me at the time. From the day I moved in I noticed lots small cosmetic problems that I had not seen during my home inspection and found that many of the items on my home inspection list had not been addressed despite the flipper agreeing to do so. Within a few weeks the big problems started: water leaking under my back deck/kitchen doors, mold growing rapidly on walls, water coming out of the living room lights when the guest bathroom shower was used. Realizing that I had more than cosmetic problems and that I could not trust/depend on the flipper I bought the house from I went looking for a consultant to develop a comprehensive list of the construction defects in my house. Feeling like I had made a bad decision buying from a flipper and unwilling to tolerate any more incompetence/dishonesty I asked friends in real estate to recommend someone honest, detail oriented, skilled, thoughtful problem solver responsive, good communicator and cost effective. I got Keith and I could not be happier... he was everything I asked for and more. So far Keith has done about $60,000 of work and I anticipate another $60,000 or more. His team has been on time, reliable, professional, and the quality of the work they have done has been superb. In addition to the work I have needed Keith and his team to do the extra work of providing detailed explanations of the flipper's construction defects and and photo record of what they found during the extensive repairs to my house, which they have done a great job of on every project. Keith's team provides exceptional service and has been incredibly responsive. About 6 months into the projects I came home one night to water pouring out of the ceiling of my basement (secondary to previously unknown construction defects). Within minutes Keith's team was on the phone guiding me how to shut off the water and within an hour at the house implementing a temporary fix for a burst pipe so that we could still use the water in the house. The extensive repairs (removal of all of the walls built by the flipper, rerouting pipes, insulating, mold treatment and more) were done two months later and the basement looked better then the day I bought it. I really cannot recommend Keith highly enough... I was misled and swindled by an unscrupulous flipper.... without the awesome work of Keith and his team I would be living in a moldy wet house.

I have the pleasure of photographing Spectrum Design's beautiful work. They have an excellent design team that is innovative and on the forefront of new technologies like these awesome new sinks that are scratch resistant and beautiful! They are personable and sweet. Their client's seem to treat them like family and that says a lot! It's a great team and they're really a pleasure to work with.

Keith completed two beautiful projects for us- a family room addition and a complete kitchen/dinning room remodel. Both were exceptional, in fact, the kitchen won a grand prize by a DC builders association. I highly recommend Keith and his team.

When my husband and I decided to build our dream basement we met with numerous architects and builders. We knew it was no small task as we were starting with a large unfinished space. From the moment we met with Keith Vaughan of Spectrum Design and Build, he put us at ease. His ability to serve as Architect, Designer, and Builder was also instrumental in our decision. From the beginning the project, he was very collaborative - he took the time to listen to our vision for the space. He brought incredible ideas and provided different options for the space. In some instances he challenged our ideas, but always in the spirit of understanding our true end goal. I have to say that all of his ideas were spot-on. Through his collaborative approach he earned our trust, and we came to rely on him more and more as the project progressed. My husband and I were impressed with the entire Spectrum team. Keith has built a culture of "customer first “. The Spectrum team was professional, trustworthy, timely, and always kept the working area as clean as possible.I was impressed with their superior craftsmanship and attention to detail. In addition, when we were met with structural or design challenges, everyone on the team chipped in. One such example was when I supplied a picture of a wine cabinet that I had seen in a magazine. I was sure would be the perfect compliment to our bar. While it was not something that could be ordered, Keith worked diligently to custom design and build the cabinet. The finished product compliments the space and is better than the original picture. This is just one example of Keith taking our ideas and turning it into a reality. This project was so vast that there were a lot of decisions and choices that needed to be made. The team was patient and never got tired of my questions - or my indecisiveness. They would weigh out options with me so I was completely comfortable with the decision and there was always great communication with the team. I have heard horror stories about construction projects gone wrong. Our project could not have gone more smoothly. Something that could have been a stressful process became one in which my entire family participated. We walked away with not just a basement that we love, but an experience we will fondly remember. I have and will continue to recommend Keith Vaughan and Spectrum; and we will continue to use them in our future plans.

As a vendor who has worked with Spectrum Design Build for a few years now, I have seen the quality of work, the passion and the dedication that Spectrum gives each one of their customers firsthand. Every member of the Spectrum team is a PRO and as such, they are able to help their clients envision and achieve uniquely efficient spaces without sacrificing modern and on-trend design. Not only can they help you design your dream space, their skilled tradesmen will turn a concept into reality. Their carpenters have an eye for detail and commitment to quality that I continue to see on every project that I have been a part of. In my industry, I work with a lot of different trades and service providers. Companies like Spectrum Design Build are rare and as a vendor, I see a more exclusive behind the scenes look at their operation and I can tell you that this is a business built from ethics, integrity and hard work. When you have building blocks like these, there is no doubt that those same values are visible in all they do.

We hired Spectrum in 2012 to renovate our home to create a larger kitchen within the original footprint of our house (see pictures of Capitol Hill Washington DC Rowhouse Kitchen). Keith has a fantastic understanding of what works and what doesn't work design-wise, and he provided several suggestions that made our original ideas even better. His team was prompt. clean, and easy to work with. Four years later we are still totally in love with our "new" kitchen and it regularly receives compliments from those who visit our home.

We hired Spectrum to update our outdoor space and to repair a detached garage. What we got is amazing! Our new outdoor living space sits atop our garage and is used 8 months out of the year. Spectrum installed heaters, outdoor TV with satellite and internet connection and a sink. The workmanship on the ceder pitched roof is top-notch. The project management staff is courteous and ALWAYS returned my calls the same day even when things were going wrong. The owner Keith Vaughn is involved every step of the way and was the designer of our project. Well done.

We hired Spectrum Design + Build to renovate and add onto our home in Chevy Chase. We did a complete renovation of the original home and a 2-story addition. Overall, our experience was terrific. I especially appreciated the constant communication provided and made available to me and my husband throughout the process. The team was professional, honest and hardworking. We have really enjoyed our "new" home for the past almost 8 years. In the past years since our remodel, we have employed Spectrum for a smaller scale project to build a bar area off our kitchen. I LOVE IT! So good. I would highly recommend Spectrum for both large and small jobs.

Spectrum has done a full bathroom and basement renovation for us, in addition to several smaller projects including replacing all the exterior doors to the house and refinishing our front porch. The quality of the work is excellent. Communicating for the purpose of planning and providing feedback is easy due to their rapid response and liberal use of email and cell contact. They responded well to feedback regarding the work site when we had complaints about dust and so forth. The quality of their work holds up; our bathroom completed in 2008 continues to be in terrific condition. They were described by the person who referred them, an architect, very accurately. "They're not the cheapest, but they're the best." I highly recommend them.