Universal Designers in Canaan

“One the best, fastest and most detailed designer I’ve ever worked with. She really knows her elements and has saved me thousands simply because she knows where and how to “buy”. I was very impressed by her professionalism as well”

“I was the general contractor on a small log cabin remodel that Chris Vlcek of Littlewolf Architecture did all the design work for. Chirs is great to work with as a Contractor and The homeowners loved the finished product.”

“I have worked with Chrystal over the past five years. She is an excellent designer and project manager. She coordinates all the parties involved so that everyone is clear on the project goal, she has creative and unique ideas always with the client or builder in mind. On time and on budget should be her motto. Im very impressed with what she does. Keep it up Chystal.”

“This is not a typical review, but our association is unique and I trust that yours would be the same if you were to select Irene Design as your consultant. We met Irene at a home show. We had been thinking about remodeling the interior of our home, but wanted a design consultant to work with us. We contracted with Irene Design to be our consultant. During the first visit to our home to take pictures and discuss with us, what we liked and disliked, I pointed out to her that the carrying partition on the first flow did not run parallel to the outside wall. Thus, any pattern in the flooring would also appear to diverge from the wall. Irene, immediately suggested that the tiles be installed at a 45 degree angle, which totally eliminated the problem. We then continued to work with Irene on the layout of the bathrooms, the wallpaper selection and the carpeting to mention only a small portions of the interactions we had with her in arriving at a design that met our needs and tastes. We had differences with Irene, but in each case Irene was always open to our suggestions. We would sit and discuss the pros and cons of each change and were always able to arrive at a decision that best met our needs. Once, we had finalized the design, we prepared a bid specification setting out exactly what we expected the contractor to do and what we would supply. This bid specification was given to 4 separate contractors including Irene Design. It should be noted that Irene had assured us that she would work with whichever contractor we selected to assure us that the design, such as the tile layouts in the bathrooms would be done as she had planned. While all four contractor bids were fairly close, Irene Designs bid was slightly less, so we selected them to perform the construction. At the same time we had also contracted with an electrician and a painter/wallpaper hanger. The electrician did an excellent job, however the painter made some serious errors in prepping the stair case walls for papering. After several attempts by the paper hanger to repair the problems, it became evident that all the paper in the stair case would have to be remove, the wall repaired and primed correctly and then repaper the whole area. Irene Design, on learning of this said that they would do the repair work at cost to help us out of this difficult situation. For these reasons, we highly recommend Irene Design if you are considering a remodeling project. If you would like to discuss our experience with Irene Design, we would welcome your calls”

“Sue is an amazingly talented, creative designer and project manager. We first worked together at our manhattan office when whe transformed a receptionists' area into a small conference room. She thinks out of the box and created a beautiful, useable space that has changed the entrance to our office suite. I found Sue to be such a pleasant, easy going and lovely person with whom to work that I asked her to work on some rooms in our home. She reimagined my home office which always felt cramped and gloomy into an open, modern room which is now our favorite space in the house. We are continuing to work together on updating and modernizing additional rooms. Sue is the best designer and I highly recommend her!”

“We've use Pam for two major renovations and numerous small projects,ideas and general help situations. The first was a total renovation and when we had to fire the GC, Pam stepped in and completed the work. The second major work, a lessor renovation 20 years later, is near completion and she and her team has been great to work with. We find her responsive, resourceful, and creative where we needed creativity. This has been not only in the design phase but also in participating and managing the actual implementation of the design. We've recommended her to friends and acquaintances many times.”

“Thanks to Flatbrook, I LOVE my kitchen again. They transformed a small, uninteresting space into an modern, beautiful and ergonomically designed space that has become the central focus of the house. They were respectful of my time line and my budget and I highly recommend them.”

“We hired Kitchen Concepts after talking to other contractors and we were very happy with our decision. They performed the work according to the agreed schedule and they responded quickly to any concerns we had along the way. Ellen was great when we needed design help and she navigated us through the multiple phases of the project. We love our new kitchen and we gladly recommend Kitchen Concepts for their excellent service.”

“Kim Hoover designed our house. During the process, she continued to turn challenges into opportunities to improve the project. Working off an existing sub-optimal foundation, she created a plan to maximize a great view, nestle the house into the landscape, and turned what would have been a dreary basement into a sun-filled room. She worked well with clients -- always listening throughout the process -- and with builders and contractors. Kim takes responsibility for her work, is on time and on budget. Her aesthetic sense is classic but imaginative. She's resourceful about new products on the market as well as time-honored techniques to make a house a showplace. In each stage of the process, Kim added value. We cannot wait to work on another project with her.”

“Jennifer's 'mantra' of saying " I want you to love this room every time you walk through it!" expresses her style of design very well. Her vision for my main living space has greatly enhanced my home. And my life!”