Essential Design & Build

Essential Home Remodeling was the design and build firm that was hired to perform renovations in our condominium. The work included overhauling the kitchen, installing lighting throughout, new hardwood flooring, paint, doors, built-ins, and office. We are very satisfied with the end result.

We had a fairly big job (i.e., converting a 2 family BK townhouse to single family, gut renovating the bottom floor and installing an ensuite bathroom in the master bedroom). Essential provided excellent service during the design and build process and allowed us to envision and execute on layouts for our home that we didn't think were possible. We were in great hands with Peter, Gio and Mary. The workmanship is beautiful and we are thrilled with the results. Thanks Essential!

The Essential team did fine work on our kitchen and bathroom remodeling project. As with any New York co-op building project, we had some challenging conditions to get the work done, and Essential came through. It was a fully custom project, and Peter, Giovanni, Katerina, and the team worked with us to choose all of the materials, design the new space, work through the board approval process, and complete the work. We’re thrilled with the beautiful new space.

Earlier this year, I hired Essential Remodel to gut renovate an apartment in Lenox Hill. The design and construction team were remarkable. The finished product speaks for itself. The quality is impeccable and I must say the place is totally functional and stunning. Thanks Essential for your attention to the details and for delivering a dream pied-à-terre by year end.

We worked with Essential on our West Village townhouse renovation. We had high expectations with respect to timing and we felt that we got there in a very timely manner. We have seen plenty of renovations in our neighborhood that took years. Ours was a matter of months. So above all, they deliver based on a tight schedule. Beyond that the design was spot on and the craftmanship excellent. Communication was frequent and thorough, especially when the unexpected came along and we had to make decisions. Very good experience all around.

My wife and I purchased a classic 7 in downtown Manhattan that needed a full makeover. After doing a ton of research and meeting with many design/build firms. Essential stood out in their approach, follow up and level of detail from the interview process until the final punch list was completed. The founder Peter and his team of designers and Gio (who overlooked the project) really cared about our renovation and it showed all the way to the end. Their Communication was stellar and they really helped us with the design, management company, and fully managing expectations. Whenever there was an issue they handled it. They finished on time and followed through with everything including not charging us anything more than the agreed price. This was huge for us paying rent and a mortgage. If you want a smooth process and a great experience do yourself a favour and hire them!

My wife and I purchased a classic 7 in downtown Manhattan that needed a full makeover. After doing a ton of research and meeting with many design/build firms. Essential stood out in their approach, follow up and level of detail from the interview process until the final punch list was completed. The founder Peter and his team of designers and Gio (who overlooked the project) really cared about our renovation and it showed all the way to the end. Their Communication was stellar and they really helped us with the design, management company, and fully managing expectations. Whenever there was an issue they handled it. They finished on time and followed through with everything including not charging us anything more than the agreed price. This was huge for us paying rent and a mortgage. If you want a smooth process and a great experience do yourself a favour and hire them!

Peter, Gio, and the whole team did a fantastic job. We found them on Houzz and had a professional experience from start to finish (and beyond!). The work itself is of excellent quality and we had quite a lot done. Including completely destroying a wall to redo the entire kitchen. Fully redo 4 bathrooms, all the doors, change all the windows, the list goes on. Everything was done professionally and we were kept up to date the whole way. Peter has assured me that for any updates and house issues that pop up, he will happily handle them, and as first-time homeowners having that reassurance is great. My family and I are absolutely thrilled with how the house turned out. :)

We first met Pete a few years ago when he was introduced to us through our real estate agent. It took us a very long time to find an apartment for our family of five, and for a long time we were very reluctant to do any major renovations. Pete came along with us to many open houses and offered his advice and ideas at no cost, and we were incredibly grateful for his time and vision. As we had never done a renovation before, it was hard for us to see what the process would involve and envision what a renovated project would look like. After we finally settled on an apartment, we worked with Pete and his team from start to finish. He was with us every step of the way - he joined all the design meetings with Stevi, he came with us all the tile stores and stoneyards, and he always, no matter how late at night it was, made time for us and offered to speak to us and touch base on our project. Of course in construction, unexpected things always come up, but Pete and Gio and Stevi were always there for us and were flexible and we pivoted quickly as necessary. It’s not easy to navigate a full gut renovation in a New York City pre war co-op. We absolutely love our new home and can’t believe how lucky we are to live in this gorgeous home - thank you to the entire Essential team. We are grateful for your guidance and partnership.

We highly recommend Essential Home Remodeling! Our UWS project was a gut job that required a suite of expertise, spanning plumbing, electrical, layout changes and multiple permits. Peter, the owner of this company, took time and care to guide us through this multi layer process. Our build and design team also included a fantastic project manager. Gio and interior designer, Stevi. As a team, we navigated unexpected changes quickly and made smart decisions that led to a gorgeous final apartment. With a project of this scale, what makes this company and team stand out is not only their deep knowledge on remodeling but also they are kind, honest and have a strong work ethic. They answered every call, test, email and stuck with us to the last item on the punch list. Project large or small, we highly recommend this company! Won't be disappointed.

Peter and his team are top notch! Apart from being talented and an excellent communicator he also cares about his clients. He really listens to what they want and delivers on his promises. He is also a one-stop-shop. Having a pre-assembled team for all of your design and build needs save you time, money and headaches. I recommend Essential Home Remodeling to all of my clients and everyone who has been in contact with them, thanks me. They do an excellent job!

Peter and his team at Essential Home Remodeling made this project so much easier than I anticipated. The concierge service is top notch! I felt so overwhelmed at the beginning, but Peter helped me stay focused on one decision at a time and before I knew it we had a perfect finished product. Communication is usually such a pain point with contractors, but Peter was always available, never impatient and attentive to every last detail and finish. The other fantastic thing was that Peter was honest without being pushy. If he did not agree with a design decision, he was always honest about his thoughts, but would never obligate me one way or the other, he always deferred to my preference unless there was a structural or functional reason that precluded it. Phenomenal team, stellar experience! I will certainly be calling on them again for future projects!

Very professional and honest did what ever I asked him to do and more for my kitchen and bathroom renovation.

I hired Essential to renovate my bathrooms and I couldn’t be happier with the job they did. From the day I met with Peter his words and actions agreed. He finished when he told us he would finish. His team was stellar and they communicated perfectly just like Peter promised us that they will. Very professional and super helpful throughout the project. Their process is perfectly created and works amazing. It’s a seamless process and I must say their attention to detail is second to none. Whenever there were issues we knew about them and they were solved right away. We loved their designer and her vision. We would recommend them to anyone who need help with their renovations.

I had a full gut renovation I needed done and I'm very glad I chose essential to do the job. I needed as much help as possible from the start in the design process. Their modeling helped me envision beautiful layouts for my home and create a space I love. From there they worked very quickly to execute and I didn't have to worry about anything until the job was done. Peter made the process headache free. Whole company is very communicative. Thank you Essential!!

A close friend of mine referred me to Essential Home Improvements. We were just starting a project and had a lot of ideas. Peter from Essential Home Improvements was excellent. He referred the Architect and assured me, they would take care of everything, and they sure did. By the end of the construction, we could not be more pleased. The job was over 100k and I we are thrilled. I would highly recommend him. They were efficient and finished in a timely fashion and the work was high end. They also provided some additional ideas, as we finished and the job came out better then expected. Dan

We bought an apartment for the first time and never remodeled before. Luckily, our neighbors referred Peter who did a renovation for their apartment. Coming from them, I knew Peter would be great as they are extremely tough and research everything. That said, we hired Pete’s team to handle a gut renovation of our upper east side 3 bedroom apartment. We were shocked at our experience even though our friend prepped us on how good Essential was. His team was with us throughout and their vision was perfect. The only thing we had to do is pay for the renovation and confirm selections. They literally did everything else and we were blown away with how it turned out. They were a charm to work with and they finished as strong as how they begun. We will be giving them a call to do our exterior renovation which is our next phase!

I was a bit skeptical to begin with due to a previous experience I had with a contractor. I actually never went the design/build route so when I first heard the price I was surprised but it was because they included everything so it made it seem high. So It took me some time to pull the trigger but after researching Essential for months it was the best decision I ever made. Their communication was stellar. I was ALWAYS in the know. They told me I wouldn’t have to pay anything more than my contracted price and that was exactly what happened. They even helped me with some minor items that I needed done that wasn’t in the agreement. Their designer was super helpful and is talented. She helped with the vision tremendously. We had some issues with damaged items that came in but they pivoted well with their procurement staff. Our board was tough but they got the approvals quickly and best of all they said they would finish in 12 weeks and they actually did. That was for two bathrooms and a kitchen with closets and painting work. I would highly recommend them and happy to know I have my contractor for life

My wife and I hadn't ever taken on a remodeling process, so we knew that we would need some guidance through the process. We spoke with a lot of contractors, and of course they all talked about how great they are! We ultimately decided to hire Essential for a few reasons. First, Peter has been in the remodeling business in New York for a while, and he has a reputation for high-quality work and great client service. Second, we looked at his previous work and liked it. Finally, we were moving into a co-op building during the pandemic, we just knew that there would be challenges, and there's something about Peter's personality that convinced us that he would hustle, think creatively, and do what was needed to get the job done well. All of this turned out to be true! Peter met with us and sketched out his idea for how to arrange our new kitchen--and we ended up following his advice. Good decision. There were challenges but Peter is willing to do whatever it takes to resolve them. Our appliance store told us at one point that would take another 6 months for our appliances to arrive after we had already waited 3 months. Peter made one call and the appliance were here in the next month. We didn't like any of the counters that we saw at the first stone warehouse. So Peter drove us, on a Saturday, to NJ to visit a different stone warehouse where we fell in love with what would ultimately become our counters. Peter and his team plowed through challenges and kept us updated and informed at each step. The result is a beautiful apartment that feels totally new, and so much more like us. It's just what we'd hoped for, and somehow also better than that. Special shout-out for Kat, the project manager, who was a huge help during construction with everything from calling contractors and building managers to arranging deliveries to just generally making sure that things got done. Usually excellent client service isn't something that you would think of when renovating. But if you're looking to remodel your NYC apartment, want to be love the results, and receive excellent service throughout the process, Essential would be a great choice.

My husband and I were looking to gut renovate our kitchen and 1 of the bathrooms in our apartment in Prospect Heights during the pandemic. We met about 7 different contractors before we finally were lucky enough to come across Essential. We immediately trusted Pete and felt like he was a friend. From the very beginning of the discussions around our project, Pete made our lives easy with his radical transparency and constant effective communication. He is a no nonsense guy and we didn't feel like there was smoke and mirrors or any kind of bait and switch, which we really appreciated. Due to owning in a strict co-op building, we had a rough start with our co-op board changing the goal-posts throughout the package submission process. Pete and his team we're patient and guided us from start to finish with our board and made themselves available to us for every little question about materials, timelines, and just about anything else under the sun one could imagine that a 1st time homebuyer/1st time renovation client could dream of asking. During the renovation I also had my first child (out of state) and had to work with Pete and his team managing the project from afar. One would think that this was an incredibly stressful time but Pete and the Essential team made this incredibly easy and painless for us. No ask was ever off limits for Essential Home and I can't speak enough specifically about the communication with his team being incredible. We also really enjoyed working with his designer, Stevi, who helped us in critical design decisions, making us feel extremely confident in our selections. All in all, the project and craftsmanship has turned out beautifully and we are so happy on the quality of work they did. Finally, my superintendent has has lived/worked there for 40 years and called me to tell me he has never had a better experience or seen a more professional contractor in his tenure in the building. He said they were extremely professional and respectful to the other tenants and the building guidelines (and then proceeded to share horror stories thereafter!). We can't recommend Pete and the entire Essential Home team enough if you're considering a renovation in NYC!

Having worked with Peter Hartofilis for our kitchen renovation in 2019, we turned to him first when contemplating renovation of 2-full bathrooms in our Park Slope brownstone in 2021. We were nervous about the expense as there was no wiggle room in our budget. Peter came through with a proposal we could manage and an agreement to respect the budget with no surprises. He quickly drafted the basic design for each room, maximizing the light and space including a surprising and really nice half-glass wall for the room with a tub – with the shower fixture mounted on the glass. Challenged by our busy work schedules we appreciated Peter’s willingness to work around them when scheduling trips to tile and plumbing showrooms. He thoughtfully guided us through the overwhelming number of choices mindful of our taste and style. When an initial tile choice brought us over budget, he accommodated our last-minute switch to get it back in line. When COVID-related back-orders threatened to delay the project he worked with the tile company to allow us to change to a product that was in stock. Wilbert’s team did the construction work itself. They were thoughtful and the work, high quality. We are very pleased with the final outcome.

I was having great difficulty in selecting a contractor to complete our home makeover. A friend of mine recommended Essential Home Remodeling based on the great experience he had with them recently. I felt very comfortable with Peter and the entire initial process thus making the decision very easy at that point… and the results speak for themselves! What more can I say? True professionalism, perfectionism and high level craftsmanship turned our house into a beautiful home! I couldn’t be happier and I highly recommend them to anyone looking to complete their next project!

Peter redid my kitchen and bathroom and so glad we trusted him to do it. Extremely happy with the results. He gets your vision completely and can rest assured he’s got it covered.

Essential home remodeling was one of the best choices I made to have a full gut job done to my manhattan apartment. Not only were they reliable they were on top of it all and in a timely manner . I couldn’t have gone with anyone else. They are my go to when I need a job done…

I want to make this short and sweet just like the process it took for Essential to finish my work. Here’s some words to describe my experience: dedication, great communication, great customer service, quality work, great reaction to problem solving and lastly worth every dollar I invested to make my home the way I envisioned it. I refer Essential for any construction need.

We hired Essential after a lengthy interview process and we are very thankful we had the opportunity to work with them. Before we retained them we were in the dumps with this process. We hated construction because of our past experiences with being charged with change orders after retaining our past contractors. Not to mention our expectations were never managed. This is why we were hesitant to renovate our kitchen and bathroom. However, our experience with Essential was completely opposite and brought us back to life wanting to do more work now. We actually are in talks with them to do an extension as we speak but wanted to get this review out there to help anyone looking for a firm that really cares about communication, customer service and listening to their clients’ wants and needs. Their process was legendary and the way they responded to mistakes (which didn’t happen often) was great. They spent a lot of time with us which helped because we were so indecisive on material selections. Their expertise to design, attention to detail and time management made this a pleasant experience. Please repeat what we did and hire them. You will be completely satisfied.

I felt the need to express my experience with Essential Remodeling to anyone considering them. It was so hard for me to make a decision on which contractor to select. I had many options including ones that were referred to me by an architect friend of mine. I decided to pay a little extra and took the chance by selecting Essential. It ended up being an amazing decision. They were attentive from the start getting me situated with my management company by getting the approval to start work in only 3 weeks. They had a design process that ended around the same time with an extremely detailed designer that I never thought had an issue with the time it took us to make decisions. She was very patient and helpful. We had weekly meetings after the project started and was constantly in the know with their job tracker application. It had all of the information I needed pertaining to my project. Lastly, they made my kitchen and bathroom two rooms that I never want to leave :). Do yourself a favor and give them a shot!

The process to work with essential was extremely easy. It was a seamless process from the beginning to the end. The result was actually nicer than the renderings. I’m not so familiar with this line of work but Peter held my hand the entire way. I’m grateful to the Essential team and I could happily and honestly recommend them. They converted my kitchen into an amazing place that I want to spend most of my days in especially now since I work from home. My bathroom was converted into an oasis. Thank you!!!

I thought that finding an honest contractor who follows through with what they promise would be impossible but decided to take the chance with Essential and finally do my first renovation. I was very nervous at first but the contractor Peter was extremely patient and was with me every step of the way. His team which included a talented designer put together a picture perfect kitchen, powder bathroom and master bedroom bathroom. I was blown away by the attention to detail and if you’re looking for a wonderful experience limiting your stress level for such a major project then Peter and his team are a great fit.