Great Rooms Designers & Builders

We used Great Rooms for an extensive home remodel- second floor addition plus mudroom add and kitchen remodel. The whole process was flawless, from design to build. The DeBaker team, the Great Rooms team and all of the subs were a pleasure to work with throughout the process. They were great at staying on budget and working with us to make choices that we would enjoy and appreciate for years to come without having our house look like everyone else’s. And not only did they stay on budget, they also finished a full month early. We continue to get compliments on the changes 2 + years later. We would definitely use them for any future projects.

I had an exceptional experience working with Great Rooms Designers and Builders on remodeling my 1920s Chicago bungalow. The project was on time and budget (any overages were based on my design choices!). I really appreciate the support Kaitlyn provided for design choices, she really understood my style and helped me make choices within budget every step of the way. Heath made sure the project stayed on time and was under budget as well. I couldn't be happier with my "new" dream home!!

We have now worked with Great Rooms for three big home renovation projects, and they never disappoint. In 2011 they added a truly amazing screen porch and additional bedroom above while upgrading and updating the front door entrance and look of our house from the outside. In 2015, they converted our basement from a glorified storage unit into a beautiful, unique and timeless entertaining and activity space complete with an exercise room, a stage ready for karaoke performances or a game of darts, and even a craft cave. Most recently in 2019, they transformed our unremarkable kitchen and family room into a dreamy space for cooking and spending time as a family, while solving problems in our master bath and turning it into a fresh and lovely oasis. The folks at Great Rooms have the vision it takes to carve away the awkward elements of a space and come up with designs that are pragmatic, distinctive and gorgeous. To top it off, their execution of these designs and their management of the construction process is first-rate. They obviously cultivate excellent relationships with their sub-contractors, and their strong partnerships with those people and with each other make it as easy as possible to have work done on our house. Craig, Katlyn, Heath, and Troy have been our go-tos for helping us make this house truly the best home we could imagine. We trust their design expertise and their ability to deliver, and recommend them most highly.

We used Great Rooms in 2019 for our kitchen/ laundry room remodel including refinishing hardwood floors and staircase. The entire project went smoothly with no extended downtime. Heath was a great project manager; he kept everything on schedule as well as keeping us updated on scheduled contractors. All of the contract workers were also professional and respectful of our home. Katlyn was a pleasure to work with during the design phase. She is a fabulous designer and brought all of the design elements together for a lovely finished project.

I worked with Great Rooms to renovate an original, outdated, small master bathroom in a 1920s home. We reclaimed some awkward hallway and closet space to create a more spacious, updated master bathroom that remained true to the traditional style of the home. It’s a joy to work with the Great Rooms team. I’m very hands on in the design process and the team welcomed my input throughout the process. From designer to demolition/framing to electrician to painters to flooring, their trades are all professional, trustworthy and of highest quality. I highly recommend working with Great Rooms.

Our experience with Great Rooms was excellent. We were remodeling our entire first floor and fixing a few problems throughout the house. The team came up with various design plans for us to choose from and they quoted us on costs very accurately from the beginning. We were lead through the decision making process well and the timeline they quoted was accurate. The quality of work and communication between the entire team was superb. We would recommend them to anyone looking for a quality remodel and team.

Great Rooms has helped me complete remodels of my kitchen, baths and basement. The finished product is always great, and they are professionals every step of the way. They have stayed on time and on budget and communicated well along the way. The design and construction components of the company are both fantastic.

The name says it all....GREAT! The team at Great Rooms did so much more than just build a house, they built our forever home. You can really tell when people love what they do and it shows in their work. They took my wife and I through what would normally be an extremely stressful process and made it into something we will cherish for the rest of our lives. They work with honesty and integrity. Craig took our initial drawings and enhanced everything into more than what we expected. Heath oversaw the entire project and always kept great communication with us on a daily basis. Katie's keen eye for design helped us create a home with exceptional flow and innovation. We have lived in the home for well over a year now and the only thing I can say is, THANK YOU! Anyone who hires them will too. -Tim

We had Great Rooms do a remodel of our master bed room and bath They did a fantastic job. The work was high quality. They were on time and under budget. The best part was the transparency and communication from the general supervisor, Heath. We had the work done in the spring of 2014. I have recommended them to several friends and would use them again Dan M

I recently hired Great Rooms in Libertyville to build and design a large addition as well as renovate a large portion of our house in Wilmette. All around they are top notch and they finished on time! To begin with, Heath Siebert was an excellent GC. He is very knowledgeable, experienced, detail oriented and was very patient with my last minute changes/requests. I also had the pleasure of working with Katlyn Ceplawskes, a very talented interior designer. She is also very knowledgeable and detail oriented and was very helpful in guiding me in the many decisions that had to be made. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to do a home improvement project or addition. I will be reaching out to them again for any projects that arise in the future.

We had a terrific experience with great rooms. Our space is beautiful and functional. I liked working with everyone. Our project was on time, and handled professionally. I get so many compliments on how everything flows together and looks like it was always there, not like reworked space.

Great Rooms are a great company to work with, they are professional, friendly and organised. Katlyn the designer was very easy to work with, she understood my own style and made good suggestions for design features throughout. Heath, the project manager made sure that our kitchen remodel started and finished on time, there was time built in to allow for any delays. I was always kept informed of who would be in my house and when to expect them. The project cost was very close to the original, pre-design estimate. We had all the ground floor floors sanded and stained so we had to be out of the house for a couple of nights, Heath was able to timetable this around when it was most convenient to us. I love my kitchen, my friends love my kitchen, I would definitely recommend Great Rooms.

Greatrooms Designers and Builders remodeled my kitchen, powder room, family room bar and hall butlers pantry. They are an amazing company to work with. It's a smaller company so you get personal service all the time. They completed gutted my kitchen space and Katelyn, their designer, rearranged it all to give me a ten foot island, a big subzero frig, and large pantry and added a large Wolfe range as my third oven since I already had two built in Meile ovens which we moved. She was wonderful to work with, and helped me pick out EVERYTHING right down to door knobs. I could not be happier with the end result. My entire first floor has newly painted oak trim and my home has made an amazing transformation thanks to Greatrooms! I can't thank them enough for their kindness. All their subcontractors were wonderful, kind people also. Great company to work with!

Great Rooms completed a gut renovation and addition to our home in Chicago’s north shore last year. We are very satisfied with our experience. The quality of their work and attention to detail was apparent from the beginning. Given the scope of work, we were seeking a full-service firm and Great Rooms was strongly recommended by our architects. The contract process was fairly straight forward. We had no prior construction experience and Craig was very patient in explaining the process, answering questions about the products being included in the specifications, and providing suitable alternatives to match our tastes and budget when required. The detailed scope of work was very helpful to us during the construction process. The subcontractors Great Rooms employs are true professionals, hardworking and friendly. As in all projects of this size, unexpected challenges came up and Great Rooms handled them professionally. Craig is straightforward, honest and always works to ensure his clients priorities are his priorities. Their designer Katlyn is excellent. She’s very approachable, knowledgeable and responsive. She was comfortable making recommendations on fixtures, colors, cabinets, etc. that complimented our design and her experience using specific manufacturers and products ensured that we made quality decisions. She is flexible and accommodating when working with her clients. She has great taste and we trusted her completely. We have, and continue to recommend Great Rooms Designers and Builders to our family and friends.

Great Rooms renovated our kitchen, family room, two full baths including the master bath, created a laundry room in our basement and replaced most of the flooring in our 1928 home. The most impressive thing about Great Rooms is that they have an efficient process for getting things chosen and ordered prior to starting construction. Katlyn worked with me to choose all cabinets, tile, flooring, lighting etc. She has excellent taste, but was also willing to accommodate my vision. In the end, I got exactly what I wanted. Craig, the owner, managed the day-to-day work on the project. He never got upset about small things. always returned emails quickly and was professional at all times. When problems arose, as they inevitably do in any construction project, he always worked to find the best solution. Renovating old houses presents a special set of issues (you never know what you will find behind a wall until you tear it down) and I felt that Great Rooms was respectful of the quirks and charm of my older home. I highy recommend Great Rooms for any home renovation or new-build project!

Great Rooms did a wonderful job on our kitchen/1st floor renovation. Katlyn coordinated all of our selections (cabinets, granite, paint colors, flooring) and ensured our new kitchen layout accommodated our needs. Heath coordinated the tradespeople and kept us up to date on any changes. Overall the project went smoothly and per plan. We've done other renovations previously and by far the Great Rooms team is top notch!

The staff of Great Rooms Designers & Builders are extremely professional and efficient. They addressed our remodeling needs in a confident and thorough manner. They made material selection easy by complimenting our "tastes" and accommodating our busy schedule. They were always quick to respond with any changes/requests or questions we had throughout the initial planning process. Communication throughout the demolition and remodel was stellar; we were always aware of what to expect with each phase of the project. The outcome of our master bathroom and laundry room is far more beautiful than we had anticipated. We will call upon Great Rooms Designers & Builders for our next remodel project and encourage you to do the same!

Great Rooms remodeled the entire first floor of our home. They gutted the entire kitchen, converted our existing office into a mud room with a large laundry area and changed our dining room into our new office/craft room. Heath, the project manager, did a fabulous job overseeing all of the work from start to finish. He visited daily and answered all of our questions. He provided us with a detailed schedule, which was followed almost exactly. That helped make our family life easier since we were living onsite during the renovation. Heath made sure that all of the contractors did a thorough job- he was even more meticulous than we were on some of the details. Katlyn, the designer, met with us to pick out the colors, finishes, styles and details throughout. We worked closely with her to pick out the cabinetry layout and design. She met us at all the vendor locations including appliances, tile, counters, cabinets and plumbing fixtures. She understood what we liked and provided choices that matched those and were within our budget. She was also able to provide a variety of ideas when we were undecided. She took special care to make sure all of us, including our daughter, had our ideas incorporated into the finished project. We will definitely use Great Rooms again on our next remodeling project.

We contracted Great Rooms for our main floor remodeling. This included our kitchen, living room and dining room ... which in our case was taking down walls and moving the kitchen. I had several ideas for my kitchen but did not know how to put it all together so it functioned well. They have a designer on staff (Katlyn) that made all of the stress go away. The final design is OUTSTANDING !! They started on time and the workers were top notch professionals. They provided us with a timeline and Heath did an excellent job coordinating all of the work that needed to be completed. We recommend using them for your remodeling needs.

We had a great experience with Great Rooms. We had initially thought about hiring a separate designer and then a builder, but it was really nice to have them all in one firm. Craig and Katlyn did a walkthrough of our kitchen, and Craig focused on the structural elements and what was possible/advisable while Katlyn focused on the design--the look and feel, and our goals (remove soffits to create space and a better look, improve lighting, upgrade materials, improve flow, etc.) After the first meeting, we had a good feel about the layout and what would/would not work, and Katlyn's drawings were very detailed. She arranged all of the appointments to select materials, and was great about winnowing down the choices based on our taste, using the photos we tagged in Houzz. It made the selection process very easy and not overwhelming. Heath was the construction manager for the project, and he was also very easy to work with. We were given a 6 week timeline with daily goals, and they finished just one day over the expected date, which was huge for us because it was hard to go without a kitchen. We had the kitchen gutted and redone, all of the woodfloors on the first floor and stairs refinished, crown moulding installed throughout the entire first and second floor and new lighting throughout the first floor as well. We are very happy with the results!

THREE PROJECTS IN THREE YEARS!!! Beginning with our master bath in 2011, we hired Great Rooms to turn what I referred to as a “house of mirrors horror story” into a light and lovely master bath, and in addition, expand our walk-in closet and do something - ANYTHING!!! - with the hideous art deco shiny brass surround on the fireplace in the master bedroom. The result was an award winning beautiful master bath, and a master suite that we feel privileged to enjoy every day. It was such a pleasure to work with Great Rooms from start to finish. Katlyn seemed to know exactly what I was looking for and had very innovative ideas for working with our unique space. One of the things we liked about Great Rooms that stood out to us from their competitors was the schedule they gave us at the start of the project which listed who would be in our home each day and what they would be working on. We were so pleased with how our first project went that we decided to go back to Great Rooms for our kitchen remodel in 2012, and the outcome was another award winner for Great Rooms, and for our family! We used the same beautiful Monarch cabinets as the master bath, but had them distressed for the kitchen so I never have to worry if they get dented or scratched since they’re supposed to look that way. As with any project, you have to expect their may be a delay for one reason or another. In this case, I had chosen a gorgeous hand made tile for the back splash which took the artist 6 weeks longer to deliver than promised. The folks at Great Rooms were just as frustrated as I was, but they were able to complete my kitchen without the tile so that we could use it in the meantime. They promptly installed the tile as soon as it was delivered, and it turned out to be worth the wait since the hand painted tiles look so beautiful. My kitchen looks amazing and even better, it functions the way a hard working kitchen should!!! In 2013 we had Great Rooms back for our third project. We replaced cabinets in our laundry room to match the kitchen, a new tile floor in the laundry room, adjoining guest room and guest bath, and remodeled the guest bath. The project was completed in a matter of weeks and we are so happy with the results. In 2014, after three years in a row I don’t have any projects left, but if I did I wouldn’t hire anyone else! I think Great Rooms is the best, they’re such a pleasure to work with, and I really like how they stand by their work.

As a custom cabinet manufacturer, we work with Great Rooms Designers & Builders on many projects throughout the year. The creativity & attention to detail in their kitchen designs is outstanding. The workmanship in the home is equally impressive. This is a professional organization with the talent & the drive to exceed expectations on any project.

We hired Great Rooms for our first floor remodel project based on recommendation from a neighbor who completed a kitchen remodel with them. The Great Rooms team prepared a few different proposals and price estimates for us and worked with us on the options to meet our needs. Once we made our selection, they prepared a detailed project plan that helped us understand what would happen when during the project lifecyle. Great Rooms struck to that plan & delived on time. Craig provided regular updates on the project progress so we always knew how we were tracking and what work would happen next. High quality materials and skilled workmanship were employed on all aspects of the project. Katlyn did the design work for the project. She is a very talented designer and a true professional. She took time to make sure she understood my design preferences and how I planned to my space to make sure that she met my needs. Using Houzz to share my preferences was also a very effective and efficient way to communicate my preferences.

Just completed a full renovation of my kitchen and 2 baths with the Great Rooms team. They were excellent! As a single working mom, I needed an efficient, planful process and I got it. I set a very aggressive timeline for the team to get the work done and they met it to the day. They took the time to understand my expectations, helped me work through my unrealistic expectations, and came up with a project plan that clearly laid out every step of the process. I knew what to expect and when and best of all, I clearly understood what was needed from me - when I had to have final decisions made, when rooms needed to be emptied out, etc. Everyday I knew who was going to be in my house, why and what they would be doing - gave me tremendous peace of mind. As with any renovation project, there are always unexpected challenges along the way - you never really know what's behind that wall you're tearing down! The Great Rooms team would promptly and clearly explain the challenge, propose a solution outlining any unexpected cost/time delays and I could make a decision and keep the project on track. I've lived through a nightmare renovation in my past and never thought I would do it again. This is my second renovation with the Great Rooms team and I will definitely work with them again in the future. Thanks Great Rooms for a beautiful kitchen and two great bathrooms!

We did an extensive, whole house, gut renovation with the Great Rooms team. They we wonderful to work with from conception to inception. Katlyn is a pro at guiding you though the arduous a process of picking out the tile, plumbing fixtures, lighting, cabinetry, flooring and everything else. She is methodical, organized and has a wonderful eye. She is an excellent communicator and returned calls, emails and texts right away. (This is so key in any project big or small!) Heath is very knowledgeable on the work sight and navigated the permit process with grace. Overall, we are thrilled with our experience with Great Rooms and would whole-heatedly recommend them to anyone doing a project of any scale!

We interviewed the Great Rooms team over a long period and brought them to a couple potential properties before finally purchasing our home. From the opening consultation process through our move in they were professional, knowledgeable and courteous. Our project included taking a 900sq foot bungalow and transforming it into a two story 4 bedroom 4 bath home while maintaining the charm and tradition of the neighborhood. Like most city’s Lake Forest has very specific guidelines and processes when it comes to building design codes Great Rooms navigated the process very well. From design to creation every step of the process was coordinated and timely. It was the first time we have remodeled a home and they made it as easy as any family would hope for I would highly recommend considering them for any project.

Katlyn was a great help in my whole house remodel. I had ideas of what I liked and she helped me narrow it down to what was exactly right. I am particularly happy with my new kitchen, which was completely designed by her. Love it!

I had an outstanding experience with Great Rooms in the redesign of my kitchen, laundry room and powder room. They even contracted to have my stairs rebuilt in hardwood. Katlyn led the design work. She delivered a design that gave me much more storage and usability for the size of my kitchen. We used the Houzz website and app to share ideas. Because of Katlyn's strong and creative design sense and the Houzz app, everything went smoothly - from picking cabinets, tile, wall colors, granite and fixtures. Many of my decisions were made over e-mail. Katlyn got to know me and sent me pictures of options. She made the design process very easy and enjoyable. Once designed, Great Rooms delivers a project plan that lays out the experience and expectations to the week and day. They have delivered on the plan consistently throughout. Heath led the construction work and kept me informed throughout. He let me know when I should expect key milestones and when I should be out of the house. He helped me pick just the right color for my hardwood floors to go with the other selections. I can't say enough good things about Great Rooms and the experience Katlyn and Heath delivered. Through thorough up front planning, design, and expectation setting, they go on to deliver a high quality final product! I couldn't be happier!