Cat Hackman

Cat is extremely knowledgeable, professional and creative. Her warm demeanour came through at our initial consult as she listened closely to our needs and style. Working within our budget, she suggested small changes that would cost very little but would have big impact (painting, moving furniture, lowering artwork, editing pieces). As well, she helped us create a vision that allowed us to update our space over time. Throughout the design process, she arranged to meet us around our busy schedule and was flexible as our ideas changed. She also sent us emails whenever she spotted an item or idea online that might work for our space. Additionally, Cat put us in contact with a variety of local retailers who always greeted us warmly upon realizing we were working with room4refinement. It has been an extremely rewarding process to work with Cat. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Cat again or recommend her to others looking to renovate or redesign their space!

We found Cat’s website on the recommendation of a friend who had hired her for a consult for design advice. After seeing photos of her work there, I was drawn to her fresh and beautiful designs, so I sent her an email, and she set up a meeting at our home. When she arrived, Cat took the time to really listen to us to find out what we were hoping to achieve with renovations, and to clarify our priorities, and from there we started to plan. Cat suggested a fresh new paint colour, upgrading some interior doors and cabinet door hardware, changing kitchen backsplash and fireplace surround tiling, and new lighting in a few key areas. Cat also helped us with sourcing furniture, fabrics for curtains and pillows, and cool wallpaper choices. She pays attention to every detail, even including picking new toilets that would not look out of place in our new, more modern space. For each of these decisions, Cat narrowed it down to several great options, and we found this helpful, as the choices available are overwhelming. The quality of the furniture that Cat recommends is very important to her, and we now have beautiful Canadian-made furniture that she found for us. Cat was mindful of our budget, and she always provided options within our price range. When it came time for her tradespeople to do the work in our home, we were impressed by the high quality of their work, and the reliability and efficiency of Cat’s team. Now that the renovations are complete, we are so happy with how everything turned out. Our home is fresh, bright, organized and full of fun details. We never would have been able to do this without Cat. Thanks, Cat!

We have had the pleasure of working with Cat and her clients on numerous occasions over the past several years and we look forward to working with her again. Highly recommended!

We worked with Marie Kanwischer and Cat Hackman to renovate our 1970’s four-split in Ranchlands (see the Ranchlands photos on her Houzz site). We were looking for help to bring our house into the modern times: make it durable and functional for our family of four (plus dog), but also make it feel comfortable and calm to come home to at the end of the day. The project involved a complete gut of the main floor (living room and kitchen), and reno of the top floor (3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms). From that start, we were so happy to work with Cat. She provided such great advice, helping us navigate the endless rows of flooring, tile, countertop and paint chips, and was able to synthesize the random “ooh, I like that!” ideas into a cohesive design that is better than I could have imagined. She frequently saved us from making some very costly errors with her honest and direct feedback. We loved working with her and Marie and can’t wait to save enough pennies to tear about the remaining two floors of the house!

My experience with Cat was wonderful and I would not hesitate to hire her again. Cat's advice was invaluable in making the best decisions, preventing costly errors. She very tactfully guided me to the right choices, resulting in an updated main floor - kitchen, dining and living room - that we are very happy with.

I hired Cat when we moved in our new house in Calgary. Cat first decorated our house with the decorations we already had. She literally walked up and down the stairs carrying everything with her to decorate our house. She hanged pictures and paintings and placed books and decorations on the shelves. In the process, she always ask me if I liked it and she would change it if I didn't. She did this in a short period of time since she has a lot of experience with decoration (and must say great taste). She helped us to build a banquette in the kitchen area. She found someone to design it and to build it. She helped choose the fabric. She provided many helpful advices when we replaced a window with a patio door and for sizing and deciding the color for carpets and furnitures. She is generous providing information and advices. She was available when needed and provided sound advices. Moreover, she has a great sense of humour and it is fun to work with her. Overall, our house looks great because we hired Cat. I will hire Cat again when we need to complete other renovation projects or buy new furniture. Thank you Cat!

We highly recommend Cat. Cat is exceptional to work with. Our project was to restore a 65 year old, 650 sqft knockdown guest house at our farm. (Take a look at the photos on her site.) Her professionalism, attention to detail, relationship with trades and great sense of humor made this project a lot of fun. She listens to ideas, is very creative and organized. Our next project is restoration of a 75 year old farm home. Cat has started working on this project as well.

There is always the danger of hiring the wrong person when you hire a designer. Will she take the time to get to know you, to understand your design sense, your needs and desires? And when you luck in and get that person, someone who truly cares, it makes the journey so much more enjoyable. Cat Hackman is a lovely person with an innate sense of style and a caring soul. She became my go to person and always did more than I expected. Being an out of town client made the process more difficult but she did everything to overcome that. Suppliers respected her and the trades never let her down. I highly recommend Cat, for her abilities as a designer and her sensibilities as a person.

Cat Hackman worked with Marie Kanwischer (general contractor) to produce a beautiful design that ended up being exactly what we wanted. Cat and Marie must have listened very carefully and must have been very observant when we first met because right from the beginning the proposed design was lovely. Cat was very respectful of our time constraints and having a very good feel for what we wanted, showed us things that she believed we would like and most of the time she was right. She was also very good at navigating the differences that inevitably arise between husband and wife with respect to details. I am very glad that she worked with us to achieve a magnificent result and would recommend her anytime. I believe her fees were very reasonable for the service.

Working with Cat is such a pleasure. She always delivers a great experience for her clients. She listens and understands her clients needs and vision. Cat is respectful of budgets and time frames. She is very knowledgeable and has a great design sense.

My husband and I worked with Cat to completely redesign our kitchen space and redo our nearby laundry room. Cat was able to convey a vision of a completely recreated space that became our cherished contemporary kitchen. Cat was instrumental in the selection of cabinetry, finishes, countertops, flooring, windows, lighting and all else that went into creating this luxurious kitchen and laundry room. We loved working with Cat because she has a superb ability to envision 'what could be' based on our needs and consult with us about what we could and should do and should not do. Cat is also a pleasure to work with, always upbeat, positive and truly listens prior to making recommendations.

I hired Cat to do a complete Reno on my condo In Downtown Calgary. I found Cat to be very professional and met all deadlines. She is very easy to work with and great ideas. Cat comes with good skilled Craftsman . She was a total pleasure to work with. Donna J. EuClaire Area Calgary