Collaborative Interior Design

We hired Sandy specifically with the intent to update and renovate our home so that we could sell it. We are so glad we did! Sandy came highly recommended and we quickly realized that her talent and vision is incredible. She is so knowledgeable, patient, and organized. She guided us through every step of our renovation, providing us with invaluable insight and advice. Our home needed a lot of work and she took the fear out of moving forward and she made us feel confident that we were making the right decision. Sandy was able to help us figure out our options and she made sure that we were able to stay within our budget (actually under). Sandy knows exactly what she is doing, she has the contacts to pull it all together, and she was well respected by all that worked on the project. She managed every aspect of the renovation process for us and she made it so easy. The best part is that she ensured the quality of the work was excellent. Her standards are high and she made sure that those performing the work rose to the occasion. Everything turned out perfect. In the end, she turned our house into a jewel. The transformation after our renovation and with her design help was shocking and exciting. We could not be more pleased with how our home turned out. I am certain it is the reason we were able to sell our home the very FIRST day we listed it. I trust Sandy implicitly and can wholeheartedly say her services will add more value than you can ever imagine. We can’t thank you enough Sandy. Hiring you was the best decision we ever made. I just wish we had done it sooner!

In case the following review is too lengthy, I’ll sum it up by saying that working with Sandy was a pleasure, and the finished product is beyond my expectations. I worked with Sandy on the design/renovation of my newly-purchased lake house. It was built in 1969, stood at around 2,800 square feet, and had 5 beds, 3 baths. In short, it needed to be nearly gutted and redone. I hired Sandy due largely to the style of some of her past projects being quite similar to what I had in mind. Specifically, I was shooting for a rustic/industrial mix, and liked the work she had done along those lines. Many other designers in the area seemed to have a style that would result more in a cookie cutter suburb-looking house that just happened to be located on a lake, and less in the cozy and peaceful retreat that paid tribute to the surrounding nature vibe (which was my end goal). Additionally, I found her pricing to be competitive and fair. Finally, as her company’s name suggests, her process is a collaborative one. I wanted to take part in the design process, rather than blindly hand decisions over to someone and then just cut the check. I learned more about tile and flooring and paint and bedding and light fixtures and so on… than I ever expected to know. But it resulted in our playing complementary roles in the partnership, and probably in both of our feeling as if we built the house with our own hands. Sandy’s value came from three main factors. First, most obviously, was the design aptitude and experience. Part of the reason I hired a designer, was to push me out of my comfort zone, and prevent everything from ending up a typical male-chosen brown or grey. Sandy delivered, challenging me here and there, and presenting ideas that added interest to the house, while still respecting my style. She demonstrated excellent attention to detail and sense for the space and the vision, even accounting for how the individual elements would play off of each other, to form the full effect. Also, as part of that style and design guidance, she was able to provide recommendations that maximized the impact of my reno budget. For example, she advised on where putting extra money into higher-end finishes (reclaimed wood, for instance) would make a significant impact and create a “wow factor”. And conversely, she was able to steer me toward “standard” options in other areas that would be less impactful and didn’t require the extra investment. Second, she was able to help me arrive at conclusions that, without her, would have taken hours upon hours of googling, and would still lack practical knowledge. For example, she has a band of vendors that she trusts, and they do good work. At the outset of my project, I was insistent upon calling several options, pricing them out, looking at reviews, etc. But it wasn’t scalable for me to do that across the board, and it wouldn’t even necessarily result in the best decision. By the end of the project, I was jumping at the chance to just roll with one of her recommendations. There’s significant value in that network, and in not having to agonize over vendor selection. Finally, she was helpful in guiding me through the process. This was my first property, and definitely my first renovation. And with a full-time job keeping me busy, I was only able to learn so quickly on the fly. She was gracious in walking me through what factors I should consider, and in anticipating questions and decisions that would need to be addressed. And she was also able to handle the tactical items (confirming specs with vendors, asking clarifying questions, etc.) that I either wouldn’t have had the time to do, or wouldn’t have thought to do. Lastly, I’ll say that I work in consulting, where we often evaluate team members via the theoretical airport test. That is – if you were stuck in an airport for hours with this person, would you be ok with it, or would you pray for it to be over (out of boredom/frustration/whatever). I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sandy. I looked forward to our meetings, and the discovery/decision processes that unfolded; and I always walked away feeling like we accomplished a lot. So, I would be fine getting stuck in an airport with her. As long as she doesn’t make me look at any more tile samples ever again. ;)

I absolutely loved working with Sandy to put the finishing touches on our home! After managing a year-long renovation, I really needed her fresh eyes and vision to complete the project. After one meeting, I knew that she understood my goals and her excitement about the project re-energized me. In addition to her design skills, her keen attention to details was extremely helpful in ensuring the final construction details were well executed. Sandy is truly a 'Collaborator' - she worked closely with us to integrate the art work we had collected into the design. She's embraced our desire for a modern home that would still feel warm and inviting. She helped us maintain our focus and kept us to our timelines for move-in. Sandy selected the perfect colors for accent walls in our home, along with the furniture, carpets, and decor items for our home. We always receive compliments about how cohesive the house looks and how livable it feels. It was especially helpful that she has resources with skilled tradesmen for custom items such a built-in bookshelf that she designed and sourced for us. She knew exactly where to find the right furniture pieces and streamlined this process for us as well. She works very efficiently and came to every meeting prepared. At the same time, I never felt rushed to make decisions until I had clear understanding of the final results. I would do one thing differently next time, I would bring Sandy into the project earlier -- she would have been a tremendous help and saved me weeks of time during the design and finish selection phases of our project Sandy, thank you so much for helping turn our dreams into reality!

We turned our entire house over to Collaborative Interior Design. (Seriously!) We built our home 18 years ago. We love our location and neighbors, but the house needed refreshing after years of wear and tear from our active family. We didn’t have the expertise to pull off a cohesive plan, and frankly didn’t have the time. Sandy took care of everything. She helped us pick a beautiful, modern color palette, and created a design plan that greatly enhanced the look and function of our home. She found high quality flooring, carpeting, cabinets, fixtures, furniture and accessories for our project. Due to her extensive list of contacts, we were able to contract with the best craftsmen and tradespeople in the area. Our kitchen is a cook’s dream. Our bathrooms are gorgeous, spacious and bright. The teenagers have fun, functional spaces that highlight their individuality and creativity. Our new family room beautifully accommodates large functions and smaller gatherings. She even transformed the exterior with a new front door, planters and carriage lights. Sandy is a talented designer and an astute project manager. She was easy to work with and completed our (huge) project on time and under budget.

Working with Sandy was a great experience from start to finish. She listened, made great recommendations and followed every aspect of our house update to completion. From big suggestions (kitchen cupboard reconfiguration) to small (hallway lighting), Sandy offered ideas that were the perfect combination of our personal tastes and the most current trends and we couldn't be happier with the end result. We would definitely hire Sandy again!

Sandy was great to work with and we are so pleased with the finished product! She helped us completely redo our office and refresh our master bedroom, dining room, and entry hall to be more cozy and inviting. I appreciated her collaborative approach to the design process and willingness to listen to our unique needs and wants. She is very professional, responsive, knowledgeable on the design process, and has great contacts for custom furniture / designs. I would highly recommend Sandy!

I built a new home completed in October of 2016 and wanted to finish it after the one year warranty time was up. I had moved belongings from both a suburban home and a northern lake house and wanted to make the furnishings all fit together, which, with painting, required a whole house redo. Sandy was just the ticket. She is professional, knowledgeable, and so creative. Where I saw blank space, she saw a vision. Her ideas were in sync with mine and she always had the right person or resource to turn to to complete a task. The project from start to finish seemed to complete so quickly and I'm thrilled with my new home. Oh, and she's really warm with a wonderful sense of humor. You can't go wrong.

Sandy helped me completely re-style my room. Her knowledge of current trends in color, furniture, fabrics, wall hangings,tile and more made the completed design both pleasing and comfortable. She knew where to go for custom cabinetry to complete a custom desk space for me as well as a custom coffee table that matched the sofa design. Her professionalism produced a fantastic result for me. I could not have gotten this great design without her guidance and knowledge.

I am a Real Estate agent. I worked with Collaborative Interior Design on a sellers home that I had listed for sale. The home had been on the market for a couple of years with at least two other agents. Sandy worked with the seller to put a plan together quickly and with a budget they were comfortable with. Her work is amazing. She gave a comfortable updated look to a tired outdated home. She selected colors and materials that buyers are looking for and added furnishings and accessories that sealed the deal and stayed on budget. The home sold quickly, at a price that the sellers were happy with. They were finally able to move on to the next chapter of their lives. I welcome the opportunity to work with Collaborative Interior Design again soon.

Sandy is amazing! We have loved working with her to make our new house a warm and inviting home we’ve always dreamed of. She has listened to our wants and needs and her suggestions have been spot on. We are so thrilled about all the things Sandy has helped us do with our home and we highly recommend Collaborative Interior Design to any one seeking interior design services.

Sandy is wonderful! She is incredibly easy to work with. Sandy was able to quickly understand our aesthetic and make awesome suggestions. She was able to transform our office, dining room, living room, and kids play area and stayed within budget! I would highlight recommend Sandy!

When we moved into our house I knew that the brown cupboards, brown walls, brown floor and brown counter top, along with a poorly designed kitchen, were not going to work for me. But I didn't know where to start. I connected with Sandy and she immediately understood what I wanted to accomplish in my downstairs, and how to get it done. We completely reworked the whole space - paint, walls, floor, entirely new kitchen. She did an amazing job helping to find the materials and colors that suited the new style perfectly. The thing I loved about her though was that we did all this work, and she helped to find things that would make the most impact for the right price. We had some lights recommended by the kitchen contractor and she found similar (if not better) lights for at least 1/3 of the cost. She was fantastic to work with - professional, organised, good communication. If something didn't go to plan (as things do with big projects like this), I knew I could call her for a voice of calm and reason. We absolutely love our whole downstairs now, and our kitchen is stunning. I would recommend Sandy over and over again - and I have!