Piece by Peace Designs

It was so great working with you Heather. Thank you for trusting us with your home, we're so glad you have a new love for it!

I’m so glad you enjoyed your experience, Lori. I loved working with you and helping guide you through your project. I would gladly help you with any of your future projects.

Thank you for the great review Kim! It was such a pleasure working with you and being able to help you with your selections. And, we would love to be a part of your next project!

Awww, thank you Sarah! I love working with you and helping you bring your vision to life. I would be honored to help you with your future projects!

Informing our clients on the process of a professional design firm can be one of the most challenging aspects of our job. A good designer provides thorough and thoughtful expertise to each phase of a project to ensure that a client’s investment is well spent. Contrary to what we often see on TV, a professionally-designed space takes time and solid communication between all parties involved and requires a critical review of every aspect of the project. From budget to space plan to finish selection, we do our best to ensure that the end result of each project exceeds our clients’ design expectations while staying firmly within their budget. We try hard to convey the importance of each of these elements to our clients and we are always available to provide consultation if any confusion about our process arises.

The reviewer (Mr. N) did hire my firm to consult on a complete home renovation. We were also hired to furnish his home after the renovation, including window treatments. In our initial meetings, Mr. N stated he did not have a specific budget but he knew that it would be a significant cost because of the size of his home. I did verbalize that I MAY be able to offer savings on items but never guaranteed. While we aim to work within our client’s budget, we cannot guarantee the lowest prices. And, with the large number of online distributors, and the substantial amount of furniture being sold to our clients, our firm does not do any online shopping or comparisons and that’s what I explained to Mr. N.

Our contract does state that items purchased through us would be charged at our lowest net cost plus a percentage. It is not the standard practice of my design firm, or our industry in general, to provide copies of our vendor invoices to clients. I explained this to Mr. N and his CFO multiple times after they requested copies. After they refused to pay the balance of invoices they owed, I agreed to supply redacted copies of our vendor invoices only to show the freight charges, since that was a main concern for them. A lot of time and coordination goes into making sure each item is correct and free of damage prior to it being delivered to the home. And, on occasion, if something is delivered to the home with damage, whether in transit or on-site, we do everything in our power to rectify it promptly. Because of this, it is our standard practice to add a procurement fee to all of our vendor invoices, including freight and delivery charges.

At our design presentation, we show our client options for each item to choose from. At this time in the process, only images are shown. We have found that clients make the best selections based on how the item makes them feel, rather than looking at the cost. Although we don’t show the price of the items immediately, we are selecting items within their budget. After all of the selections are made, we email an approval link, which shows each item’s details such as fabric content, dimensions, finishes, and price. Since we are a retailer, we are required to charge sales tax for all purchases and it is clearly stated in our contract, as well as in our approval process that sales tax, freight, receiving/warehousing, and delivery/installation services are not included in the price of items. At the time of approval, if an item’s cost is more than our client would like to pay, they can ask for a reselection. Also, before approving the items, our clients have the opportunity to compare prices if they would like. It is not our design firm’s standard practice, nor the industry’s standard practice, to disclose the names or brands of our vendors to our clients. Mr. N waited until all of the furniture was in his home for two months and the final invoice for deliverables was due to dispute the pricing of each item.

After approvals are made and invoices are paid, items are ordered and then delivered to our receiving company. Our receiving company then opens and inspects the items, and any possible damages are rectified. Once all or most of the items arrive at our receiving warehouse, our design firm schedules the delivery to our client’s home. Our team members are at every installation to ensure that the items are correctly placed in the home and our clients are happy. We did this for all of the deliveries to Mr. N’s home. He did not express any unhappiness at any of the deliveries, so we did not follow up further. All of the functionality and damage issues mentioned in his review were rectified by either getting replacements, having the items fixed, or offering credit to him, which is typical of how our design firm handles these types of issues. And, when it comes to deliveries, we do our best to schedule them on our client’s preferred dates. However, we do not have control over the schedules of the vendors we work with and communicated that with Mr. N when he requested certain dates close to holidays.

The amount of wall covering material mentioned in Mr. N’s review was incorrect. Our design firm took initial measurements of the entire home to create drawings for space planning and designs. We are not wall-covering specialists and do not take measurements for that specifically. We rely on the installers to provide us with the proper amount required for the installation. In this case, it was the contractor that Mr. N hired for the remodel that was to install the wall covering and we received the amount we needed to purchase from him. Although it was a large amount, we didn’t question the competency of the installer’s measurements. We ordered the amount requested and as soon as we were informed it was the incorrect amount, immediately contacted our supplier to change it to the correct amount. We then gave Mr. N credit towards his overall balance for the difference in cost.

After each project is complete, our design firm takes professional photography for our portfolio and marketing purposes, which is stipulated in our contract. It is standard for our firm to accessorize the home as the final step in the design process once the furniture is purchased. Not only does this complete the design for our client, but it also creates a finishing touch for our photographs. However, Mr. N informed us he did not want that part of our services. If a client does not want our accessorizing services, since the photographs taken are used for marketing purposes, we will bring in temporary accessories to make the space(s) look finished. Mr. N. did not allow us to bring in temporary accessories for our photographs.

One of the main directives of our firm is to not only provide an excellent design but to be extraordinarily respectful of our clients’ investment. We have spent years developing a design process that offers our clients convenience, transparency, clear communication, quality, knowledge, and, above all, inspired design. We do our very best to please each and every client while maintaining our high standards of design and service. We regret that Mr. N did not have the positive experience that many of our other clients have and wish him nothing but happiness in his home for many years to come.