Project Guru

In my consulting days I was impressed by a particular company whose stated mission was helping customers achieve success – the CUSTOMER'S vision of success. That’s what Johanne is a master at. Listening, translating, adding her related insights and ideas to build the best plans. Which she then brings to life. Johanne listened to my passion and respect for the charm (quirks) of my 80+ year old house, my love of antiques and COLOR. She expertly translated those preferences into a whole house refresh, including to the studs redos of the kitchen and bath. With limited space, she was a magician in creating great functionality and beauty in my cozy hillside retreat. She gently coxed me when architectural changes were required and respected when I stood firm on others. She was the collaborative consultant I had looked for. Johanne has terrific resources and instincts for finishes, materials and partnered well with the project’s general contractor. She had the patience to work with me through the decisions which were so important to me as this is the one home I’ll probably ever fully decorate. Her skill set is incredibly broad including building 3D plans (amazingly helpful), building code and permit knowledge, decorating savvy and overall consulting abilities. I love my cozy, bright home even more now! The increased functionality is serving me well and will enhance the value whenever I decide to sell (in the distant future hopefully). I absolutely recommend anyone reach out to Johanne for projects they are considering.

Johanne helped us with a major kitchen remodel in our high-end house in Alamo and was absolutely fantastic. She does way more than help you pick out colors and cabinets. She has intimate knowledge of the construction and permitting process, latest cabinet options, where to buy fixtures and countertops...everything! If I could give her ten stars, I would. You cannot find a better kitchen designer.

We had a mixed experience with Johanne. Very nice but ultimately didn't deliver what we expected. We handed her our kitchen renovation layout from a previous designer and explained we needed her help getting us to the finish line with details, materials, and contractor selection. She recommended a cabinet maker without a whole lot of discussion or rationale, and they came in very overpriced and took 1-2 months to get us a quote, throwing our entire timeline off. We ended up using a different cabinet maker of our choosing and got the quote quickly. She was very helpful with cabinet layout decisions with my wife but there was redundancy with the cabinet maker sales person, and we probably did not need to pay for this service. Most confusing was her disinterest in our materials selection. She never presented us with a design board, and we picked out all the materials ourselves: countertops, cabinet color, fixtures etc. She was there for advice, but didn't express much of an opinion. We ended up paying for a colorist consultation to make sure we weren't making any mistakes. She did not have many contractor referrals and we used someone we found ourselves. She frequently referred to us being budget conscious as if that was a bad thing. Her response times to emails was variable and unpredictable, and as the project planning picked up pace, she fell behind, and we frequently had to update her. The cabinet maker commented they hadn't heard from her in a while. She seemed overextended, and we lost confidence that she was on top of things. Eventually we decided to cut our time with Johanne short and didn't feel great about the fee she had collected from us, not exactly sure what we had paid for.

Johanne had a great vision and because of her vision we ended up with what we exactly wanted. She was patient with the changes and found us the best people to finish the job every step of the way. She was very thorough and detailed, which helped with our big kitchen project.

We worked with Johanne on a full renovation of our house. We had 3 months before moving in and had many things to accomplish during that time; including Kitchen remodelling, two bathrooms remodel, powder room, walk-in closet, floor replacement and paint. Engaging with Johanne early on was a key for the success of the project and for on-time completion. People are amazed with what we were able to achieve in such a short time. We love our new house and the results are exactly what we were looking for! Johanne helped us to set the vision for the project and pushed us further on our kitchen remodeling plans. She came up with a design idea that opens up the space, completely transforming the living area. It was something that we could never have visualized by ourselves. She was able to show us a digital design within a couple of weeks that convinced us to move forward with this design. She also was super meticulous on measurements and quality and her practical knowledge of architecture, building concepts and materials is impressive. Since both my husband and I have busy careers, we were able to do 90% of finishes shopping online and Johanne helped us with choosing large items such as cabinets and countertops from local providers. Johanne also recommended the contractor we chose, who was great to work with. She worked with him directly on the execution, making sure he follows the plans. It was great having her expertise throughout the project given the short timeline we had. We will definitely recommend Johanne to friends and use her again if needed but I don’t see us moving soon, we love our house!

Johanne is a breathe of fresh air from the moment you meet her. Not only is she extremely intelligent but you quickly discover her eye for colors and putting concepts together for the different parts of your house. She has pride in her work and is meticulous in her methods. Above all else, she cares for what you want it of your spaces and will work tirelessly for you to make sure you are happy. This woman loves her job and you will enjoy working with her.

We had already made sketches of our proposed kitchen/dining room/family room area. When Johanne consulted with us, she was able to direct our plan and reposition key elements in the design so that they are now more practical and aesthetically pleasing. Her experience and access to materials we were not aware of made the adventure much more fun. We love our new living area! We highly recommend Project Guru’s services.

Johanne did an outstanding job on our home that suffered flood damage during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Our home is located in Houston TX and is a 1994 one story colonial. Johanne redesigned the interior removing a wall and forming a wonderful open floor plan. The kitchen was entirely redesigned and all the rooms, including bathrooms and office was updated. Working remotely using 3d imaging, pictures and FaceTime she worked with our contractor to give us a great finished project. Fortunately for us Johanne had been in Houston during early 2017 to work for a week with my wife on furniture and color selection for this same home so she was familiar with the home. I can’t say how great she does when it comes to color selection, flooring, the look and furniture selection she brings to a project. I am always cautious about trades and professional services but after 4 projects and numerous assistance on furniture selection over the years nothing less than 5 stars. Feel free to contact me for additional feedback. Also I took pics during my Christmas visit to Houston home so sorry about Christmas deco.

Johanne is a true professional! She cares so much about her work! I will be going to Johanne for my next project!

We did a total down-to-the-studs kitchen remodel. It was tricky because we wanted a raised ceiling but were dealing with a weird roof line, and we wanted to open up the kitchen, but had a strange, ugly interior wall bisecting the kitchen area. We had a general idea of what we wanted for a finished product, but were unsure how to get there, and needed help with the details. Most importantly, we wanted to avoid any expensive mistakes. Johanne spent several hours with us going through every aspect of the remodel, asking design questions about what we liked in the way of colors and finishes, as well as practical questions about features we wanted such as appliance garages, cabinet organizers, pantry, lighting, etc. Then she produced this amazing 3-D view of what our kitchen would look like with new finishes, appliances, raised ceiling, and removal of the interior wall. This was enormously helpful and took all the worry and guesswork out of the experience. She also met with us when we interviewed contractors, making sure we asked all the important questions of them. But Johanne's involvement didn't end there! During the remodel, she came to the house continuously to check on the work, answer any questions the contractor had, and to accept deliveries. We were just blown away by the time and attention she gave to our project. We absolutely love our new kitchen and are so glad we chose Johanne to help us with it. She listens, stays involved, keeps the project moving, and on top of all that, she's a delightful, fun person to work with. We have recommended her to friends and colleagues, and will continue to do so.

Johanne came through for us once again. She did another outstanding job of pulling all of our thoughts and taste together to design a magnificent and useful second bathroom. Her suggestions and design concepts are amazing. Johanne follows through and follows up every step of the way. She takes the worry out of the project. Basically, she the best! Thank you Johanne.....you continue to create spaces we love to be in.

Johanne worked with us on our condo upgrades (e.g. flooring, door/transom for a den, kitchen backsplash) and furnishing/lighting/mirrors and art for all rooms. She did a wonderful job and was a pleasure to work with. She listens well, is resourceful and creative, has a wonderful design sense and ... when everything isn't perfect (not all vendors do as they promise, even those with a positive track record), she follows through to address issues.

Johanne Poullin, Project Guru owner, goes the extra mile with us and with clients as she diligently listens and makes sure she understands the needs of all. She is a great communicator, and uses her online tools to make sure everyone gets what they want, sees what they're purchasing, and understands all aspects of the project. She is easy to work with and has an upbeat attitude throughout the entire process. Her unique design ideas enable her to create beautiful and functional spaces. We are grateful that we have the opportunity to build projects with her.

Johanne goes well above and beyond in all areas of her business. We are delighted with the results of our remodel and owe that all to her for being the liaison between contractors and ourselves. She saved us countless hours in research, gave sound advice, designed some spectacular bathrooms and the kitchen, as well as our window treatments. We definitely recommend her to friends and will have her back when we do phase 2 of the remodeling. She is very knowledgeable, works fast, and is dependable as well as efficient. Thanks to her we survived dealing with contractors in what could have been the remodel from "HE double hockey sticks," as my mother used to say.

We recently had our our main bathroom remodeled by DreamMaker Kitchen and Bath. All the design work for the project was done by Johanne Poulin of Project Guru. Johanne advised us on selections of all elements of our new bathroom, from the major pieces (e.g. tub, toilet, vanity, faucets, lighting), to the smallest detail of the project. We came to appreciate and defer to her excellent taste in colors and other variables for the stone and tile surfaces in our new bathroom. We appreciated that Johanne was always readily available to accompany us to various vendors to select pieces for the job. She always presented a range of options that could work for us, but left the ultimate selections to us. We very much enjoyed working with Johanne.

We hired Johanne for a full remodel of 2 bathrooms and a major kitchen renovation, and we couldn't have been more pleased. Her best attribute was how carefully she listened to our taste preferences and goals for the look and feel - in all three cases, we used 80-90% of the materials and colors she suggested in our first selection session. We get so many compliments about how gorgeous these rooms turned out - yet she kept us within some conservative budgets to do it. The other contribution Johanne made was her technical input on our kitchen design. She helped us program every detail about the cabinets, appliance placement, room layout, lighting, etc., and I can't imagine trying to get a kitchen right without that sort of input. She even met with the cabinet seller for a long session nailing down every detail so the order arrived with no errors. One of our favorite things about our new kitchen is how usable every element is do to their placement and features. She added tremendous value to our home, and was also very conscientious about both her own fee and our budget. Highly recommend her!

Johanne at Project Guru was really fantastic and exactly what we needed. As part of a whole-house interior remodel and upgrade, we asked her to design our kitchen and master bedroom/bathroom plus a number of other important misc. items. We put her in a tough situation in that we were on a tight deadline and had a pretty tight budget, yet we wanted to make sure that what she helped us design and build was not merely very nice but also distinctive. We also wanted to pay on an hourly basis and purchase most of the materials and items ourselves. Oh, and also we were quite opinionated on what we wanted, which I guess is better than the opposite, but it presented a management challenge to Johanne/Project Guru when some of our ideas were not necessarily the best. Plus, we wanted to drive around to look at material and items in person. Anyway, Johanne did a great job listening to us and also managing us nicely into better (yet still cost effective) design routes. She researched and told us where and how to buy what was needed (seemingly straightforward but if not done right could get really messy) and crucially, she helped us manage the overall project by indicating priorities in terms of sourcing and where to best spend our money. Thanks to Johanne/Project Guru, our kitchen and master bedroom/bathroom are the most distinctive elements to our house, and we finished on budget and on time. We are incredibly happy and would recommend her highly.

Johanne was very precise and professioanl. She really cares about making sure her customers get exactly what they want in a timely manner. I would recommend Johanne to others in the industry anytime. She does beautiful work.

We are a remodeling company in Danville and used Johanne's services for one of our clients in Pleasanton and they loved her! They said she was very easy to work with, had great ideas and made it very easy for them to "see" their new space and colors through renderings. We felt she did a great job for our client, represented our company well, and we will definitely use her services again!

Ms Johanne with Project Guru was referred by our realtor. We have recently located here from Texas. What a gem ! From her amazing talent to picking out colors for our home ...curtains, furniture and a lot of TLC to boot . Her Interior design ideas are impeccable customized to her clients wants and likes . We have Undoubtly been so happy with her work , that we have hired her for phase2. If your looking for a change in your home, she's your designer ... She took ours from drab to fab. . That why I give her 5 stars. Thanks mike and susan

Johanne is fabulous! She provided me with a full color consult both in my office and home. I am so happy with the colors she suggested, and never would have been able to make choices this perfect on my own. Johanne was prepared and patient when working with my husband and I, and took the time to give us suggestions to improve our home. We also hired her to sew together custom drapes for our bedroom. After searching high and low for curtains for our bedroom, Johanne suggested we purchase fabric and she make what we need. The project was much less expensive than we had anticipated, and the results were even more beautiful than we had expected. I never thought working with a designer was in my budget, but Johanne proved me wrong. Her prices are reasonable and very worth the cost of her expertise. My work space and home are absolutely perfect thanks to Project Guru!