I would give zero stars but it makes you at least give one star. Do not use them they will take forever to finish the job. I beliv they are running a Ponzi scheme of a company, or at least that is what it appears to be with the amount of work they are getting done around here. It seems like they used our money to get their bigger clients' jobs done and not our job. The amount of work they have finish in the past five months could have been done in 4 or 5 weeks. There have not shown up to work for muliple weeks, and when the do show up it is one or two days and they only get one thing done. Don't fall for the "you need to pay us money at differen phases" and then they don't show up. They claim this doesn't usually happen but they are NOT doing anything to get things done any faster. They continue to tell us someone is coming to do such and such work and NOBODY shows up. read more

Our family room and kitchen need a paint refresh along with some pictures hung and 2 new doors to be hung. We contacted Keith Lukes and he gave a quote for the painting. The quote explained everything to us line by line. The painter, Mauricio, came on time every day and always cleaned up before leaving. The carpenter made sure the doors were hung perfectly plumb, and our pictures centered over our couch read more

Design First Builders - General Contractors Near Me - Itasca, Illinois

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We hired Design First to redo our downstairs including a kitchen and bathroom. I would never recommend this company to anyone based on our experience with them. The company should be renamed Disappointment First. We used this company due to the recommendation of a friend but did not realize the ownership had changed. There are several other reviews that discuss how the company's performance degraded with the new ownership. If you do use Design First, please learn from our mistakes in dealing with them and insist upon a firm completion date with a penalty per day for missing it. Several of their competitors offer this, and in our naivete we did not request a penalty for missing the completion date. We had a signed change order with a guaranteed 12/25/23 completion date, that they missed by several months. When we brought this up in discussions with them, they were dismissive and stated no penalty so nothing we can do. Substantial completion of the project was end of Feb 2024. We were still missing items like cabinet doors until July 2024. Whenever we brought up our concerns Design First's management made excuses like well, we've done tens of thousands of free work for you, which is nonsense. They did not do any free work and never provided any itemized invoice detailing additional work. During the project there were several issues with their work and the attentiveness of the project manager, Rick. There are other reviews speaking to similar issues. Some of the key mishaps they made on are project are venting the kitchen exhaust into the attic, we had to argue with Rick to get this fixed and it took several weeks. They did not level the subfloor causing the floating floor to be uneven, this is especially noticeable in areas where they cut into the slab to move plumbing or vents. The flooring warranty and the installation instructions specifically call for the floor to be leveled. The sealed over an existing floor vent, even though the plans showed it was to be converted. They cut the AC refrigerant line and initially refused to replace it. I contacted three local HVAC companies (Residential Heating and Cooling, Blue Frost, and On the Mark) regarding this and all of them said it should be replaced. Design First eventually replaced it, after arguing for several weeks with them. They trapped moisture in the attic with improper vapor barrier and air sealing and planned to insulate over it. The kitchen cabinets were installed missing several screws in the all the doors. It took them months to fix it. Their upcharges are ridiculous, this is mentioned in several other reviews as well. We had previously redone a kitchen with Home Depot in another house, and it was a significantly better experience. Design's First value proposition is that they handle everything for you, which is why they are worth the premium prices. This was not our experience, and I found working with them was very difficult. However, several of their subcontractors were great and I've listed their information below. Many of them mentioned other customers also were unhappy with Design First and in the future, I would work with the subcontractors directly. Electric: Volt-Amp Electric: (847) 531-8658 Plumber: Janus 773-817-7058 Siding and windows: Wheeling Construction 312-200-5083 Framing: Vale Construction 773-949-8318 Painters: Tom 773-540-0836 Demo: Rich Byrgiel 630-707-1177 Trim, cabinets, moulding, etc: Marin Construction 773-673-2014 Tile: Rauxel Tile 708-915-9395 read more

Design First Builders - We had to argue with Rick about getting this fixed. He refused to believe it, and only climbed into the attic at the end of Feb to review it - General Contractors Near Me - Itasca, Illinois

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Stay Away! New ownership has taken a turn for the worst. This is the first review I've ever written, but people need to be warned. We hired Design First for a full kitchen remodel and covered patio addition. The project began in July 2024 and ended in May 2025--what was supposed to be 3-4 month turned into 10 months of disruption. Despite spending over $260,000, we did not receive the full-service, premium experience we were promised. The project was riddled with poor planning, miscommunication, errors, and delays. There were multiple personnel changes: one fired salesperson, two designers, and two project managers. One designer refused to provide cabinet layout options unless we used their custom line. Our first project manager stalled the project for weeks waiting on a window--only for work to resume later without it. Managers were swapped mid-project without our input, supposedly to "expedite" the process. Instead, delays worsened and oversight vanished. Major construction issues and errors: * JULIE was never called before digging, risking our main electrical service line. The inspector called us directly with serious concerns. * Concrete was poured at the wrong height and had to be jackhammered out and redone. * Our stove vent was routed through the center of our laundry room--dropping the ceiling a foot--without our approval and not in the plans. Demanded it to be fixed. * New hardwood floors were installed 1 inch lower than existing floors, creating a slope. Their "solution" was to sand down our existing hardwood, which would have ruined it. Had to be torn out and re-floored. * Pocket doors were installed off-center despite advance warnings and needed multiple corrections. * Outlet boxes were installed in the wrong spots, not matching the plans. * A kitchen window sat uninstalled in our garage for weeks due to "missing instructions," which we found online in 15 minutes. * The subcontracted electrician billed us for "extra" work that was part of the original scope. * Workers caulked over the removable film on new windows, which had to be redone. * Numerous smaller issues resulted from poor workmanship or lack of communication. We had to coordinate parts of the project ourselves--like sprinkler permits and vendor outreach--even though this was marketed as a "we handle everything" company. Communication was abysmal. Scheduling onsite meetings was nearly impossible. Emails, texts, and calls often went unanswered. Updates were limited to vague notes in their app. When the project manager did reach out (e.g., "move your car"), follow-up questions were ignored. We waited at home just to catch someone and didn't know when--or if--anyone would show up. Subcontractors were often confused and unsupported. One carpenter admitted he was "winging it" on trim work due to missing design mockups--we had to dig up and print our own 3D renderings for him. Timeline: A project pitched as 3-4 months took 10. Appliances promised to be installed in September weren't until February and not usable until April. We were without a kitchen for the holidays. Many days passed with no work at all and no updates. The process was completely disjointed. You're handed off between departments--sales, design, construction. Like an assembly line. No one guiding you from start to finish. They just want to complete their portion. Each team blames the other when problems arise. There was no final walkthrough to make sure it turned out the way you wanted. Near the end they make you sign a form of substantial completion - then disappear. In conclusion, we expected a seamless, high-end renovation led by professionals with excellent communication. Instead, we endured a chaotic, frustrating process marked by construction errors, delays, lack of oversight, and a breakdown in communication. For the price we paid, we expected much, much more. Design First did not deliver the quality product they sold us. read more

We had a lot of issues during remodeling our house and after the warranty everything's started breaking. According to more experienced roofer, out roof was done incorrectly by their subcontractors. We went through terrible experience with this company. Do not pick this company and with another. You will thank us later. read more

We were contacted by the former owner of the company who is still involved on a consultative basis. He was very appreciative of our honesty and the additional context we were able to provide over the phone. We really appreciated the many things he did to improve experience and opinion of the company. Hopefully the feedback we provided will lead to an improved experience for future customers. I'm confident that had this person been involved from the start our experience would have been very different. Given his efforts and the fact that the final kitchen truly is beautiful, I've updated my original rating. As I would when working with any contractor, I'd still advise future customers to ensure they understand pricing for all parts of the project prior to signing contracts. read more

I live in a townhome next door to a large remodel in progress. The crew did masonry cutting next to our stairs/patio without any draping to control dust, so the wind that day coated our stairs, rear door, windows and patio. Some workers told us they'd do clean up, but didn't - so we cleaned up on our own instead. Since then I've had to contact our neighbor twice as workers like to take cigarette breaks on our stairs. Not professional. I hope the work they do inside is good but sadly how they treat neighbors to their clients leaves much to be desired. read more

an hour ago Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value We received multiple estimates, and decided to go with DesignFirst Builders for numerous reasons. Promptness, Showroom, the amount of different types of cabinets, counters, tiles, flooring and more. They also had numerous prices and quality from low to high depending on the cost of the addition to which build. From the start to finish of the project we dealt with multiple architects, designer's and project managers. Anytime we called or left a voice message we were contacted within the hour. Lastly I want to give a shout out to our project manager, ( Rick Divito ). Rick went above and beyond from the begining to the finish of our addition to make sure everything was perfect. If you want your project to be perfect I highly recommend using Designfirst Builders. They are the best ! read more

Design First Builders - Addition - General Contractors Near Me - Itasca, Illinois

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Where do I begin??? We had hired this company a couple of years ago and had a great experience with them. We bought a new home that needed lots of work. We hired them again to work on the new house. Not sure how or why this time the project was a nightmare. We spent A LOT more money this time and got little to no response from the project manager. Nothing was organized and my house was not kept clean (like last time). My husband and I had to constantly clean up after them. What should have taken 3 months at the most took almost 7 months. They would send one person a week (if that) to work. Once the trades showed up, they did great work. The issue was getting people to show up. The only time the project manager showed up was to pick up the next check. I would not recommend this company to anyone. read more

My wife and I hired Designfirst to do a living room addition and mudroom off our kitchen. Very professional and timely with this project. Our project manager Jon Weber answered our questions and was very responsive and kept our project moving in a timely fashion. We are very happy with quality of work and the attention to detail super happy with the results. Thank you Design first and Jon. We will definitely be using them again for our next project. Matt read more

After years of dreaming, I finally decided to remodel my bathroom. I looked DesignFirst up online and the initial consultation seemed to go well, so I moved forward. Unfortunately, there were early warning signs that I ignored and I paid for that later. During the initial phase, promised emails were several days late and only sent after I reminded. Poor communication became a recurring theme throughout the project and caused immeasurable stress for me. There seem to be little to no communication between staff. I spent hours with the presales guy talking about what I wanted for my new bathroom. It took much iteration for him to even get a close approximation documented. I told myself that things would go more smoothly once I was a paying customer, so I went forward and paid my first installment to show DESIGNfirst that I was serious. Unfortunately, I ended up having all of the same conversations with the next designer that was assigned to work with me. That first payment was taken via credit card, but DesignFirst became evasive about taking subsequent credit card payments. I pressed the issue until they made it clear that only checks were acceptable despite the precedent that had been set. I thought things were going to be better as progress was made choosing actual products such as cabinets, flooring, fixtures, etc. But then came the next wave of disappointment. I was given a list of model numbers and prices for the chosen items. An hour of searching online and I found that I could save significant money. When I pointed out that we could save $500 by buying from http://www.nationalbuildersupply.com it was implied that they could not be trusted and might be selling returns. This is despite an A+ rating on Better Business Bureau and resellerratings.com. They indicated that they could not purchase that way despite the hundreds of dollars in savings. I ordered the smaller items and had them shipped to my house. Unfortunately, larger items like the toilet and shower doors must be shipped freight and I could not be home to receive them. DesignFirst would not accommodate my request to deliver my items to them due to some kind of risk and responsibility avoidance that ended up costing me several hundred dollars. Angry and disappointed, I soldiered on because I just couldn't bear to start over again and I had signed a contract with DesignFirst. The work started in late April. The first day of work they covered the adjoining bedroom and hallway in plastic to protect it and then gutted the bathroom. That was the last day that things went smoothly. The communication problems with this company were epic. Repeated requests for construction schedules were ignored. Days went by when no one even showed up. I lived in a plastic covered bedroom for over two months! The original estimate was 2 - 3 weeks. Some of the things that went wrong... Presales assured me that all materials would be purchased before construction began in order to minimize disruption to my life during construction Two days after the start I was asked to choose new flooring because my choice was out of stock. Shower pan choice was posed a week later and a delay in making the choice was blamed on me, which caused another week of delay as we waited for the pan to be manufactured. I chose coved, but the other one was delivered anyway. Frosted shower door glass was chosen during the design phase, but only upon delivery at my house was I told that frosted glass was not available for the Kohler doors that I had chosen. The closet door chosen during the design phase wasn't ordered until well after construction had begun and when it did arrive, it was the wrong color. Discussions with unresponsive DesignFirst staff resulted in more stress and delays. It appeared that DesignFirst had never worked on a Corian based shower before as the majority of the delays appeared to be related to it. They were unable to communicate the schedule associated with the fabrication time of the Corian components. They seemed unaware of dependencies around preparing the floor, floor pan, walls, etc. Once it was installed, I noticed all the little problems. The shower walls are shifted so that they hang over on one side and under on the other. I was told that this is acceptable variance. The shower drain was sticking up above the shower pan. Fixing this added an additional week to the project. One of the glass shower doors had two feet of the edge chipped off, but was installed and left to be discovered by me. It took 6 weeks to get a replacement. There were other smaller issues, but they all boiled down to the inability of DesignFirst staff to communicate with each other and the customer. It was the most stressful project I have ever embarked on as a homeowner and I hope that I never have to deal with anything like it again. I have my eye on other remodeling projects in my home and I will not be going back to DesignFirst. read more

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We are very happy with our new room addition. Working with Derek Gabrys was a pleasure. The professionalism he showed was commendable. Design First Builders did a great job and I would use them for any future projects. read more

Design First was professional from beginning to end. The quality is undeniable and I am completely elated with my new master bathroom. They literally made my dream come true, I would use them again and again. read more

We worked with Linda at DESIGNfirst to scope out initial designs for multiple variations of a major multi-floor / multi-room remodel of our home. She was extremely helpful in proposing and developing design ideas and effective at working with her team to turn around our proposal variations in a timely fashion with high quality. We ultimately held off on our remodeling plans for reasons completely unrelated to the outstanding work Linda and DESIGNfirst provided. We hope to revisit our remodeling plans at the right time, and when we do, we know who we'll call! read more

We live in Chicago and bought a home with a new 2nd floor addition but the kitchen wasn't updated. We loved the layout and figured we would remodel the kitchen later. We met with a lot of companies including DESIGNfirst and just individual guys and they were the best in what they offered and the most down to earth yet professional. They were slightly higher than some but it was worth it in the end. We took a wall down and now have a brand new beautiful kitchen and a better kitchen/dining layout. I would for sure recommend them. read more

We decided to use DesignFirst after they came recommended from a friend who used them several years ago, however; much has changed in the past few years. Our project was a complete disaster. Our project manager barely showed up, plans were not correct, we failed inspections, workers were hit or miss when it came to being competent, etc. The sales guy that meets with you is very pleasant, but its a total bait and switch as you will never see him again. Architect miss measured ceiling heights and the length of the walls...it felt like I was on a terrible episode of Sesame Street with a bunch of muppets trying to build me a kitchen. Bottom line is I would steer clear of this company. read more

The receptionist judged us from the moment we walked in! Approaches us and aaked can I help you? We asked if they build garages. She said it's contracted out and one costs $80k and two costs over $100k!!! Who the HELL pays that for a simple garage? Lady, I hope you lose your job for pushing customers away! It wasn't just about a garage but other things we need done as well. We were referred by our neighbors who raved about you! Now I know you SUCK! read more

We are ecstatic that we chose Design First Builders for our remodelling. They were extremely helpful in offering us a new design for our kitchen, and laundry room. Phil and Diana..best ever to work with. The process was great, saved me time...and we now have a gorgeous kitchen! Laundry room is wonderful, and both are modern. No longer looks like 1985!! Beyond our expectations. We recommend them 100% read more

Update: After my review, I received a call from the owner, Dan. We spoke at length about the project and he was very apologetic. He learned some things about our project that he previously did not know and I was able to expand on our experience to help him better understand some of the challenges. He was grateful for the feedback and assured me that the entire team is doing a debrief of our project to prevent some of these mistakes from happening again. Specifically, he mentioned that the "change order" process will be tightened up to avoid confusion for the home owner. I really enjoyed my conversation with Dan and it meant a lot to me that he reached out. If Design First indeed addresses some of these issues, I would have no problem recommending them or using them for a future project. read more

We are just about to complete our kitchen renovation and while the 2 month process seemed difficult at times. I must admit it looks even better than I expected. My project manager was wonderful even though I forgot normal people work hours and texted her a picture at midnight. Our tile and floor were done meticulously. The electrician was wonderful and pleasant to have around. I had to out source the painting and trim finish. Some bumps in the road read more

My remodel of my master suite turned out better than I imagined. From design to the actual work, always done very professional, and if a problem did come up it was handled immediately. I am enjoying my master suite and walk in closet. Highly recommend Design First. read more

In 2013, DESIGNFirst added an additional 400 square feet of space for a master bedroom; converted/split an older second bedroom into a new master bath and laundry room; remodeled an existing old bedrooom; and added a new composite deck and concrete patio. Everything worked out well and we are very pleased with the results. We have taken every opportunity to show off our new addition, master bath, laundry room and deck to friends and relatives. DesignFirst was very cooperative at every stage of the project and our "team" was always helpful along the way, even when we asked for little "tweaks" as the project progressed. The original plans did not include a deck or patio, but we were so pleased with the other remodeling we added that project on to the end after the remodeling was complete. We will definitely use them again in the future. read more

Wanting to remodel our unfinished basement, we met with several designers and am happy that we went with DesignFirst. We felt that they understood what we were trying to accomplish and their ideas and suggestions helped us tremendously through the design phase. The project timeline was four months and they finished on time and within budget. We received regular status updates and the cool part was that if they thought that a change could improve the design, they called a meeting with us so that they could review the proposed change and allow for us to approve or not approve. One of the changes was to put a full bath with walk-in shower - best move ever!! The entire experience was most positive and we are very happy with our awesome new home theatre rec room. Next is a first floor renovation, including kitchen. read more

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Design First is a great company that really cares about their clients. They have a gorgeous showroom with the best options and finishes to choose from. They even have client benefits such as free cooking classes at their onsite cooking school and it is so much fun and something no one else offers. They have great designs and beautiful work. They truly think of everything. I recommend them to anyone. read more

I hired DesignFirst for a major remodel/addition. They added onto both the front and back of my house as well as gutting to the studs the majority of the inside too. As a newbie to construction and all terminology associated with it I was easily confused and frustrated with the process. Especially because I lived in my basement the whole time and only had 1 toilet and the bathroom sink to use for 5 months. But my Project Manager "Justin", took the time to explain each step so I could process it as it happened. He also must have a thick skin because I'm embarrassed to admit I whined quite a bit. All of the subcontractors were friendly, professional and always cleaned up the site at the end of each day. They had many obstacles to deal with..Polar Vortex & Microbursts wind gusts, but they came to work everyday anyway. This naturally extended my project, but I trusted D1 and Justin's integrity to complete it. Their show room in Itasca is huge with a ton of selections available. And a cooking school that you can take a class in too. I just want to say thank you to DesignFirst and to their employees- Justin, Sam, and Mike for helping me create my dream house... because I LOVE IT! read more

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A fantastic group of people who listen to what you want and work within your budget. A+ from start to finish!

We had DESIGNfirst builders complete a job for us. Had no problems, worked with the owner Tony, was upfront, promises made were kept and all work was very professional and on time. Thank you Tony! read more

We never hired this company, but our neighbors did. They did some work in our condo building for our upstairs neighbor. The work lasted much longer than anticipated--in fact, they installed tile and ripped it up three times because of the finished work was not acceptable to the owner. As a result, we had to hear/feel the demo for a couple months, and the work damaged our place. The work cracked several parts of our ceiling and reported to them. Then they also punctured a pipe and water stained the ceilings in one bedroom. Dan assured me his company would do what it takes to fix everything, BOTH the water stains and cracks, and make it all right, and we didn't need to involve the insurance companies. But then it took a lot of follow through to get them to actually schedule the work. And it seemed that Dan never relayed this scope to the project manager, who showed up saying he was instructed only to paint the ceiling in the water-stained area, and that there was no proof their work caused the cracks in the ceiling directly below where they were doing the bathroom demo. He and his team showed up to paint the water stained area ceiling unprepared without even a suitable ladder. The workers also wore muddy boots in our place and left the bathroom dirty. read more

It's only because I received a reminder today from Angie's List that I had not completed my review of DesignFirst last year that I am writing this today. Out of fear of retaliation and with work still incomplete, I did not finish it last year. You can now read my review on Angie's List. I read Don Z.'s review on Yelp AFTER I completed mine on Angie's List. After reading it, I feel validated in what I wrote. My experience was very similar to Don's. I don't like to complain, but I am a perfectionist who makes all details very clear to anyone who works on my home. I will not be shy about pointing out bad work or workers... Especially when my husband and I are shelling out over $35,000...just for the exerior work! Luckily I had a great interior remodeler whom we've used in the past. The kitchen looks FANTASTIC thanks to Tom Mannerino and his crew! I could not imagine having gone through the same level of anger and upset on the inside as we had on the outside work with DesignFirst. There were delays, inspection failures, rework, bad communication, finger-pointing, unprofessionalism, renegging on contract windows, bad mouthing other vendors, and finally, we had to beg them to come grade the dirt for final inspection!! The level of frustration became so great, I ran out onto my lawn one cold and rainy evening and pulled their sign off my lawn. I am 4'11" and weigh 115 pounds. I didn't realize how heavy the sign was, so I had to carry it on my back. I wasn't going let their advertising sign stand on my lawn one more night! In an email I wrote to the PM, I listed many of our frustrations and asked that we see the owner. We never got a call from him. At the end of the job, the ONLY ones to come for a final look was the architect and the PM. My kitchen looks great and I admit that without the foundation work,the interior would not be good. So I will give Design First that much. But to quote Don Z. "The problem is that the journey can be as important as the destination." I couldn't have put it better. A good lesson for the owner: You need better customer service. Thanks Don Z of Bartlett! read more

We had the experience to speak to the most rude woman ever! I did not get the name but she needs some customer service skills or maybe come from problem at home Who knows why everyone is so darn fast to argue on phone read more

Fantastic design, made real by the team at designfirst. Absolutely thrilled with the outcome of my project. No breakdown in communication was experienced as stated in previous reviews. I knew this would be an extensive project so I stayed away from the site as much as possible so as not to become discouraged with my house being in a state of destruction. I received everything I requested and am super happy with the final outcome. read more

Description Of Work: Renovated the first floor of our home, eliminating three walls (one weight bearing) creating a very spacious, redesigned family room and kitchen, and in doing so, created a new first floor den. DESIGNfirst met or exceeded all of our expectations in every facet of the project. Here is what my wife and I liked. 1) First, a DESIGNfirst architect created what looked like a "three dimensional" color drawing of their design for our first floor. 2) Once the design for our renovation was agreed upon and references were visited, only then was a contract signed. 3) Then a personal portal for our project on the DESIGNfirst website was created for all communications. All emails, contracts, architectural drawings, photographs, and the project plan were stored and maintained within our personal, password protected portal. 4) The project plan created for our renovation was completed on time per the plan. DESIGNfirst never fell more than a day or two behind plan and in most cases was ahead of plan... which more than amazed us. 5) Payments were made prior to the start of each new phase of the project. This made me feel very good about writing a check. I knew before I ever put pen to checkbook that one phase of our project was completed and another phase was about to begin. 6) Different skilled craftsmen were brought in for each phase of the project, e.g. design, demolition, framing, electrical, drywall, flooring, cabinetry, siding, roofing, painting. I was amazed at how many different individuals worked on our home. 7) Yet, what impressed me the most about the entire project was that a project manager was assigned to our project. That was not unique. However, when I asked our project manager what his responsibilities were as our project manager his answer was unique. His response was one simple sentence... "To make your wife and you happy!" (note the order priority).. and that was exactly what he did throughout the project! One last, but maybe the most important point to be made... every DESIGNfirst craftsman treated our home like a residence and not like a new construction site. Plastic walls were put in place, with zippers, to catch the dust but not us. Floors were covered throughout the first floor. And everyday the entire area, inside and out, was swept clean and tools and materials were stored so we could live our lives with minimal mess. read more

The design team at Design First are top-notch. I have worked with their staff and they are very professional, knowledgeable, and patient. They see their clients through the whole selection process and make it very easy. I would highly recommend using their services on your next project. read more

Design First is a great company to have do your renovations. They are professional and they work hard to make sure you are comfortable along with having the best experience possible. Dan and his Sales team made sure all our needs were met and when any types of issues came up, those issues were taken care of immediately. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DESIGN FIRST for you renovation needs. And in case you are wondering, no I do not work for the company nor have I ever work there. I just really appreciate good people. Kind Regards, Shane James read more

I'd like to know why Yelp rates this builder with only one star when the builder has mostly 4 & 5 star ratings. I've had great experience with Design First on big, complex projects. And it looks like most reviewers share my experience. Why aren't they rated 4 or 5 stars? Do you have to be an advertiser to get a deserved good rating? read more

We selected DESIGNfirst builders to redo our kitchen. We were happy throughout the process. We had a wonderful designer who helped us pick out the perfect finishes. I enjoyed seeing the different options in the huge showroom. The project manager was helpful during the remodel with any questions we had. We opened up our kitchen and added a big island. My husband and I are so happy with the new layout and the additional counter space. I would recommend DESIGNfirst to anyone looking for a remodeling project. read more

Over the Christmas Holiday, I got a call from Dan Schoendorff, he is a Customer Service Manager at Design First. He wanted to know what happened with our meeting with Steve P. the VP who had come to our home last year (2015) for a new bathroom install. I let him know per my previous review how Steve was there to give us a quote for our bathroom install, but after seeing/meeting us wanted to know more about HOW we obtained all we had at such a young age. Dan apologized for Steve's behavior and let me know that he was let go, and no longer works for the company. He stated to me that is not how they do business and wanted us to take a look at them for any further needs if there were any. I did let him know that we had already had our new bathroom installed but we are looking to finish our basement and turn it into a walk out to our patio as well and wanted to get a quote from his company to possibly have this done. He stated he will have someone call me and get someone out there ASAP because finishing basements is their specialty. read more

I just had a neighbor ask to see the kitchen we had remodeled by Design First Builders in the fall of 2014. I recommended Design First to them and enthusiastically suggested they check them out online. That's how confident I was that Design First's reviews would be sterling. I am surprised to see that not everyone had as good an experience as we did! We had five different contractors submit ideas and bids to us, but it was clear from the beginning that Design First stood out for their professionalism and their creative design. While their price was at the high end of mid-range, we hired them and have not regretted it for a moment. Their work was on time. They took care to keep the dust and clutter of remodeling to a minimum. We were kept informed every day about what was happening. (They use an online project management system through which every detail is accessible.) The guys who did the actual work were terrific - polite, friendly and respectful of us and our home. Our kitchen is gorgeous and we couldn't be happier. I'm sorry that others didn't have the same experience, but I felt I should offer my opinion as balance to the few negative reviews here. read more

DESIGNFirst is professional, informative and creative! Although we are still in the stages of figuring out whether or not we want to remodel or not, we loved the accommodation they offered! Definitely recommend this company to anyone who is looking for a home remodel or renovation. read more

Our project with DesignFirst did not go as planned or promised and left us with quite a bad experience. DesignFirst is definitely good at one thing - sales. We first worked with Nick on the architectural design of the kitchen. He listened to us and after several changes and drawing revisions we were happy with how the project was planned. Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of Nick, though he had indicated to us that he would be checking on the project throughout the duration. Our initial timeline was projected to be 6-8 weeks. We were doing significant demo work, moving and rebuilding stairs, etc in addition to new cabinets, countertops, appliances. The project dragged through the design and drawing phase even before any demo started. Some of that can be put on us and the changes that we made in the planning phase. We had some red flags against Design First during the design process. For one we wanted to have some modern steel and glass stairs made. Nick showed us some photos of a project they had done in a loft in the city, but once we were with the design team they clearly had no idea what they were doing. They came back to us with another contractor doing the job, stairs we didn't like at all and a price more than 3 times higher than they had quoted in the budget. We eventually found another local artist to do the stairs, one of many aspects of the project that we took away from DesignFirst when we didn't feel they were capable of doing what we wanted. Before we started any work we sat down with the design team and the owner, Tony, to voice our concerns. We were prepared to walk away from the initial deposit we had given DesignFirst, but they reassured us that they could handle the project and we would be very happy in the end. In hindsight, we definitely should have walked away then. There was absolutely no oversight on our project, no project manager to make sure things progressed smoothly. Matt, our project manager, was clearly overwhelmed with too many projects. He was rarely here, and when he did show up he would be here for about 15 minutes in the morning and then he would be gone. There were times when we had multiple calls in to him for days without any response. It was just unacceptable and this was the main reason we had so many issues and the project dragged on for so long. DesignFirst obviously uses multiple subcontractors. A few of them were good, did good work, and cleaned up every day. Most, however, were not so good. They rarely showed up when promised, seemed rushed and often left the house looking like a pigsty. The electrician, for example, barely remembered the work he had done here when he returned to finish, incorrectly wired our thermostat, left a lot of debris in our basement, and also left the circuit for our sump pump off when he left one day. Luckily I discovered this before our basement flooded. Their plumber roughed in pipes for a new corner sink, but didn't tie those pipes to the main supply line. We didn't discover this until months after the work was done (sink went in later), and had to pay $900 to finish this portion that DesignFirst should have completed and we had paid for. The project manager okayed drywall to begin before all of the electrical was completed. DesignFirst refinished our floors, but then refused to move any heavy furniture back (which they had moved out for the floor work), citing that they weren't furniture movers. Their employees and subs were at the house and watched as I hired a moving company to move the furniture they refused to touch. These are just some of the myriad of problems, delays, and ineptitude we experienced with DesignFirst that led us to tell them not to return to our home after 16 weeks of work and no completion or end date in site. We then had to become the designers, subcontractors and general managers of our kitchen renovation, the jobs we had hired a design/build company to handle. As I write this review at week 30 I cannot believe we are not finished, though the completion is very close. Beware to anyone before hiring DesignFirst. Their reviews on Angie's List were positive, I even called some of their references, and you can see the experience we had. I do not think they are trying to rip anyone off, I believe they were gravely understaffed and overworked, but in the end that left us with a terrible experience. read more