I've now dealt with Van Rijk Estate Jewellery and Watches three separate times, and each experience…read morewas worse than the last. There seems to be a consistent tactic of aggressively downplaying the value of items--regardless of brand or condition. I brought in recognized luxury pieces, including Rolex and Van Cleef, and was repeatedly made to feel like they were somehow irrelevant or undesirable in the current market, which is simply not accurate. What stood out most was how quickly the tone changed once I referenced real, verifiable pricing. I had similar watches on consignment with Swiss Gallery, where the pricing is transparent and publicly listed. As soon as I mentioned this, the conversation was abruptly cut short with "I'll call you back"--which never happened. This wasn't just unprofessional--it felt calculated. What's also very clear is that Van Rijk operates with very old-fashioned tactics that simply don't align with how reputable dealers conduct business today. The approach feels outdated and, frankly, out of touch with the current luxury resale market. By contrast, places like Swiss Gallery and Oliver's Jewellery in Yorkville offer a completely different experience. At Oliver's, Joey (the manager) provided outstanding customer service--genuine, modern, and highly professional. It actually makes you want to come back. I've now completed about four separate transactions with them, and every single one has been a smooth, enjoyable experience. The same goes for Swiss Gallery in Yorkville. I've bought, traded, and sold five Rolex watches through them, and the experience has been consistently excellent--friendly, transparent, up-to-date, and professional every single time. Overall, Van Rijk feels outdated and, at times, questionable in its approach. I would strongly recommend anyone selling luxury items to get multiple opinions and not rely on a single offer--especially here.

Lovely selection of vintage and antique rings, but priced way way too high. As well as less than…read moredesirable service. When going into this store and looking at quite expensive rings, I had the store associate telling me that I can "always upgrade it to something bigger in the future". Which is a pretty rude and strange thing to say to someone looking at a forever purchase. Also their email communication is extremely poor, and unorganized. Their website also is run down. With usually 1~ picture for a ring. They are unwilling to negotiate, and would rather keep something for a decade than ever sell it for a reasonable price. This place could be really amazing, with their stock being unbeatable, but the people running the store seem to make it worse off.

Anne helped me with designing, making and installing my drapes throughout a 3 week process and it…read morewas fantastic. She came to our home, measured our windows and provided us with some samples. Then she came to install them two weeks later and it's been beautiful and seamless to work with. Thank you Anne!

I went to Anne through the recommendation from a family friend for my drapes and curtains in my new…read morecondo. I honestly had no idea what I was doing or what I wanted but she walked me through everything and even came to my place to help me measure out everything so that things would be made to fit perfectly. Would definitely go to her again for my next place!

I used Diana Bastone's design and project management services for the full renovation of a condo…read moreunit in 2019. Diana is a good communicator. She came up with a much improved layout for the condo. I appreciated her design work. Meanwhile, I am dissatisfied with Diana's project management work, which was subpar: 1) During my absence for the project due to my need to return to my home country for my dad's sudden illness and unexpected passing, Diana released the payment for the remaining balance to Geoff Strong at Georgetown Woodworks (https://georgetownwoodworks.ca/) before the delivery of the cabinets. Diana claimed that she has worked with Geoff for 10+ years. (Before my departure to my home country, I entrusted necessary payment in the forms of post-dated cheques to Diana for services that were expected to be delivered during my absence.) 2) Diana did not keep Geoff accountable on delivering the cabinets on time. The delivery of the cabinets was 2 months later than the original delivery date provided, despite Geoff took the full payment of more than $64,000 beforehand. This issue caused delays in other parts of the project. 3) Diana approved a contractor for taking a vacation out of the country as some of his tasks depend on the delivery of the cabinets. When she filled in for the contractor to oversee his tasks while he was on vacation, she insisted on charging me for her time spent on some of those matters, despite me informing her that I already paid the contractor for those work. 4) Examination of the work delivered was not done thoroughly by Diana. Upon the completion of the renovation, we found certain issues, such as the glass on certain cabinet panels were not installed properly, the stopper in a bath tub was missing. We had to point out those issues ourselves in order to have them rectified. There are other issues, which have remained unaddressed, such as the baseboard was not installed behind the vanity of a powder room, pot lights in the living room and the family room would flicker sporadically. The most disturbing issue relates to the quality of the cabinets. A year after the cabinets were installed (i.e. 2020), some cracks started appearing on the panels of the kitchen cabinets. Two years later (i.e. 2023), I also noticed that some cracks started appearing in the cabinets of the bathrooms. Diana stood by Geoff's explanation of humidity issue in the condo without coming on site to investigate, despite me pointing out that those phenomena only appeared on certain groups of cabinets. In late 2023, I had a personnel who has worked in the cabinetry industry for 20+ years to examine the cabinets in the condo. We were SHOCKED to find out that some cabinets were made of wood, while some cabinets were made of painted MDF. When examining the cabinetry in the master ensuite, we found that there is one panel door made of wood while there is another panel door of the exact same profile made of painted MDF. The materials used for the panels and panel doors were NEVER provided in any forms of writing in the quotation. It was NEVER disclosed to me that different groups of cabinets were made by different materials. There was NO TRANSPARENCY and NO HONESTY regarding the cabinets delivered. Half of the cabinets have become an eye sore in the condo within 4 years due to cracks appearing on the panels. 5) The project went over budget by more than 75%!!! Budget control was nonexistent. I paid more than $32,000 for Diana's services in design and project management, but in return, I did not get services of equivalent values.

I'm not one to usually write online reviews, but I really felt compelled to do this one…read more I was introduced to Diana Bastone in 2007. She did a small paint selection assignment for me and we've never looked back. Over the last 17 years, Diana has returned to do at least 6 projects for us, each one gradually bigger and more complicated than the one before. After the third one I knew we had reached the point of no return, because my partner stopped questioning decisions, and instead would say "well, what does Diana think?". Every project Diana has ever done for us she handled with professionalism, attention to detail, integrity, and warmth. She delivers creative and precise drawings and brings such deep understanding of colours, textures, "feel". From the very beginning it was important to Diana that she understand us, her client, our likes/dislikes. This is for sure one of her super powers! On our first project, selecting paint colours, she walked all around our home to better get a feel for us. That way when she made suggestions, she was thinking of us and aiming to "get it right the first time". As an aside, we boringly continue to love some of those colours she picked for us all those years ago, although she encourages us to update when the opportunity arises! In 2019 we embarked on the biggest project to date. At our request , Diana introduced us to a contractor she did work with, and later a cabinet maker. We were confident in her recommendations and proceeded to engage both. Diana made it clear that while she made introductions, any decision to engage them was ours and they would work for us, not her. Nevertheless, even though we understood the relationships, Diana still went out of her way to keep an eye out so that the whole project continued to move along smoothly. In addition to these two, we have benefited over the years from Diana's extensive "yellow pages" list of quality suppliers when choosing fixtures and finishes. As in all the past projects, Diana delivered on our expectations. Early this year, we started another major renovation. Naturally we called Diana. We also hired the same contractor as before. She outdid herself providing 3 quality design options, brought us such fantastic finishing choices and introduced a wonderful new cabinet maker. The final job is a beautiful, brilliantly re-envisioned space. Even though Diana brought choices for finishings, ultimately we picked her favoured. After so many years together, Diana knows us so well - she always presents winning suggestions. During this project, we had a particularly challenging, time sensitive situation. On a Saturday when we were out of town, our contractor notified us that due to unforeseen circumstances, he advised we amend our original decision and retile our foyer. The tiler had limited availability early in the week and cabinets were due to arrive shortly after. Tile was urgently needed by Tuesday morning. I called Diana for her help, but she was already fully scheduled that week on another project, not expecting to be needed for mine. She could not promise she would make it, nevertheless, like a superhero, Diana squeezed her Monday, got to the supplier and made a pick. Of course it was exactly what the space needed. Diana's estimates of project costs that are within her control (her fees, and the costs of finishings and fixtures) have been borne out repeatedly. We also keep reasonable expectations and actively pressure test the project as it evolves. Scope creep is almost inevitable in a renovation, so we prepare ourselves for cost add, we take responsibility for the extra spend, and we keep Diana informed of our cost sensitivities. Diana has always been very respectful of this - another reason we keep engaging her. It puts me in mind of the old adage - if it's not broken, don't fix it. That's how I see our relationship. After so many years, Diana has delivered time and time again. She long since stopped being Diana Bastone Designs to us. It's like she's invested in our house. Every room in my home has Diana's touch. Everything flows, it's all cohesive and so lovely. The recommendations she made over the years have been tested and the only things I really want to change now are the things we did without her. I do not hesitate to recommend Diana's services. However, I do remind anyone embarking on a renovation project: do your homework, know your budget, make sure you have a cushion, take responsibility for your decisions, remember what service providers YOU engage and if you're going to pay someone with years of experience to advise you, listen to them. As always, thanks Diana - for your friendship and your expertise! Everyone who has seen the finished job has RAVED!!

This is a female owned and female dominated business. I've noted a couple of bad reviews and they…read moreare both from men. Don't know if this is a coincidence, but I'd take the reviews with a grain of salt. What I will say is that your design dreams don't happen overnight as one millennial couple on this page seem to think. Our condo's transformation took several months, but we understood and accepted that and were prepared for it. There are always a few hiccups in life - we had them, and so what? Everything worked out. The result was totally worth the wait and I'd do it again! Nimrah, our designer was absolutely wonderful. We had a tight budget. She understood our aesthetic, gave us great feedback and beautiful furnishings. We love our wallpaper, sectional, rug and light fixtures. Our bedrooms are exactly what we wanted and within our budget. We loved having Nimrah and her vendors around. Marie and her installers were wonderful! I can't recommend LUX DESIGN enough. The service, design, feedback, the quality of their furnishings are excellent. I only wish we could have done the kitchen and bathrooms too, but if that becomes a reality, we will go with LUX and Nimrah....

I finally found my interior design dream team…read more I spoke with several interior design firms and finally decided on LUX Design because of a referral by an industry expert. It has been a joy working with the LUX Design team who delivers on all fronts: exceptional client service and communication, thoughtful design that fits your life(style) and the budget you want, and overall just a worry-free, hassle-free, enjoyable experience. You're actually saving A LOT of money and especially time when it comes to having the pros like those at LUX Design managing a design project. I couldn't have done it without Nazneen and Negar. Both took such good care of me like I'm a multi-million dollar client (trust me, I'm far from it. I'm just a guy who's excited about his first home!) Negar was the Lead Design and oversaw the entire project with me - even as she was becoming a new mom - no ask was too big or small, and even though I was a very particular and fuzzy client, she never made me feel that way. Instead, I always felt listened to and my input was always respected, valued and wishes brought to life. I'm proud to say we've grown to become fast friends! I noticed that the negative reviews were not fair. I worked with the team at the height of COVID issues which resulted in a strain on the supply chain. It's important I highlight that the team actually do go out of their way to accommodate your needs and rectify any mishaps that are not even because of them in the first place (thank you Nazneen!). I'm a happy client with a beautiful new home, and I know that you will be too. - AN

We had a postive experience working with Adriana. She was supportive and helpful all the way…read morethrough. We ordered two chairs and a sofa. I would recommend this business. They do not pressure or fancy talk they are there to help and they do help.

Purchased a couch in late 2020 for over $1,200, which comes with a reasonable expectation of…read moredurability and workmanship. A button detached within the first months and was repaired by the store, indicating an early workmanship issue. Since then, multiple additional buttons have come loose, suggesting this was not an isolated incident. Communication via email and phone resulted in only two options being offered: pay a $300+ moving fee to return the couch for repair or arrange and pay for transportation myself. For a product at this price point, this approach to a recurring defect is disappointing. Buyers should factor in the product n quality and how post-purchase issues are handled.

I have some Hunter Douglas Silhouette blinds which the plastic mounting brackets failed. I…read morecontacted Maple Drapery & Carpet via email requesting the part. John Di Luca replied back to me within 24 hours on Sunday! He redirected me to Brenda and copied her. By the time I called the store for Brenda during business hours, she already knew what I was looking for and I was able to pick up the part within the hour. The excellence in service demonstrated by both John and Brenda just blew my mind. I will not hesitate to go back to Maple Drapery & Carpet next time I have any needs for window coverings or carpets. Two thumbs up and highly recommended!

Our experience with Maple Drapery from start to finish was amazing! Liana was very knowledgable…read moreand patient with us as we made choices and adjustments to our choices. The blinds came sooner than expected and the installer was amazing - on time, professional and thorough. I have already Liana and Maple Drapery to other people!

I used CM Staging on a few occasions. I am in Real Estate and have referred Rachel over to clients…read morewho have sold their properties much faster and for a higher price than without staging over the past few years. All of the clients have been very pleased with her pieces, layout and pricing. She is very fair and a easy going person to work with. For myself I used her in my condo as my interior decorator. She was extremely helpful as my husband and myself have very busy schedules and did not have the time to shop, pick out items, nor had any idea what to do. We were very happy with what the outcome was, she used the space efficiently and managed to get everything we wanted into the condo without making it look crowded. It still has the open feel to it. Along with that, if we did not like something she would listen carefully to our requests and find things that would work with what we needed. She did the condo for us 3 years ago and we are still receiving complements to this day. I would highly recommend Rachel and CM Staging.

I had the pleasure of working with Rachel while trying to sell a condo on the ground floor of a…read moreneighborhood in transition. After a month working with my realtor's suggested company, I went with my gut and used both cm staging and cm furniture rental to try and improve my odds. With minimal time and effort Rachel helped transform my place as I could not have ever imagined. Within 10 days my place sold with multiple offers. SUPER happy that I trusted her suggestions and will definitely use her again when its time to sell our home. Thank you for the great service

I originally saw this on a TV and then noticed this product at a few of my clients and I got to…read moresay, totally impressive and easy to use. Very versitile nice finished professional look.

I cannot recommend this company highly enough. Co-owner Doug (with wife, Kelly) was gracious,…read moreaccommodating, knowledgeable and uber friendly. After quotes from several other companies, we decided to go with Kandy Flooring because we loved their product and because of their knowledge of condo regulations which the competitors did not have. I had a good feeling we would get exceptional service from them and they didn't disappoint. They completed 3 balconies and our 600 ft terrace with expertise and expediency. We were hesitant about the grass option, but Doug let us try out a large piece of it , and subsequently we decided to go for it. Are we ever glad we did! the splash of green really adds to the beauty of our terrace. Thanks Doug, Kelly, Joe, Richard, and the rest of the Kandy Team for making our outdoor spaces so beautiful! Sylvia and Steve, Toronto