Update 11/8/20: see comments on my personal Facebook page…read more(Maureen Holmes) for comments on Robin Boyce after posting my review there. Unfortunately I am not the only one who has endured a bad experience with her. MH I warn anyone who will listen away from this unethical business and owner Robin Boyce. I had the misfortune to be her client and endure her careless, unprofessional, dishonest and ultimately abusive and vulgar treatment. My "custom kitchen" arrived without the custom elements and with a grossly oversized refrigerator. The kitchen designer blames someone else for a major kitchen error and refuses to fix it! (See photos) I had the exact same experience with the shutters and the custom stair-runner I ordered from her. They were both delivered with errors and missing parts, and Design West has done NOTHING to correct its errors. This is the worst experience I've ever had with another human being, period. I never received an apology on any mistake I swear to God. That's when I realized too late I had hired the wrong person. Robin Boyce/Design Center West scammed me by promising professional results and delivering dirt. Robin Boyce then turned verbally abusive when confronted with her easily disproved lies. (I have all documentation to prove my charges.) This last point deserves special mention. When I expressed my dismay at the errors, delays and lack of accountability, her demeanor shifted immediately from friendly to combative and borderline violent. It was a shock to learn the owner wasn't just a sleaze but mentally unhinged too. When I confronted her in her store after she ignored my contractor's emails and texts, she began screaming profanities at me while hurling insults about my appearance and character, which I presumed was an intimidation tactic. That felt sickening, but it worsened when she came at me with her arm pulled back as if to throw a punch, but thankfully she stopped herself before landing her fist in my face. I feel certain the only thing that stopped her was a possible assault charge. I would feel sorry for Ms Boyce if she wasn't a thief, and if her emotional instability didn't manifest in such an ugly manner. But no mental state excuses her dishonesty, mentally healthy or not. Not a word of this review is hyperbole. I lost thousands of dollars and was blindsided by a venomous verbal assault because I had the temerity to call out Robin Boyce on her mendacity and fraud. I could provide a colorful litany of her actions, but suffice it to say that it involved a lot of obscene finger, hip and hand gestures. Incidentally, her staff just sat there like dummies the entire time and let it all happen. Apparently they don't have an issue working for such a repulsive woman. Prior to my dealings with her, Robin was verbally abusive to my contractor on multiple occasions as well when he asked her about delayed deliverables. Following is an example of one the few correspondences between him and Robin that isn't littered with her F-bombs: "Shut up. Stop talking. Don't tell me what to do. Its not Maureen... its you. I'm surprised guys take your mouth, and the way you talk down to others; I suspect you've been punched a few times." This is the first---and I hope last--bad review I ever had to write. Let this brutally honest review serve as a public service announcement to warn others away from this troublemaker. Do not hire Design Center West. You will pay a premium for sloppy, mediocre results, and the owner will curse you when you express your dissatisfaction. This has been a yearlong nightmare that only ended after I hired someone else to fix all of her mistakes. Caveat emptor!

Robin helped me from start to finish with my new house build. She has done everything from the…read morekitchen (appliances, cabinets) to the tile for all bathrooms, to the stone veneer for the patio. Even during the pandemic she has been on top of things and instructing me to get things ordered prior to shipment delays. She and her team have been responsible, proactive, and truly professional. They are communicating with my contractor and his team and his cabinet installer told me it was such a pleasure working with them he would like to do more jobs with them. Any mistakes (Fedex dropped a vanity and it cracked) were handled quickly and replaced at no cost to me. Her attention to detail is incredible. Additionally, she was very focused on saving me money and making sure I was not buying things I did not need. It has been a true pleasure working with Robin and her team again. I cannot say enough good things about them!

Don't hesitate in hiring Janie and her crew - I worked with her on two separate projects/properties…read moreand her services are worth every penny! After my house was languishing on the market for a couple months, I called Janie to have her work her magic. Once the staging was complete, I got a very strong offer at the very NEXT showing after the staging was complete - I couldn't believe how good the place looked after staging. Even the realtors who walked through said "OMG - I loooooove your decorating" (I was like, "this isn't my stuff - this is the Pineapple lady - call Janie". Janie has a great eye for decorating, size, scale, color, etc... and she has a lot of patience. I can't say enough good things about her and her team - they're fast, flexible, willing to hear your ideas but also willing to say (tactfully) "Let me work my magic - I'm staging the place to sell" (and sell it did!). You can trust this outfit - I am really glad I did. You'll get back every penny of investment.

Janie staged my house in preparation for selling. I was very pleased with her work, from beginning…read moreto end. She came in for the consult, provided me with a list of things to do (mainly clearing spaces) to prep for staging day. On that day, she was so organized and efficient, and magically made the house ready for photos and open house/ showings. Once the house was sold, de-staging was equally a smooth, quick process. Also, Janie is personable and friendly, and it was a pleasure working with her.

Amy is our designer for my new home and the recommendations that she made are absolutely great…read more Everyone is SO impressed by the new fireplace and hearth she designed when they come over to visit. She also was very conscious of our budget, which I know can be a HUGE challenge for most designers. Thanks Amy!

Amy is one the best interior designers around. She has a keen eye for detail and aesthetics and…read morethinks outside of the box to ensure the end result is unique and personalized. She is an excellent communicator and listens carefully to her clients needs and wants. She is extreemly talented and creates a living environment that is just beautiful. She is amazing!

Found True Measure Construction from Yelp. Very glad we met them. Rob and his team were…read moreprofessional, efficient and flawless in their execution. We had True Measure do a total renovation of a 45sq foot bathroom, pictures below. Rob was always easy to reach and talk too. Rob kept us in constant loop about how the project was going. And issues that needed to be addressed. Rob was very conscious of our budget and managed to stay with in it. We will be using True Measure Construction again. I would highly recommend to others.

What I appreciate so much about True Measure is that they are honest, friendly and so reliable. I…read morebought my first home a couple years ago, and have been doing renovations. I'm not exactly handy, but I like learning as I go. Robson always explains things in a way I can understand, and the final result was beautiful! They really care about craftsmanship. I've used them for my kitchen renovation so far.

We used Instant Interiors to stage our home for sale in Newton, MA. They were excellent from the…read moremoment Nancy came to do a review of our needs, to the actual set up. The house transformed into a beautiful elegant gracious home! They included us thoughtfully in the discussions for choosing the most appropriate furnishings for the house, and personally as a client, that is one of the most satisfying experiences as you feel a part of the process that you are paying for as the client! The team were extremely neat, clean and courteous and worked efficiently in decorating perfectly! They completed the job expeditiously and we were thrilled. we would HIGHLY recommend Instant Interiors - their standards are extremely high, their interior design abilities are brilliant. Their quality both in the interior design and personnel department is perfection! When the house sold they came and removed everything quickly and left without a mark! Honestly it was as if they had never had furniture in the house, and a painting on the wall! - All done quickly and quietly ! WOW. IF you need a personal recommendation please do not hesitate to contact me. Lisa W.

Nina and office staff did our kitchen counter tops. The granite top was beautiful. My wife and I…read morewas very pleased with the results. "A job well done." Thank you American Dream Granite Co. Dennis and Rose Robinson Fitchburg, Ma.

Nina lead us to believe that a simple island can be done in a few weeks time. We pointed out up…read morefront that we have a slight slope in the floor and that we would need a panel or a waterfall to cover the seam of two cabinets that needed to be put together. This was in the first week of June. Now it is the end of September. Firstly we needed to buy our own cabinets and assemble them ourselves. Now we are out $500 and still don't have even the cabinets put together fully yet as the team needs to do the finishing touches. Nina has been unresponsive the entire time. We have to pull teeth to get in touch. We would have dropped Nina a long time ago, but wanted to ensure that our kitchen matches so we held on until we could get the granite piece. Today, I rearranged my work schedule again and cancelled a couple of in person meetings to be home for the granite. We repeatedly asked for pictures before the granite was cut knowing how irresponsible Nina was. We get a picture of a stained and rusted piece with the grain that would clash shortly before the arrival of the men. That's not what we agreed on. Speaking to Nina revealed that they won't buy us new granite. They want to wait for a customer to come and make purchase of the same granite and then offer it to us. What a scam! She went on to further reveal that the construction company that build our home owes them money and she won't be doing business with them again and they are the ones that typically buy our stone. So, we can have this last remnant piece or nothing. She also continued to say that American Granite is a large company and she is in meetings all day long and can't respond to us or call us back. Then don't have us as a client. Don't be so enthusiastic about our custom project. Also, don't put the work on us. We had to be home for the visits the men made to our house to "measure" the island several times. We had to draw out the island and measurements ourselves each time. Even Nina was asking us what we wanted over and over. Why did we have so many teams come through without doing anything? Why did you say that you can do something when you reveal today that you can't? I would absolutely not do any business with Nina again and would not do business with any contractors that she works with. I also don't recommend the company unless you want to wait for months to have a simple task 1/4 completed. She says she's one of the owners at the company. Anyone who agreed to do business with someone irresponsible can't be trusted.

Long overdue update to my review. After the work E&L did on our kitchen and more, we had them back…read moreto redo our bathroom. It needed to get completely renovated since the peeling shower panels and broken tiles led to rotten boards beneath. We picked the general floor color and asked for white subway tiles with a splash of color and let them decide the rest - and LOVED what they came up with! Our whole bathroom went from being a source of constant anxiety (feeling the floor sink beneath you as you step is always worrisome) to a great little space made for easy living. THANK YOU!!! Knowing that it looks great but more importantly is a safe space to enter again is a real relief.

I highly recommend E & L Cabinets. After contacting them, Luis came to take measurements for the…read moreestimation and he provided multiple options. Once the cabinets were ready, the installation was quick and clean. I'm really glad with his suggestion as the end result turns out amazing. 100% recommendable.

Matt made the process of renovating our kitchen, installing new wood floors and refinishing the…read moreexisting floors an experience that vastly exceeded expectations. He talked us thru the process, giving valuable guidance and suggestions - helping us prevent the 'things that you don't know until it's too late' angst. He treated us like a friend and neighbor, not just a customer. Matt's knowledge and experience with the other trades involved kept the project on budget and on time. I highly recommend giving them a call.

Disclaimer: I've known the owner for years and respect him and his business. That being said, when…read moreit comes to my home and things such as home improvement I don't care who someone is! The owner and staff of Payneless Flooring are: Professional (great communication) Conscientious (quality work!) Respectful (left no trace behind after carpet removal and installation) Thank you Payneless Flooring!!! Very satisfied customer!