Heath Ceramics in Sausalito is a personal favorite of mine: a design focused retail destination…read morefeaturing Heath pottery, decorative homewares, and iconic ceramic tiles. Founded in 1948 by visionary ceramicist Edith Heath, the brand is an icon of California modern design. The items here are undeniably expensive, but the timeless design and constantly updating of color palettes make each piece feel special. In 2003, the company was revitalized by husband-and-wife product design and business team, who thoughtfully reinvented the brand. Heath is a great example of how with a good steward, classic design can be successfully revived and made modern. I find Heath to be a good spot for finding special design focused gifts.

I grew up with Heathware bowls, plates, and other pieces. While I've always loathed the noise they…read moremake when stacked together or when cutlery is moved across them, the pieces are very beautiful. I stopped by today, with my mom, to buy my sister some gifts for her wedding. I loved the new colors I saw - they had some yellow bowls and bulb vases that I was seriously tempted to buy, in addition to the other items. What I didn't love was the lack of customer service. I don't expect or want to be waited on hand and foot, but a simple acknowledgement would have been nice, rather than having multiple employees just watching us the entire time. I ended up purchasing from the seconds section and buying less than anticipated due to the overall vibe. I try to be understanding, and perhaps something was off for them today. Regardless, I was so uncomfortable in the store that I waited outside while our items were gift wrapped.

Thank you to Chris and all his staff at Essential Kitchen Design!! Starting with helping us with…read morethe initial concepts, through the actual design process, and then helping us with the right sub-contractors to pull it all together in the installation. The result, this is my new favorite part of the house. When we redo our bathrooms we will definitely be using Essential Kitchen Design, as they do that too!

From the owner: We the designers at Essential Kitchen Design of San Jose and San Francisco are trained to create…read morerealistic solutions to meet the objectives and budget of your project, whether it is an extensive home remodel or a new kitchen design. We are thoroughly knowledgeable in space management and storage solutions and have a complete understanding of what makes a kitchen and bath design unique. Essential Kitchen Design is noted as a top kitchen and bath design firm because we originate designs based upon your needs as a client. We meet with you to produce a complete set of construction documents for bidding, permitting and building. The final set of construction documents will be in architectural format including scale floor plans, elevations, electrical plan and scope of work.

I'm a retired builder/remodeler. Over the years I've worked with many subcontractors from all the…read moretrades and none have been easier to work with, more professional or have produced more impressive results than Efren and his team at Bay Countertops. Tobee runs an efficient installation and shares many helpful insights. The office staff makes every effort to work with your schedule. And I still marvel at the way the cutters have matched the veins in my quartz countertops. The showroom is well designed without being overwhelming, and is just a short drive over the Richmond Bridge from Marin to the Marina Bay Parkway exit off of 580.

I had a great experience with Bay Countertops. The owner, Efren showed up exactly when he said he…read morewould for the consult and estimate. He was efficient and detail oriented while taking the template for my countertops, and the turnaround time for install was exactly as promised. A week later Tobee and Enrique showed up, walked me through the process, and after I answered a couple questions they had the countertop in and looking great. Overall I would highly recommend them and I will definitely use them again in the future.

The 2024 remodel of my San Rafael home was the largest home construction project I have attempted,…read moreand this is my 4th house. I am a certified Project Manager and licensed Mechanical Engineer, so I know what good project execution looks like. MKC is the best residential contractor I have worked with in my 30 years of home ownership. MKC employs a process with heavy emphasis on planning the work up front followed by quality execution by the craftsmen. Scott (owner of MKC) honestly strives to land each project with the highest quality work done at a reasonable price. My project was mainly to remodel a kitchen and master bathroom. Additionally, we removed two walls (one load bearing), replaced 1/2 the house windows, addressed two different legacy structural issues, replaced fireplace, all interior doors, all baseboard and trim, all flooring and about a dozen other upgrades (add ceiling fans, add additional door, replace garage door header, toilet in 2nd bath, etc.). Basically, I received a new house. The work was completed in a little over 4 months as planned adding time for the new scope and structural issues. The cost was as expected. MKC costs were nearly exact to expected. Material costs were higher than planned due to our selection of materials vs assumed. The quality of the work was outstanding whether it was by MKC employees or subcontractors. I highly recommend the MKC team for a kitchen or major home remodel.

Marin kitchen Really genuinely wanted to help us with Our…read more individual situation, caring, honest, punctual and fair.We love our kitchen. Scott designed it and his wife. Janet was always available when I needed to have questions answered. They were excellent and we are so happy with the job they did. I've never recommend contractors because we've been basically disappointed almost every time. They also worked with our budget and found us beautiful cabinets. They have a great sense of design and color and they are a family own business. I really recommend them. It was also nice to have someone understand our budget and try to help. I have PTSD from others doing bad, work or being lazily and unfair. I can honestly say it was a pleasure working with them. Of course we had normal problems that had nothing to do with them but they were patient and understanding. We Interviewed 4 different companies and no one was interested in us unless we could spend our life savings. If you need a kitchen and someone has a great sense of design, check out her in the kitchen. I feel like we got lucky.

Posted this on Google reviews and it got hidden to the public. I think it's important folks know…read moreabout this experience so see below: ______________________ I had such a bad experience with Mission Home which I know will look bonkers given the 5 star reviews. I was definitely persuaded by these reviews - and now will question every business that has 5 star reviews. Do your homework and don't be fooled. Project took much longer than what it should have because they were disorganized and would forget certain things (the foreman would even admit that the PM should have told me certain things!) that I would have imagined a contractor had down pat in terms of sequencing. They use some subcontractors and you are at the mercy of their schedules. They just are not organized (you will do a lot of the reminding, checking in, following up, and certain things still may not happen). They failed inspections meaning more cost (it is their job to pass these! It says this in any contract!) If it seemed as though I was questioning something, the PM got defensive and sometimes unprofessional, gaslighting me in a very aggressive manner. I saved the communication, in fact. The people I worked with directly were young and it showed in the almost-too-casual style of communication and lack of professionalism. I surrendered towards the end and just wanted the project done and everyone gone. I feel completely foolish that I went with the significantly higher estimate thinking it would offer a smooth, superior experience. The actual people who did the work worked hard though and did nice work - hence the two stars. But at the end of the day, it's actually hard to enjoy the work as I am reminded by the months of bad experiences - up to the very end. You can find more experienced contractors out there for equal quality of workmanship and for a more competitive price. I am using a different contractor now for other work at the property - it's a 180 degree difference - they have a dedicated team for my project, meaning time to completion is more accurate and on time; they have a dedicated person to procure the finishes and fixtures, not myself; they are way more organized and even provided me a timeline of what to expect and communicate with me what time they are showing up and what progress was made that day (!!); they are bringing a truly expert eye with attention to detail that ELEVATES the space and are teaching me to ask things I didn't even know I should KNOW to ask; and most importantly, I feel truly comfortable asking questions without defensiveness and aggressive steamrolling in their answers. I received none of this level of care or expertise with MHR, and I want you to know that you should expect these things!!!

Try to get some basic quote range but they say no, they cannot do that and we have to schedule a…read moresite visit even with the measurements and picture I provide. This makes no sense because we just want to get a ballpark to see if it's even make sense to continue. But anyway, on the date of the site visit, the guy come without any tool for measurements and for note taking. The guy just spent like 20 mins walking around the house and said he will get back to us with a quote. But I never hear back from them since. I think the company is very picky on clients and like to see if they have enough money to pay for their service. If they think we cannot afford it, they will just cut all the communications. This is also mentioned by other 1 star reviews.

We had a fantastic experience remodeling our kitchen with Green Bay Remodeling Inc. From start to…read morefinish, the process was smooth and well managed. Yessica, our main point of contact, was incredibly responsive and always quick to answer messages or address any questions or concerns. Anytime something came up, the team listened carefully to my feedback and fixed it right away. I'm definitely a perfectionist, so details really matter to me--and they truly delivered. I'm especially thrilled with the backsplash, which turned out exactly the way I envisioned and requested. The crew worked very hard and took great pride in their work. Like any remodeling project, there were a few minor delays involving third-party vendors that were outside of their control, but Green Bay Remodeling Inc. did everything they could to work around them and keep things moving. Thanks to their efforts, our kitchen was completed before the holidays, which we were so grateful for. We're extremely happy with the final result, and if we take on another remodeling project, we wouldn't hesitate to work with Green Bay Remodeling Inc. again.

Finished product is beautiful, but the process and project management is not as advertised…read more We met with 5 different contractors to get bids for our small bathroom remodel project. Green Bay Remodeling was the highest bid by 20-50%. We selected Green Bay because they pitched themselves as a turnkey solution and I would simply sit back and just make payments. In reality I needed to be involved constantly to keep this project on track. A few examples: - Sourcing: In the sales meeting, we were told that materials would be sourced by them from their "catalog" and shipped from "their warehouse". I liked the simplicity of that, but in reality, they order things from online vendors like Wayfair and Home Depot and shipped directly to my home. This turned my garage space into their warehouse for nearly 2 months. Also, it is just bad business to ship heavy, breakable things - for example, we had 2 toilets delivered to our home in giant packages - both of which were broken on arrival. (there's a hardware store less than a mile from my home that has toilets in stock) - Communication: We were promised daily updates, this did happen once the construction work started because they often wanted a payment, but we went for long times not hearing during planning process. - Timeline was set by PM as 4 weeks from sign date for permits and planning (closer to 8 weeks due to absences and avoidable omissions on permit application) and 4 weeks for construction (that was met with multiple issues and creative workarounds deployed). - Presence: We understood the PM would be present on the site and would be the main point of contact, but he was missing at key times - including during an inspection with the city permitting department - Attention to detail: Materials were sourced late or incorrectly (a 60 inch vanity ordered rather than 72inch) and broken materials were not identified immediately. We made the construction timeline but only with some creative solutions and lots of legwork. Overall, the guys at GBR are nice, charming people and the finished product looks good. But I give that credit to the amazing sub-contractor who completed the entire project. He covered for their issues and went out of his way to solve problems so that the finished product looked amazing and was finished on time. I would give this person a 5 star review, but I would not engage GBR in the future as this does not reflect value for money.

I wanted a banquette for my kitchen in a corner that was oddly shaped. When i called other cabinet…read moremakers, they estimated an exorbitant price. When i talked to Thom, he understood the budget, the odd configuration of my corner and suggested a custom made, GORGEOUS, design close to my budget. The bamboo as a material is both ecological and striking to look at. The construction of the banquette was intricate and sturdy. Thom was a dream contractor. He is ethical, friendly, and caring. I cannot recommend AlterEco enough. If i was building a whole kitchen or den, I would not hesitate to work with them againg.

Thom at AlterEco: P.O. Box 1206 Sausalito, CA 94966…read morePhone # 415-331-8342 Fax # 415-331-2624 E-mail AlterECO@BambooCabinets.com It was so easy to work with Thom. He does meticulous work, and is a real artisan. Very fair pricing, reliable and an honest person. We are so happy with our kitchen and bathroom cabinets. They're beautiful! Thom and AlterECO are highly recommended! M.W. ~ Muir Beach

Very satisfied with the work done, it was a clean work and they made it look as seamless as…read morepossible to the two rooms as if it had always been there. Really liked the communication by email, phone call and text, very informative and clear. Definitely recommend for any home project.

I'm usually a budget DIY person, so this is the first remodel project I've done with a real…read morecontractor. Small bathroom remodel. I chose these guys based on price + professionalism + their ability to see that I wanted something a bit more creative and custom than what is typical and willingness to make it happen and/or negotiate what we COULD do to get as close as possible but still fit my budget. (an important trait that the others that bid didn't quite get). The city inspectors were brutally picky and it took extra steps to get approval and I'm just glad these guys were patient and knew what to do. I'm in condo with tight rules and they handle it with grace. They've minimized dust and disturbance, kept me updated, quick clear communications, etc. We're only half way through, but I've been so impressed I had to write this and will post pics and a follow up on completion.