I really, really hate shopping at big box hardware stores. I love looking for reason to visit…read moresmaller, locally owned ones. Ace is a great place for me, and I always come here before Thanksgiving each year. Why? One word: Resharp. Resharp is an automated machine that puts an amazing edge on virtually any knife - far better than I can do with any of the stones and tools I've accluminated over the years. The service is while-you-wait fast and really inexpensive ($6.99 with a buy 5/get 1 free deal). And while the staff works on my blades I can wander around and find all the many things I completely forgot I needed. (I love hardware stores; my Spousal Unit not so much). Resharp works on almost all non-serrated knives less than 12" long, regardless of how badly beaten up the edge. Great value, great service, yet another reason to avoid going to Lowe's Depot...

Love this store, love the owner and the manager and all the employees!…read moreEveryone is so helpful!

We recently contracted with Rhine Landscaping. They cleaned all of our hardscape, stabilized the…read morepatio and sidewalks, and corrected a drainage problem in our backyard. The entire project was done professionally and on time. We are amazed at the change in the look of property. Rhine Landscaping gets top marks for their workmanship and professionalism.

We decided to get a quote from Rhine after they did a good job with tree maintenance/ removal and…read moreafter our neighbors recommended them. Unfortunately, our experience did not meet expectations. We paid $900 up front for the design document for a screened in porch and paver patio. Rhine doesn't provide design documents as part of the quote. You need to pay for it. Honestly the design document was nothing special; It was a 2D computer generated drawing, which I doubt could have taken the designer more than a day to develop. Also, we were told that we could use the design document with other contractors, but the document didn't include dimensions or measurements. Ultimately we didn't get a lot of value out of the design document, and we consider it a wasted expense. (Thank goodness we didn't pay the full rate of $1,800 for the design document!) Additionally, it took us several attempts to meet with the designer. He was a no-show for our first meeting (he had a personal emergency, which is understandable), but then it took several emails to land on a new appointment time. He was then late to the rescheduled appointment. We also requested design revisions via email, and we had to follow up several times to get an acknowledgment of our request, with additional follow up needed to actually get the revised version back. Finally, the quoted rate for our project compared to local competition was simply outrageous. The project cost range was about 1.5-3 times more expensive than quotes we got from other vendors. Additionally, other vendors provided 3D design renders at no cost as part of their quote. We asked what was the explanation for such a high quote: did this include all premium materials? We were told that the quote included standard materials, and that if we wanted to choose custom / premium materials, the price would go up from there. My sense was that the scope of the project was too small for them, so they quoted us something outrageous so we wouldn't go with them. But if that's the case, the business owner should have been up front with us that they only take on bigger projects before taking $900 for what wound up being a lackluster design document. Overall, we felt that we got little value from our quote process, compounded by lack of professionalism and lack of respect for our time with regard to our interaction with Rhine. If you own a multimillion dollar home and you have deep pockets then maybe Rhine will be more suited to your purposes. But it seems that Rhine is in a different market than smaller jobs for regular suburban homes in and around Ellicott City.

Fantastic Nursery! A lot of choices for annuals and perennials. Fair pricing and a large variety of…read moreannuals/varieties you wont see at other nurseries.

I have been buying here for many years but it's time to find a different nursery. Came in during…read morethe week and the staff to guest ratio was at least 5 staff to each customer...I wanted a tree that was too heavy for me to lift at roughly 70 pounds and literally none of the staff walking around offered to help. When I asked for help locating the tree, I was pointed to the other side of the nursery, but no thought to if I might either need help locating the trees or help lifting the container.

Really helpful and kind staff--well stocked store!! And Barley the dog is just the sweetest!!read more

I am a 90 year old retired general contractor. Since I am no longer able to do things that were at…read moreone time easy. I had to find a quality plumber and a source for parts should I need some. My experience has been way above superior. Their parts inventory is limitless. The counter clerks are knowledgeable, unlike the big box stores. If you need to have work done my experience has been: They show up on time. The prices are reasonable and the work is exemplary. Richard Bergenstein Mt. Airy, MD

The perfect store for a day of Main St. shopping and a fun place to find lovely, unique accessories…read moreand home decor. They seem to specialize in items with a botanical, French or antique flair. Friendly owner/staff are always willing to help you.

Absolutely LOVE this store!! They have such unique items. You can spend an hour to looking around…read moreand taking it all in! Definite must do if you are in Mt. Airy!

The selection is fantastic and the quality of the plants is great. The prices here are better than…read moreany other nursery in the area. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable of the plants and other products.

Healthy, beautiful mums at a fair price, and helpful, knowledgeable staff. Great experience!read more

Ten years ago, I hired Wendy from Dream House to re-decorate my townhouse in Rockville. I paid…read moreover $160,000 to Dream House for design advice, furniture, and accessories. At that time, I was very pleased with their work - so much so, I referred 3 family members and another friend - all of which also paid thousands of dollars to Dream House for various purchases. Two years ago, I reached out to Wendy again - this time for help when I purchased a second home in Florida. I spent $6,500K with Dream House on curtain rods, finials, rings, etc. and it ended up being an absolute fiasco. When the installer (whom I hired privately in Florida) arrived, he said the drapes could not be hung with these curtain rods because the drapes were too heavy. When I reached out to Wendy and Cassie, I learned they were both on vacation together in Spain. Wendy's response from Spain: "...how were we to know they were super heavy? We ordered rods for regular draperies." This response is from a woman who has 44 years of design experience? -- i.e. Wouldn't you inquire about the drapery fabric before ordering the rods and/or let a client know the limitations of the rods when selecting drape fabric? The drape installer left after I received this text from Wendy in Spain, "...I understand how you feel, but I worked very, very hard on this for you...spent hours on this. I've used all these rods before..I have never had an issue. At this point I'm on vacation and would rather not have to take care of this right now." Though Wendy admitted later that she should have never taken on my design project (true!), they only refunded me $1,100 for curtain rod hardware that I returned to them - indicating to me that the curtain rod company would not allow anything else to be returned since is it was custom ordered, and I also had to pay a 20% restocking fee. Disgusted, I asked Cassie to mail the $1,100 check to my Maryland address; instead she mailed it to my Florida home. When I requested that Cassie re-send the check to me at my Maryland home as requested, she told me she could only do this if I paid a $40 check stop payment fee. The moral of my story: Buyer beware! If you run into any issues, be assured from my experience that neither Wendy nor Cassie will take ANY ownership of the problem. Beyond a frustrating and disappointing experience from a once very loyal customer. My only solace is that I have repeated my horrible experience to many friends and family who will also never shop at Dream House again.

Dream House is one of a hundred quaint stores in Downtown Frederick. So what makes Dream House…read moredifferent. Well, I'll tell you, the store looks brand new. Mostly it is filled with oversized furniture which is a modern but comfortable take on higher end pieces. Me and my friend went to the back and sat on these amazing chairs that were electronically reclining. Cause I don't want to have to push with my back on the hair to make it recline. What am? An animal?! The woman who was very pleasant told us that the chairs could come in one of like 50 different fabrics and leathers. I sat on another couch before I left which was very comfortable. If I had a larger house, I would definitely stop by this store. I do like a lot of the patterns on the furniture. The customer service was great! I like the customizability! I do remember the prices were a little on the higher side, but probably level with other stores like it in the area. Also... I'm gonna be honest, I don't have the best gauge on furniture prices. I don't go furniture shopping that often, and when I do it's for vintage furniture. I wouldn't hesitate to stop back into the store to see the new things they have in stock.