They did a great job on rewiring and restoring my lamp. Highly recommended. And everyone here was very nice.

I had he worst retail experience of my life here. Wanted to purchase several items asked clerk for price and the owner showed up and quote totally different prices for everything.. much higher The owner was rude and insulting, Ugh ugh and more ugh read more

I had an antique lamp that needed rewiring and Village Green was a convenient geographical choice with some pretty good reviews so I figured I'd give them a try. That was last Saturday, when I arrived at 1:30pm since their hours were listed as Tues-Sa from 10-5 on their website. I was disappointed to find that the shop was closed at 1 on Saturdays, making it difficult for most 9-5'ers to get to. Given the dearth of other options though, I tried back on the following Saturday and found them to be incredibly knowledgeable and were able to explain very clearly what was going to be required to get it working again. The repair was simple enough that I was even going to get to pick it up on the same day rather than wait until next weekend to pick it up! It was about 12:45pm and I knew they closed at 1pm, so I figured I'd call to see if it was ready like was mentioned when I dropped the item off. The rundown: Me: "I'm calling to see if a lamp that I dropped off this morning is ready." Store: "Yes it's ready, we're getting ready to leave in about 15 minutes" ...so I guess it's a good thing I called or else I would have waited until next weekend So in summary: Pros: - seemed to have a great knowledge about repairs and articulated them well - fair pricing - quick repair time (though this will obviously vary greatly depending on your repair request) Cons: - confusing information as to store hours - "customer-guided" customer service. Other reviewers seem to have had the same issue whereby if they didn't drive the communication they wouldn't have gotten their items. If you're looking to get a solid repair job done and are willing to do a little bit of the service legwork, this place should give oyu what you're looking for. read more

Awesome. So happy with their work and prices. No one like them in the neighborhood, maybe not in all of greater Boston.

Got something you love that's broken? - These guys can probably fix it. I wouldn't call Village Green Renewal a handy man service, I'd say it's more a service to turn to when your handy man says: "I dunno." Seth and his team can look at just about anything man made, metal or wooden and tell you if they think they can fix it - usually they can. If they can't fix it, they're very good at putting you on the right path to get it fixed. Walking into the shop is fascinating adventure, its rich with old tools, antique parts and a spectrum of well-loved items waiting to be repaired and sent home. read more

Village Green Renewal - Just about any door knob you can think of. - Handyman Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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My wife brought by a lamp to be repaired. The repairs were done when they said they would be. My wife was a bit off put but the "insensitive" nature of the tall man. Very curt responses to very simple questions. Unsure if we will go back. read more

If nothing else just to enter this lovely shop is a wonder, clearly they love what their doing. This is a special place, a rare find, run by incredibly talented and caring experts. Not only have they handled repairs for me, but they're genuienly curious and smart as they look into the story behind the things they bring back to life. I've brought in an old peppermill from my grandmother and a funky bike that my daughter loves- they treated both with exquisite care plus they are very clear and fair in their pricing. Save your stuff, get it good as new again and go see them. read more

It's just a pleasure to have Seth and his crew do necessary repairs and improvements. High quality work always!

I won't be going back here. It's much too expensive, and when I tried to pay with a credit card, the attendant strong-armed me into paying with cash. I'm a student, I don't have a cash-flow that works for expensive repairs for antiques - that's why I wanted to use a credit card. Too bad. read more

We were walking the dog around Brookline today, saw a window full of cool antique doorknobs and hinges and had to have a closet look - and we saw the coolest thing ever - this old lightbulb with a metal flower inside that glowed pink and green! I know, sounds super random, but I'm telling you it's awesome. We went inside (they didn't mind us bringing in our Husky either!) and saw a cute small shop filled with more awesome antique/reused household fixtures etc. The owner, Seth, was super friendly and helpful and explained to us what they do. We bought the lightbulb (only $50, which was totally a reasonable price for the amazing, unique creation) and promised to return. I only wish I had a house so that I could outfit it with stuff from Village Green Renewal! read more

Can they do the job? Yes, nothing special and over priced. Over charged to replace glass in two old windows. Dropped off couple windows for glass replacement, Windows were not ready day they were promised. Nothing delicate about the work that had to be done...pretty basic. read more

I had an excellent experience with the repair of two vintage lamps. They were done well and quickly. The price was reasonable. I love having a local place I can use for repairs and just dropped off two beloved Christmas ornaments that need complicated work done. read more

Man, I love this place. Great idea, great people, convenient location and just an overall sweet looking store. So, what exactly do they do there? Read on... So, what's better than recycling? How about reusing. At Village Green Renewal, that can mean anything from purchasing some vintage Victorian door hardware or some cool old hinges, to having Seth (the owner) fix just about anything you can break: from lamps to chairs to bicycles. More extensive in-home repair services like door and window work, woodworking, tiling, etc., are also available (check their site for a full list). Nowadays, people seem to be much more open to idea of repairing something when it breaks, instead of just throwing it in the trash and heading out to the nearest big box to replace it., and this is just the store to take your broken widget to. So, what did Seth fix for me recently? A ~25 year-old music box from my childhood. Random, I know, but like I said, the man can fix just about anything. There aren't many (if any) stores like this around any more, so swing by, say hi sometime and support a local business. It's like having a handyman right next door. Now if only he would figure out how to fix my flux capacitor... read more

Fixed my lock instantly and was so humble he didn't even want to charge for it. Saved me hundreds when compared to what I was quoted from a locksmith to fix the same issue. Very honest repair service. read more

A lovely, old-fashioned shop chock-full of antique fixtures, Village Green Renewal on Davis Street, Brookline, certainly captures the eye, but it was their willingness to take on small(er) repair jobs that drew my attention. My parents live in a turn-of-the-century home with old, wooden sash windows that can be problematic, to say the least. Very few people really know how to fix them properly (often, most contractors do not have the weights these windows use to raise and lower the sash). I wondered if the people at V.G.R. would be able to help, and arranged for an appraisal of the situation. Seth, the owner of the shop, came by in short order, and it was very apparent that he knew precisely how to approach repairing the windows. (My father, who had fixed some of them when they first bought the house, knew exactly what was needed, but was unable to do the work himself, so he could verify that what Seth proposed was exactly right for the job.) Seth was able to fit in the repairs less than a week later, and sent his affable colleague, Brian, to do the work. Brian was thorough, efficient, and took great pains to finish the work in a careful and timely manner. My parents were tremendously pleased with the results and are at present compiling a list of repairs they would like him to undertake in the future. Now, as to the reviews about V.G.R. on Yelp that appear below, particularly regarding the assessment of Seth, the owner, I want to say that our experience with him was very favorable. He was attentive and genial when he came to the house to assess the work ahead, sent a fine colleague our way to do the repairs, and he kept in touch frequently the morning that Brian was due to arrive (when the latter was caught in terrible traffic and had to come later than arranged). He was also upfront and clear about what he and his colleagues could offer, what it may cost, and then strived to keep costs low. I felt it necessary to offer our experience with V.G.R. to Yelp readers here, because I did look at the reviews on this site *after* I had booked the initial assessment with Seth, and the mainly negative comments I read made me a bit apprehensive. I wanted, however, to give him the benefit of the doubt, as often people do not think to write about the positive experiences they have, since nothing fuels the urge to express oneself quite like ire! For our part, we are looking forward to having them by again to help us with several little projects. It is lovely to have a place so close by that can take on the jobs considered too small by most contractors. We feel fortunate to have discovered Village Green Renewal. read more

This place is amazing!! Seth is a true craftsman and artist....a regular "McGivor" who has a world of knowledge about restoration of just about anything. He has worked on several light fixtures for us and has been a source of many hardware items we have searched for to match missing pieces in our turn of the century home in Brookline. I was in there one time looking for some pieces for a mortise lock that needed repair. Seth took the time to disassemble a mortise lock and gave me an encyclopedic description of the workings of these locks and how the parts all work (and why they sometimes don't!) Anyone else would have tried to sell me something else or sent me to a locksmith or a big-box store to get a replacement. Because of Seth's expertise, all of our 35+ antique mortise locks now work flawlessly. In summary, if you want to own what all your neighbors own and care to contribute to the mass production and the disposible mindset of 21st century society, just go to Home Depot! If you have any desire to pay respect to the craftsmen who put their hearts and souls into crafting all things beautiful and you care to restore these items to their original beauty, you are in great hands with Seth! read more

If you're looking for someone who knows what they're doing, this is the place to go. I brought an old lock to him to be repaired on a recommendation from City Lock in west Roxbury and was blown away both by his expertise and his kind demeanor. I will return soon for other repairs since he seems to be able to fix anything. read more

If I could give the owner of this business a zero star, I would do so. I stopped in their store front on Washington Street today, extremely interested in learning more about the place, and actually planning to bring in some mid century lamps to be repaired to their repair section around the corner. What I got was a rude and insulting verbal slap from the owner - the tall guy, right? - for my not understanding something he was unsuccessfully trying to convey. When I called him on his offensive tone and comment, and said I would not be returning to his store specifically because of his behavior, he smirked and said, "You have a nice day". Twice. What an asshole. He doesn't deserve that location. He doesn't display the class or character that I expect from a vendor in Brookline Village. read more

I've had two great experiences with Village Green Renewal. They are professionals, who really care about the quality of their work. My dining room floor is off by at least an inch. They not only added pads to the level the table but then took the table apart and but to back together properly to stop the wobbling. While they were here they also beautifully placed handles on an old night stand. The first time they were here they expertly fixed our 100 year old wooden air duct covers and broken banisters. Thank you! It's hard to find people who take pride in their work these days. read more

They performed just what I needed, and then some! And in a very timely manner. Roommates in my 100+ year-old triple-decker had a problem: a dishonest sublet, and they wanted bedroom locks as immediately as possible. Not wanting to screw hasps and padlocks onto bedroom doors, I removed all the old mortise locks, which had not worked in decades, and took them to Village Green Renewal. Seth was "in the field," but his staff explained the costs, options, and outlined a few possible complications, all very clearly. The job turned out to be a bit pricey, but in my case, I got what I paid for. At my pleading, Seth pushed the job forward on his bench queue, and the 6 locks were ready in about 4 work days. Every lock worked smoothly, with newly cut keys provided. I returned them to their doors, needing only minor carpentry adjustments for perfect fit and operation. My tenants are delighted! I was impressed that Seth called me a few times to check on how my locks were to be installed. As clear as our communications went, one need a reversal on its mode of operation. I returned with it, and the adjustment was done in a couple of hours--at no additional charge. Village Green is a premium shop, so expect to pay for premium service. And his inventory of vintage parts, fittings, and fixtures is eye-boggling. Highest recommendation. read more

if I could give both Seth and his workmanship 10 stars I would. I am so impressed with his ability to help me with an old lamp which had more than the one problem I thought it had. This morning, December 7, 2016, I brought the item in expecting to leave it yet within 15 minutes tops it was out the door repaired with smiles all around. I highly recommend Village Green which not only does repair work but has some of the quirkiest household items from the past for perusal. I'm taking another lamp in for repair very soon. read more

NIGHTMARE ON DAVIS AVE, Village Green Renewal: Fantastic shop. Wonderful irreplaceable faucets, doorknobs, etc. Right out of an English novel of props for the early 1800's-1900's. I vaguely heard the owner, Seth had a head problem, but still, his taste in antique fittings was impeccable. Alas, a disaster ensued in the form of in house owner/customer service. I had to fight to have the Faucet Whisperer, Seth Green, come look at my antique club foot tub faucets to fix the drip, When he finally showed up (weeks of begging for an appointment only to learn I had to make a second appointment for the actual work order) The second time he showed up to do actual work, he came without a tool box! I found him walking about the floor through kitchen peeping here and there without asking me some fundamental questions about my antique and quirky three floor house like: 1) where is the water shutoff valve, (It's behind a very secret kitchen drawer no one would ever know to look for except me and the contractor/plumber who installed the new kitchen a year ago 2) barely able to communicate what he was looking for or needed me to show him in order to get started on these faucet drips 3) told ME I had to reschedule and keep calling him - great customer service) and 4) as I was on the phone having a hell of a difficult time negotiating tech service with some foreign barely-able-to-speak outsourced Indian working for E-Trade in Calcutta who couldn't speak off-script regarding very private estate details farmed out of the country a week after the death of my father, Seth assumed I would probably be an out of control client. And yes, I was completely out of control with the outsourced customer service rep from India after spending 1.5 hours on the line, I confess, but really! 5) I went out of my way to find an American who is still employed, and 6) Without saying a word, after wandering around the bathrooms with the dripping antique faucets and peering into my drawers without asking, he suddenly walked out the front door and never came back without saying a word. Perhaps Seth thinks he really is the "Faucet Whisperer" and thought perhaps magic would cure the problem. Apparently the Brookline Tab thinks he's magical because I see his photo weekly on the front page and wonder why????? I know I was wrong to believe in miracles, but the TAB is supposed to be on top of these things. What gives? PS: the antique faucets are still drip drip dripping and I am wasting wasting water in this Green People's Republic of Brookline where I have lived more than 30 years. Does anyone know anyone who knows what they are doing? Please advise! I admit the guy has a beautiful sense of antique objects for restoration, but he needs a few classes in customer service and behavior modification. Kafka, yes. Pity. I had a ton of work from him, but either he is autistic, or brilliant or suffers from Asperger's, hence lack of social skills, or I'm a total idiot who ticked him off because I couldn't read his mind or interpret his needs.Or was too busy frustrated by the outsourced call he walked in on. (An ugly encounter, I confess). Or because I was a female???? (In this day and age? Geez, I though I was the client here. But then again, we're in a recession and I can see exactly why. BTW: the water is still dripping, until a kindly Brazilian jack of all trades showed me how to turn off the hot water valve for at least one of the tubs. Saved by an immigrant with a work ethic! read more

I cannot rave more about this place!!!! Walked in to have a super old garage door opener fixed that I was sure was in fixable!!! They were so helpful and fixed it in no time! It actually works and hasn't in weeks!!! So glad I checked this place out!! Would recommend them to anyone!!! read more

Awesome, fix-anything place! We had period locks and doorknobs installed in our house, and we've sent several friends Seth's way. He & his crew can fix ANYTHING. read more

Stay far away from Village Green Renewal. He promised to do three jobs for me and nothing happened. The only excuse given was "Sorry, I forgot." He apparently knows how to delete bad reviews (mine diappeared), so his reliability in repair and maintenance must be worse than what you see here. read more

Nightmare Experience with Village Green Renewal Somehow they had my 10/07/2010 review removed. We try to support local businesses so when we had a bathroom door that was damaged that needed repaired we contacted Village Green Renewal. They came, took measurements and photographs of the door frame and seemed very knowledgeable. The door was picked up shortly thereafter for repair. What has transpired since rivals Kafka in terms of a disorienting experience. I had to make several calls asking for the status and for a formal quote. There were always profuse apologies but never an itemized quote until a month later when a hand written quote with little or no detail finally arrived. Approximately three [3] months later we finally had the door returned with the frame repaired. They had to cancel the delivery at the last minute because the paint that they used had not cured. I have two toddlers and wanted low VOC paint used but they used regular paint. Somehow this was a surprise to him. Had they sent a detailed description of the work to be done I would have been able to stress this. As it was my verbal requests were not codified in any statement of work. Once the delivery was finally made, the paint was a flat finish that did not match the semi gloss of the original door finish. VGR claims that they had the paint chip matched at the store but even the most casual observer could see that the door was not properly finished. As well, the door was delivered without any cover and was filthy with hand prints. But here is where it gets really odd: they lost all of the door fixtures that are original Art Deco period pieces. They were going to install the door without the knobs, locks, or face plates. I had them leave the door uninstalled and contacted them, really very upset, and it turns out that they lost all of the parts to include the brass hinges. Now they claim that they cannot find the lost parts and that they want to compensate us for the missing hardware. It is going to be a nearly impossible task for me to do this as a novice and require and an extraordinary effort to try to locate the missing parts. How can someone who claims that this is their primary field lose hardware like this and then claim to not be able to replace it? We have sent a formal complaint to the Brookline Chamber of Commerce and to the Better Business Bureau. My plan was to take them to small claims court to make sure that there is a record of their behavior. UPDATE: After claiming for several weeks not to be able to locate the missing hardware, our law firm was contacted within days after I made the Yelp review to say that VGR's lawyer called to indicate that they had located the missing parts. Today all of the missing parts arrived: Kafka, meet Stephen King... UPDATE: VGR had our review deleted. I am reposting in the hopes that this one remains up. UPDATE: Upon further inspection, 6 original brass screws for the door hinges are missing and the door is 1/4 inch too wide for the opening. read more

I have had good experiences at Village Green so far, rewiring lamps, finding antique doorknobs, drawer pulls etc. They have been quite patient and helpful, clear about what they can and cannot do. Love their philosophy too! read more

I had nothing but an outstanding experience with Village Green Renewal and Seth. I brought in a lamp to be rewired on Saturday afternoon at about 4:00 p.m. Seth said it would be ready by Wednesday but when it became clear that I wouldn't be able to get to the shop before 5:00 (when he closes) any day of the week, he asked if I could come back by 5:00 that day and he'd have the lamp repaired. By 4:45, he'd called me to pick up the lamp. Seth couldn't have made it easier for me and I really appreciated it. The work was perfect as well. read more

We used him to re-glue four oak wooden kitchen chairs. They worked sufficiently fast and efficiently & did a good job. I thought that Seth the owner seemed to be fair with pricing ($100/chair) and was not trying to oversell. He said if they were Ikea chairs, for example, (Not to dis Ikea, but was the example used), he would not have made the recommendation to spend the $. The job was done about a month ago, and, of course, the chairs are fine. He said they would last for years. They do a LOT of other repairs there. First time we used them and would definitely recommend them as straight shooters. read more

A very disappointing third transaction after two sucessful transactions. The shop owner was verbally abusive and outright lied to me about having called to say my item was ready. I would not recommend this place to anyone save perhaps my worst enemy. read more

Exchanged emails with the guy from this place and agreed on the price for a small metal-work service. When I showed up at the store the person at the counter gave me the price which was twice as high than the one quoted in the email, and when I told him that I had a different price given to me by his colleague he said "I don't care what he told you". Annoying, arrogant attitude. He mentioned that they work for $100 per hour, which is ridiculous. My impression is that they are making the money by "impressing" naive housewives while ripping them off. read more

Where to begin? For me, a store experience includes both the merchandise that is being bought or, in this case, repaired/restored, AND the quality of the interaction. (Caveat: I have never actually had anything done at Village Green Renewal, only popped in with questions. But after reading the other reviews and experiencing Seth's wonderful personality myself [sarcasm intended], I would never go there.) Another reviewer mentioned he'd heard that "Seth had a head problem." Yeah, that's kind of a crass way of putting it, but it's true. The guy is so unfriendly and curt that I wonder why he doesn't just do the work in the back and let someone else handle the customers -- someone with a lot more customer sense. He seems so, well, angry. When the TV place at the corner of Harvard Street and Aspinwall went out of business, the owner of the TV place had a brief joint working relationship with Seth; I guess they sort of combined forces to repair both furniture, etc and TVs. I didn't last long and I have a feeling it wasn't the fault of the TV guy, because I never had a problem with him. Seth is still there, so he must be doing well, but I bet he'd be doing even better if he smiled occasionally and lost the attitude. He makes a big deal about being part of the community and all that but it's strangely contradicted by the vibe he gives off when you walk in the place. In short, my advice to him is to think long and hard about how others perceive him and take some steps to change. read more