Design Build & Co

I hired Joel to build designs for two rooms - a living room wall and a kitchen. I signed a contract and paid for the designs, understanding that they were proprietary and I would not get physical or digital copies. Joel Associate showed me the design for the wall and we made a plan to move forward. I shared upfront that my process cap was $25k. I was told that was a generous budget for the project, and I got a loan to ensure I could move forward on time. As I reviewed our email correspondence, I found five times that I named my cap of $25k in writing. We scheduled the work, but I could not get a final answer on the budget or a contract for the work in the weeks leading up to the project. I scheduled a hotel for myself and my kids for the time we had agreed upon, so getting the final numbers became urgent. After five months of talking about this project, I learned the price was going to be $40k. When I told Joel I did not have $40k and we would need to cut something to get within my repeatedly stated budget cap, he said he could not move forward if I could not afford it. When I asked what was driving the price up, he said the budget was ?in his computer? and he could not be sure. He also said we never had a budget, since I had not signed a contract for the work. I asked for a refund of 50 percent of the design fee, since I never saw the kitchen design - also in Joel computer. He never responded to my request. I hired Joel because he seems like a great designer - a real artist. This experience was truly terrible. I can only recommend Design Build and Co to people with very flexible budgets and timelines. If - like me - you have budget constraints - do not work with this company.

We were happy with the entire process, and Joel goes out of his way for customer service.