Green Building in New Rochelle.

“I thought that finding an honest contractor who follows through with what they promise would be impossible but decided to take the chance with Essential and finally do my first renovation. I was very nervous at first but the contractor Peter was extremely patient and was with me every step of the way. His team which included a talented designer put together a picture perfect kitchen, powder bathroom and master bedroom bathroom. I was blown away by the attention to detail and if you’re looking for a wonderful experience limiting your stress level for such a major project then Peter and his team are a great fit.”

“Michael Lewis is a consummate designer with years of experience, talent, and organizational ability. We felt supported by Michael and his able firm throughout our project. There was a culture of sensitivity to our needs throughout the firm and skillful handling of issues as they inevitably cropped up. The firm worked with our century old house to bring it into the modern age, by retrofitting an amazing kitchen into limited space and converting an unusable attic space into a dream master bedroom suite with dormers, increasing our living space significantly. We highly recommend this firm!”

“Kimoy Studios is professional, creative and talented. The collaboration was easy as they were very responsive and respectful. The work was beautiful and enhanced our apartment in so many ways.”

“I have worked with Taeik for nearly 7 years now on projects ranging from $50,000 to $5,000,000. He and his organization are prompt, courteous and effective. Their plans work and they have the ability to develop on the fly in the field as well as in the studio. We have undertaken projects both Residential and commercial and they have never let us done. Its refreshing to know that there still are professionals who are dedicated to their work and care”

“I live in Manhattan and have a country house in the Catskills upstate. The house is a contemporary design built in the mid 1970's. The "bones" were great but the aesthetic was completely wrong. We had Kimberly redesign the interior of the entire house - from moving electrical work, plumbing, windows and walls to choosing finishes and fixtures. She is amazing and I have referred her to many friends and clients. Next.... the apartment.”

“Hudson Design designed and provided construction management for our 3,500 sq. ft. house in Cold Spring, NY. The design process was an iterative one with many revisions resulting in a modern, loft-like weekend getaway that we use almost every week. We have become friends with the principal of Hudson Design.”

“I can count on several fingers the times I have found a local business partner that I'd describe as a rockstar, and Brian Hopkins is on that short list. On Christmas Eve, my wife and I were out doing errands. We got a call from our teenage son, telling us that water was raining down from the upstairs bathroom, through our microwave and stove, into the basement, onto the furnace and water heater. There was some once-in-a-century rapid drop in temperature, we had some poorly insulated pipes, and one of those pipes ruptured in the floor of that second floor bathroom resulting in that disaster. Total nightmare. Thankfully, one of the other rockstars on our short list of local business partners is our general contractor. We already had a plan on the shelf to renovate that bathroom, our contractor was available, we were able to get all our tile and bathroom fixtures picked out and procured in record time, and shortly after New Year's our GC started the repairs and creating the bathroom of our dreams. Salvation! Everything was going awesome, until the building department showed up. In a rush, we neglected to get a building permit. We weren't being shady or playing games. We were just hasty and ignorant and didn't do the things we needed to do. We got an immediate stop-work order. And the only way to get back on track was to find an architect to do proper code-compliant architectal drawings for our already-in-progress bathroom renovation. I quickly learned that there are not a lot of residential architects hurting for business, certainly not at that time of year. I literally called at least 15 different places. Either people were too busy, or weren't interested in the project. I finally found one who couldn't take the job, but said "hey, we know this other guy in the area who is super good, that we refer people to when we're busy. His name is Brian Hopkins." Somebody directing business to a competitor?? I now understand why they referred me. Brian is only the second architect I've ever worked with, but as far as I can tell, he's as good as it gets. I was able to get in touch with him immediately, and he agreed to take on the work. He was incredibly transparent and clear about what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and what it would cost. Throughout the process he was super responsive, empathetic, organized, patient, professional, and enjoyable to work with. He didn't nickel and dime us or play games; he was clearly focused on good customer service and outcomes. And from what I can tell, both the building department and my GC were very happy with the quality of his work. The entire ordeal we went through, particularly involving the building department and fines and delays was horrible. Had we not found Brian, had he not been so excellent, the situation might have been unbearable. He literally was our savior. It's absurd not to want to work with someone like this.”

“Nash was very professional , passionate , and informative throughout the design process. It has been a pleasure working with Nash on the design of our custom dream home.”

“I found Ben Herzog Architects while browsing Houzz.com. I would add photos to my ideabook and discovered that most of the projects were done by Ben! Ben has been great helping us decide how we can maximize space in our 1917 Brooklyn row house. We have decided on a more open floor plan, new wood plank floors, high hat lighting, a bit larger kitchen space with higher ceiling and an island, a shallow broom closet and banquette seating in our dining room. The demolition began 9/5/12 and as a result we have discovered that we can open up the doorway openings even more than planned! Ben is happily revising his drawings and I can't wait to see the changes! Ben and his team are easy to work with and very helpful with design and product ideas while keeping our budget in mind!”

“We have worked with Karen at Brinkman for countless projects; baths, kitchens, whole-house remodels; light commercial spaces, and additions. She is a true professional and has some great ideas for the spaces we are hired to remodel. She is willing to stop by on a moment's notice for questions and advice, which is important for the remodeling that we are involved in. We plan to continue working with her for all of our remodels in the future.”