Sarah Blank Design Studio

Selection Process Since Designer 2 and SBD both said they only charged a mark up on just the cabinetry we decided to engage both of them in simple exercise to understand exactly how much the cabinet?s would cost. We created a simple kitchen layout and each designer would price out the cost of ONLY the cabinets. Since the other items were going to be passed through at cost it would be pointless to include them in this exercise. This ?apples to apples? relative value exercise allowed us to get an understanding of what the cabinets would cost. Both designers performed the task and they were within 10% of each other with SBD being more. After another interview we decided on SBD primarily because of the experience she conveyed working on older homes like ours. We then engaged SBD and reviewed their contract which only included estimates because we were not sure as to what we would select. Moreover nowhere in the contract did it mention any additional mark ups. In late spring we gave SBD a deposit and started to work with her on design of our kitchen and baths which would not be installed until late fall. Discrepancy As the kitchen and baths were being installed we were being billed accordingly. When we received the estimates for our appliances we noticed that they seemed quite high. We contacted SBD and expressed our understanding that the only markups would come from the cabinets only. Quickly thereafter the price of the appliances was adjusted downwards. By the time we noticed this discrepancy the vast majority of SBD?s work was done and most of the payments were made to them. I contacted SBD and asked for the invoices of every item we had purchased through them. SBD refused and explained that we had agreed to allow them to mark up items as they saw fit. We spent over $500,000 with SBD and they now refused to furnish us with the cost of the items we were charged. Our contractor who did an excellent job would furnish us with invoices as we were billed. But now after passing on other kitchen designers who would charge either a percentage markup or just a markup on the cabinets and after having SBD perform an exercise illustrating what they would charge on a markup of cabinets only SBD believes that we would have selected them and given carte blanche to charge whatever they wanted. Furthermore when I presented them with this logic there answer was that they were so superior to all of the other designers. Finally, as other designers were motivated to have us select more expensive items SBD with their deceptive pricing was motivated to have us select lesser quality items so they could achieve a greater markup. Inferior Workmanship and Knowledge SBD portrayed themselves as an expert in kitchen design however there workmanship and basic knowledge was far from that. One of the items that we wanted was a glass door beverage refrigerator. I had expressed how I had seen them before and how much I would like one. I am not an expert in kitchens or appliances and I do not know the inner working of the refrigeration industry. SBD ordered a glass door industrial beverage refrigerator for us. However an industrial refrigerator has a fan and compressor that are not enclosed as in a residential refrigerator. Thus it was very noisy and since it was to be located right next to the family room it had to be replaced. If SBD had cared to know how kitchens should work they would have know that the only manufacturer of residential glass door refrigerators is Subzero. If SBD had known this she would have made the opening for the refrigerator 36? and not 33? so now we don?t have the refrigerator we wanted. In the children?s bathroom I noticed that the vanities were three inches shorter than the other vanities. When confronted SBD they first denied this fact and then inferred that shouldn?t the children have lower vanities? The only thing I can infer from this is that SBD was hoping we would want them to remodel the children?s bathrooms when they get older? In the kitchen SBD designed a work area where you could put a computer however I have tried to sit there but it is so low that my legs cannot fit underneath. When I asked SBD about this issue there response was ?well that is the way I always do it?. However, the cru de gra happened with the design of bathroom #6. Bathroom #6 was a smaller bathroom with an angled wall. Sarah with her wisdom and experience decided to place the vanity where the lowest point of the wall was. The problem with this design was that a normal sized person could not stand in front of the vanity and moreover the mirror would have reflected someone?s midsection. Sarah insisted that the design was functional and after realizing it was not attempted another design. Sarah?s next attempt was functionally impossible and after this failed attempt we had to engage our architect to assist us. Warranties SBD purchased the appliances from Albanos Appliances in Pound Ridge, NY. However when I called up Albanos to inquire about an issue they made it very clear that appliances were sold to SBD and not me. They did answer my question but the question that has not been answered is do I have the warranty or does SBD? Can SBD who is not a licensed distributor of Subzero and Wolf sell these items with a warranty? Or if something happens do I have to contact SBD and have them contact the manufacturer? Conclusion My wife and I have engaged an attorney and we are seeking our legal remedies. Our experience with SBD can be described as nothing less than deplorable. I must ask why I would have passed on two other highly regarded designers who were very clear about their method of compensation for SBD who charge whatever they wanted. Mostly what I find very offensive is the arrogance of SBD to ?talk the big game? while producing an end product that riddled with issues. I hope any potential clients of SBD will find this illuminating.