Designer Lifestyles, LLC

After our flood, we interviewed a ton of contractors for wood, tile, wall repair, painting, etc.  You don't appreciate how many different types of contractors you need to do these types of things!  What I heard a lot from contractors was, "Well, I do hardwoods, but I don't do baseboards," or "I can do tile, but I don't do hardwoods," etc.  It was getting to be a major hassle coordinating several contractors.  We had decided on Designer Lifestyles (DL) for our tile, upon the recommendation of our painter, and we were consulting with them about a backsplash and installing carpet as well.  I had actually picked another hardwood installer, but Jon kept (gently) reminding me that DL did wood too.  I was trying to figure out who should go first, wood or tile, and I decided wood should go first because DL was putting the baseboards back (the original wood installer didn't like to do trim) and they would need to put them back over the wood floor, after it was installed, right?  Apparently not right.  The wood installer got really agitated when I told him that he was going first.  He didn't trust another installer (in this case, DL) not to "mess up" his wood floors, plus, since they were doing the tile as well, the dust kick up from that would leave his wood floors not as pretty.  (Yet, if he would just put the baseboards back in place, it wouldn't be necessary for him to go first; he could go last, and replace the baseboards.)  I was beyond frustrated trying to be a project manager for something that is unfamiliar to me.  I ended up firing the wood installer the week before the job and asking DL to do it all, and boy, am I glad I did!  

First of all, from the beginning, the thing they have beat over all the other installers I interviewed was attention to detail and putting everything in writing!  Their invoices were super professional and left no room for misunderstanding.  It makes me cringe to think  about the "nod and handshake" deal we almost had with the other installer.  If something had been not as we wanted, how do we prove we told him what we did want?  Not having everything in writing is asking for misunderstandings!  Every time I made a minor change with DL, I would get a new change order invoice emailed to me, lickety split, replete with EVERY detail.  In fact, Chris (the "office" guy, for lack of a better term) was always SUPER responsive to any questions, and would even email me on weekends often.

As far as they work, they did a beautiful job with EVERYTHING.  They were professional, arrived on time, their workers were clean-cut and respectful, they left the house neat and clean every day.  Our neighbors even commented that they would see them take maybe a 20 minute break for lunch, eat their sandwiches in our driveway in the sunshine, and then, back to work in no time.  They weren't goofing off, that's for sure!  We had moved a lot of stuff into the bedrooms where the carpet was going to go, and were going to move it back, once they got to the carpet portion of the job (last).  They didn't even give us a chance to move the furniture out, they did it for us, before we even knew they were that far along.  They put the baseboards back in place, though they had not removed them (thereby making it a puzzle piece job for them, since they weren't able to number them, etc., as they would have done if they had removed them).  They coordinated with our painter for him to come in on the back end and touch up the trim and make it look fresh.  The backsplash they installed was truly beautiful.  They had us coordinate our design with their design rep at a local wholesaler (where we bought our tile, wood, etc.)  She was great too, and helped us design something beautiful.  They implemented it, and when one of the tiles was a little yellower than the others, and really stuck out like a sore thumb on the backsplash area behind our stove, we notified them the next day that we hoped they could still switch it out for a tile that was more similar to the others, and even though the grout had set overnight, they changed it out for us with no problem.  We could not believe they did everything they did for us in 3 1/2 days!  Super fast!  They had to come back a few weeks later because one of our bull noses for our tile had not come in in time, so they came to add that last piece.  When they came back, I showed them a place on our stair rail where their wood tear-up machine had backed into it or something and caused the wood to be damaged.  They took full responsibility and re-caulked, repaired, and painted the area.  No matter what, both Chris and Jon (and all the guys really) wanted to make sure that we were absolutely 100% happy with everything, and they would not rest until we were.  (In fact, we decided not to have them put our transition wood pieces in at our fireplace because we are thinking of having the tile re-done there too.  They basically told us to let us know when they need to come back and do that, and there is one tiny section of baseboard that went missing that they have promised to replace as well, when they come back after we decide whether we are retiling our fireplace.  Even though it's been several months, I just spoke to Jon the other day and he was like, "Yeah, just let us know when we need to come back, when you decide what you're doing.")

These guys are real pros!  I unequivocally recommend them to anyone looking to do a wide variety of home repairs.  Having a one-stop shop keeps the contractors from pointing the fingers at each other for problems, also.  I don't think these guys would have ever done that, but having one installer do everything just avoids the problem of YOU being the project manager!

These guys did a great job removing the old floor, tile and carpet,  and installing a new floating laminate.  Finished on time which was important because we had only  few days to move in.

The whole project went very well.  It took a little longer than initially expected because of the tile removal.  It was very hard to remove.

It was fine. We had to go twice to get more flooring because they underestimated the amount needed. I might consider using them in the future.

I can't say enough about the wonderful job that was preformed. Jon and Chris showed up on time to perform the estimate which took about 20 mins. I had 4 companies come in for estimates to install 1,400 sf of vinyl plank flooring we had purchased from Lowe's. Although they were not the least expensive, they were the most professional in their estimating process. Because of this we decided to go with them for the work and boy are we ever glad we made that decision!! Their first group of installers (Justin, Jason and Craig - Awesome guys!) showed up on time and got right to it, ripping up all the old carpet and vinyl then starting to lay the flooring. I had them stop after about four boxes. Not only was it not going in as easily as the directions implied, but the product had gaps and generally looked horrible. Justin the installer wasn't happy with the product either. I spoke to Jon, one of the owners that evening and rescheduled so that Lowe's could pick up the defective product and replace it with a new batch. A day's delay, but no problem right? Well the second batch was as bad as the first! What was I going to do? Our entire house was down to concrete and we were under the wire with Christmas a week away and 20 people expected on Christmas Eve for a party. Justin was in constant contact with Jon to let him know the issues with the product and difficulty with the installation not to mention my deadline. Jon to the rescue! He contacted Lowe's to come get the defective product (Crytel Fusion Vinyl Plank) and had us meet him the following morning at a local flooring store where he had already picked 4 versions of flooring. Three were less expensive than what we paid for the original product! The forth was perfect, a thousand times nicer than our original choice and just a few cents more per square foot. Exactly the color, look and feel we were going for. Luckily the local store had everything in stock and Jon was able to send out a second set of installers that very same day. John, Aaron and Kevin jumped right in and had half the flooring installed in about 5 hours. Once we changed product you could tell the huge difference just in the ease of installation and the nice clean look of the floors. They guys came back the next day to finish everything up. The finished product is absolutely fantastic and we couldn't be more thrilled with the performance of the company, its employees and owners. They all really went the extra mile to ensure we would have a floor we would be happy with for many years to come! All the guys were very professional, extremely nice and very patient with the whole process, even with the original product mess up. You can really tell the installers are sticklers and really know their stuff. Both lead installers, Justin and John, both kept me posted on their progress, cleaned up after themselves and John educated us on the product and its maintenance. His crew moved all the furniture and appliances back and even helped rearrange a couple of furniture pieces. They definitely ensure their customers are happy with their performance and the final product. Jon and crew went out of their way to help us get the floors we were hoping for, even going so far as to "gently" steer us to a better product. I'm afraid if we had gone with anyone else we would have ended up with some pretty awful flooring and no recourse. We can't say enough great things about our experience with this company. Our home looks fantastic we are so thrilled with the final product and will look to utilize their services again in the future should we need it.

After researching for over a year the type of wood and installation process we wanted for our home, we contacted several different companies. Many of the price quotes we received were vague. It was difficult to get a bottom line price for labor and materials. We also found that many installers did not even have photos of their work. Designer Lifestyles was not like all the other installers. It helps that they have a website that shows pictures of the process and the final craftmanship. Once I contacted the owner (Chris) he was quick to answer all my questions. In no time our house was measured (by Jeremy) and we were given a detailed price. The contract was typed out in a professional manner, unlike competitors who hand write a rough draft of quotes. As far as pricing, we believe that Designer Lifestyles were comparable to other companies. Considering the scale of the job it was nearly a week before the project was complete. It was well worth it. The installers were professional and friendly, and our floors look great. I highly recommend Designer Lifestyles.

The project was done professionally and efficiently. Updates were given daily. Notification of any issues/problems were timely with suggested solutions. There were some unexpected issues which were corrected as economically as possible while maintaining quality. The entire installation crew treated me with courtesy and respect. They also treated my home with respect.

Designer Lifestyles responded quickly to come do an estimate and scheduled the work just as quickly. The first day they were scheduled to work went off without a hitch. They were scheduled to return around noon the 2nd day to finish. Unfortunately, they were delayed and did not show up until approx. 4:30 in the afternoon on a Friday. Chris worked diligently and completed the work some time after 8:00 PM. While we appreciated him working so late to complete the work so as not to have to come back it interfered with plans we had for that night. In addition, he dumped unused grout in our front yard that I did not discover until the next day. They did send someone back to clean it up but there was a better place to dump it had he asked. We are very happy with the final product. I think these two brothers are very hard workers and have a good deal of skill. I would use them again and would recommend them to my friends and neighbors.

We purchased our flooring through Flooring America and they outsourced the installation to Designer Lifestyles LLC. I can not speak highly enough about using Designer Lifestyles. They arrived early, were very thorough and the quality of their work was more than I expected. When it is time to replace the kitchen and bathroom flooring I will call them directly instead of going through Flooring America.

They were very personable, I never heard any bad language and my kids were running in and out all day. They were perfectionists when it came to everything locking perfectly together. I love the floor install so much that I won't put down a rug and I joined Angie's list today to tell about it.