DESIGNfirst Builders LLC

It was only estimate, but he really helped me a great deal. I would recommend to him others. He was professional and knowledgeable.

Overall: I really liked working with Design First. From start to finish, they made the process painless and in the end, I was very happy with the quality of the work. I will definitely consider Design First for my next remodeling project. Price: The project came in right on budget. I had to pay 50% up front, 25% at start of work, and 25% on completion. Quality: I was very pleased with the quality of the work. In the end, the new closet doors and framing matched the design exactly as I expected. Furthermore, there were a few "punch list" items that I asked Design First to address after construction, which they did no problem. Responsiveness: I worked with Matt M., who was very responsive over both email and phone. I mostly used email, as that was easiest for me. Punctuality: I met Matt at the project site a couple of times, and he was on time. The only part of the project that went long was the bathroom door. It was a non-standard size, and had to be special ordered which took a little bit longer than expected. Professionalism: No problems here. Matt was very professional. Additionally, the team did a good job leaving the construction site clean and organized when they were finished, which I think is another sign of a professional crew.

Our initial meetings with Steve were very encouraging as he offered lots of suggestions and alternatives in terms of the final bathroom design. He also took us to a house where his company was carrying out extensive re modeling, which again provided some additional ideas and allowed us to assess the quality of the work being done, particularly in the bathrooms. After signing the contract and agreeing the start date, we were introduced to Jack who was to be the project manager and he explained in detail the sequence of events which would take place. He came to our house almost every day during the project to ensure that everything was being done properly and that we were satisfied with the results. The guys who did the work were very friendly and worked efficiently and in a tidy manner. We were extremely happy with the overall result, which has been admired by many of our friends, and would not hesitate to use DESIGNfirst for future projects.

They came out to the house and did a decent presentation, but never sent an estimate. We had several other companies come out, all of which had an estimate either on site or within a couple days -- except for DesignFirst.

They were both architectural and remodelling firm which was one of the reasons we picked them. Their presentation was good and ensured that it included certain specific areas that we had discussed earlier. We were pleased with the designs. They were very professional and courteous in terms of working with us. We liked their demeanor. The only reason we picked them was because one of our friend?s referred them to us.

Designfirst delivers quality, service, and competitive pricing. I will use them again.

Designfirst stands behind their work and provides quality, service, and competitive pricing.

The job has not been totally completed yet, but so far I'm very delighted with DESIGNfirst Builders.

After selecting Design 1st as our 1st choice for the remodel, we decided to pick up and move instead of taking on the project. This decision was soley based on the state of the housing market at the time and the fact that we had actually accumulated some equity in our current home despite the market conditions. I would absolutely use them again for any design projects on our new home and recommend them to all of my friends and family.

This is my trial run for the eventual windows in my house. I have wooden windows that are stained on the inside and wanted to do a little trial before I make the investment for all the others, which will be a significant investment. I had about 3 companies provide quotes. I am far from a window expert, but window brands I looked at included Anderson, Marvin, Pella and Milgard. At the end of the day they all have their pros and cons. In my first house, I had replaced the windows with vinyl. This house is much more of an undertaking. Full replacement custom windows with stained wood interior, grills, and all the works. I wasn't as much concerned about the window as they all appeared to be solid quality, but more of the cost and quality of installation. In the end, I went with Adam and Tony at Design 1st and the Milgard window. It was a custom order and took about 4-6 weeks from the time we said go, until the install was complete. This was at least 2 weeks faster than any of the other places. This particular window is a dual-casement (so really 2 windows) milled together with a fiberglass frame and fir laminate called WoodClad. Adam came over to install with a help, took out the old window. Installed the new, stained cleaned-up and all in less than a day. They took their time to make sure both the interior and exterior was the appropriate match. This even meant a couple extra trips to better match the stain and trim on the interior. In all the window looks and functions great. In fact, makes we want to pull the trigger on the other windows all the quicker. When I do go that route, my first call will go to the guys over at Design 1st.

Tony and his team were efficient, professional, honest, and fair. We are thrilled with our bathroom - and only wish we'd hired Tony at the beginning!

Went very well. Weather did not cooperate with some little details however the project was completed on time and professionally.

He was exceedingly organized. He uses email and he has a really thorough budget process and each line item is described in detail. He actually uses go-to meetings, so we had a meeting discussing further details. Overall, he is amazing and we have not come across anyone that is this detail oriented and organized. He contacted us right away and he called to follow up. For the first meeting he was a little late.

Tony was very detailed and involved from start to finish. I have worked with contractors before who never show up after the initial sell but Tony did not work that way. He was at our house several times a week checking up on things and answering questions if we had any. He was also very helpful in the design aspect of the work. My wife and I had an idea of what we wanted but there were certain details that we didn't have much of an opinion on. It seemed like at times that there were thousands of options and Tony did a good job breaking them down to a manageable group. I have had numerous comments from people who have seen the house since we finished and the primary compliments that we get are on the overall design and on the quality of the kitchen cabinets (designed and built by Design 1st). The guys who actually did the work were a good group as well--punctual and polite. Tony is very committed to the quality of the final product and the way that the design works together. The only reason that I gave a "B" for price is that due to his commitment to this final image I felt that he was too willing to go over budget at times. I never felt like he was trying to milk more money out of me (and we're only talking $1-$2k on a $60k job), but given the choice he pushed for the higher end products to ensure that the finished product would look as good as possible. I wanted a good looking finished product as well (which was why I hired him) but once we set the budget in the beginning I wanted to stick to that budget even it meant making compromises in certain areas. We ended up finishing pretty close to budget, but I felt like it was a little harder to get there than I would have liked. If you are looking for a detailed oriented project manager who is very committed to the quality of the final product than Tony is your man.

The guys were all very nice and did great work. They were even very kind and friendly to a very inquisitive one year old that always wanted to know what was going on down in the basement.

We had been considering changing the layout of our basement for quite some time, specifically we wanted to add a bathroom and change the layout to include an office. However, we had been holding out mostly due to our basement already being finished and we could not find a layout that worked well for us and didn't eat into our existing "spaces". We had discussed with several remodeling contractors and were eventually referred to Design 1st. We met with the Design 1st team to show them the existing layout and give them our requirements. Within 2 days Tony provided a design that far exceeded our expectations. He was the only contract we spoken to that was able to keep our existing spaces and provide some options on how to incorporate 2 new rooms and a bath. With some minor tweaks we were able to come-up with a design that met our requirements, schedule and budget. We were ecstatic. The craftsmen at Design 1st were professional and courteous. They were polite to our family, kept their work area clean, and were out of the way (as much as possible). During construction, they would take us and show us the progress that was being done and what was coming-up. You could tell it was proud quality work, and there was nothing to hide. IN addition, we were often consulted on choices. We appreciated that and it made made us feel involved in the process. The craftsmen themselves were clean-cut and trustworthy. We had no problem leaving them alone in the house. Now all that said, I can assure you will get sick of having a bunch of guys heading into your house early every morning and start making noise. Just remember you are doing a remodel and you aren't going to get any better than the Design 1st guys. Design 1st team did all the work, except for painting and carpet, which we chose to do ourselves. I included a list (and there may be more) of all the things they completed. The end-result is everything we expected and then some. In my opinion, the upfront design work was the main benefit and highlight. That is proving to be true as even though we already had a finished basement, we use it a ton more now with the new layout. Many thanks to the Design 1st team, and you'll be hearing from us soon when we decide to do either our kitchen or master bath next. List of items performed by Design 1st: - Architecture/layout - demolition - framing - drywall (including mud, tape, sand) - electrical (outlets, lights, heated-floors, etc) - plumbing (sink, toilet, ejector-pit, fixtures, steam-shower, etc) - window installation - furnace - tile (floor and shower) - woodwork/trim - custom cabinetry

From the beginning we had the benefit of Tony's wonderful design ideas, His eye for tile placement is very creative. He also suggested ways to save on costs such as not going to the ceiling with the tile which at first I disagreed with him on, but it proved to be a way better choice. looks much better. He also suggested to "save" our cabinates by updating them with a beautiful oil base black paint. They look new. He also shopped for granite remnates instead of a new slab. When renovating the smaller bathroom they came upon a problem with our copper pipes inside the walls were all pitted and leaking, all pipes needed to be replaced. Because of Tony's cost saving ideas we had all of our pipes replaced for very little over our original estimate. His workers are all very hard working, punctual (sometimes too punctual-We had some real early days.) and clean. I really trust Tony's vision, he sees versions of designs that may have not been thought of before, but at the same time is very open to your ideas and will try to implement them whenever possible. Design 1st Builders strike me as a company that TRUELY appreciates the business and all referals. They do not take any job for granted and will NEVER forget a client. You feel as if you are the only job they have. I can't wait to use them for our addition that we are dreaming of. Well Done!!!

It went well. Steve was there every day to inspect the work. He has good ideas is up to date on energy saving products and green materials. The employees were trustworthy. I felt comfortable leaving them alone in the house. My kitchen and bath are beautiful and I'm happy with the quality of work.

THey did very good work, on time, neat; we were able to live in the building while they did the construction. They had to remove the whole roof, so with weather delays, they were able to keep rain and snow out of the building! I would highly recommend them !!

Timing and scheduling worked well. Craftmanship and quality was exceptional. Overall great experience. I highly recommend Steve and his team.

The process went extremely well, They were were there when they said they would, I was kept aware of every step in the process. This project was not small, it began in July and completed about two weeks before Christmas. They quickly responded to all questions and issues that came up. I have a close friend that I refered to Design 1st, she also had work done. I was able to see it, and it's beautiful. I've reached out to this company for other smaller projects and they've always been quick to respond. The employees are meticulous with their work and you can tell they take pride in their work. When you work with Design 1st you're not getting the construction guy that says "yeah we can do that." You get the whole package, you get the design element and the construction all in one. I can not imagine having this work done with anyone other than Design 1st.

We are very pleased with Design 1st workmanship. Our experience with them was wonderful; we had heard a lot of horror stories through family and friends regarding other contractors leaving the job and coming back in two weeks or a month and not getting calls back. We got none of that! Design 1st did a wonderful job for us and we never once worried about them not showing up when they said they would; they where very punctual and precise about the work they did on our beautiful home.

Excellent customer service, but I just could not afford the final price of the bathroom remodel price. The estimate I received from Mr. Slade came in double from other estimates. I appreciated Mr. Slade's attention to detail in his estimate as well as his follow-up communications. If cost was not an issue for my project, I would definitely have chosen Design 1st.

Slow initially as our plans were completed painfully with city. Once work started, project moved fairly quickly given size of House Re-Build, even with severe weather issues through winter. Very challenging effort to rebuild a Victorian from ground up and duplicate all old-style wood trim throughout. Also, did so while pursuing LEEDS designation, first ever in Illinois for a remodel/rebuild. All-in-all, very good job.

Remodeling sucks, but...as far as the general contractor, honestly I could not have asked for a better fit. Design 1st is a real Design/Build company. The designer worked with me on every detail, not just construction but style, color, finishes. The project grew, some things dragged, but in the end my designer was with me every step of the way. We should be finished in a week, and everyone who sees all the thought and care that went into my project is blown away. IT'S FABULOUS - I am so proud of my project and "new" home!