DESIGNfirst Builders LLC

We hired Design First to redo our downstairs including a kitchen and bathroom. I would never recommend this company to anyone based on our experience with them. The company should be renamed Disappointment First. We used this company due to the recommendation of a friend but did not realize the ownership had changed. There are several other reviews that discuss how the company’s performance degraded with the new ownership. If you do use Design First, please learn from our mistakes in dealing with them and insist upon a firm completion date with a penalty per day for missing it. Several of their competitors offer this, and in our naivete we did not request a penalty for missing the completion date. We had a signed change order with a guaranteed 12/25/23 completion date, that they missed by several months. When we brought this up in discussions with them, they were dismissive and stated no penalty so nothing we can do.

Aside from the sales and installation process, everything about working with Design First (D1) was a disaster, and a good learning experience for us. D1’s business practices are at best deceptive. The best advice I can give is DO NOT sign any contract with D1 until you first get pricing from them on their materials and labor, and then compare with other providers. Insist on an itemized estimate for every scope item and hold them to it. Be prepared to pay the contract price, or more, because if you end uo removing a scope item, something else will magically appear that costs nearly the same amount. The markups they charge are outrageous, and in the case of our countertops was over 100%. For the exact same Ceasarstone countertops which we got from Abt for $108 per sqft, D1 wanted to charge us over $230 per sqft. When pressed on the difference, they insisted we had to buy full slabs and that their pricing included a better warranty. Oddly, there is a separate charge in the itemization for a warranty, so this is clearly a lie. We descoped the counters from D1 and had Abt do them instead at a much lower cost. At several points in the project D1 talked trash about Abt. And at every point they were proven wrong. The best point being when Abt was able to measure and install our new island countertop in the same day. None of the material selections we made with D1 fell within the allowances in our contract, despite us finding the same materials elsewhere for far less. During the sales process we were told that we could shop for our own materials and come in under the allowances to save money. When we did, their designers treated us with disdain that we had the audacity to do exactly that. There was a line item for Architectural Plans and Design services of $1,624. I should have asked for this back since we didn’t use their designers, and the plans were incorrect. When the team arrived to install the island they had to remeasure so that it was centered as the plans were wrong. It's clear that D1’s gameplan is to get their foot in the door with a great sales pitch, and then change order you to death. If I hadn’t held them to the itemized list our project would have cost double or more the original contract amount. For example, the original plan was to install a floating floor over our existing tile. After the walkthrough, they asked for a change order to skim coat the tile first to ensure the floor warranty would be upheld. Very early in the build process, the project manager mentioned offhand they didn’t need to do that, probably on accident. If I hadn’t contacted D1 to adjust the change order I would still have paid the full $2,100 they wanted for work they weren’t going to do. D1 came highly recommended from friends of ours. Based on this, we didn’t shop our project around. That was a huge mistake on our part. We signed the contract for our kitchen remodel and had to wait several weeks to get our first design meeting (conveniently outside the 3 day window you have to cancel a contract in Illinois). In that time, we did our own material shopping and had nearly everything picked out, only needing their help for some final fit decisions. When we finally did have the design meeting, they seemed almost offended that we had done all the legwork ahead of time. Likely because of all the markup they were losing. Our original designer was terrible and missed meetings that she set up. In the same day she reached out in the morning to setup a meeting with her, and later in the day we received a sudden text message saying she was no longer with D1. The next designer we were assigned, Linda, is probably the most unpleasant person I have ever worked with who has a customer service role. It was clear that our project wasn’t worth her time. When I asked her to send me the itemized list of fees, she refused, wanting me to come for an in person meeting to discuss the project. I insisted that a meeting wasn’t required, the information can be sent via email. It wasn’t until their accountant, Jack, got involved that I was sent the information. At several points prior to any actual work happening I gave D1 the opportunity to cancel the contract and return my deposit, which they refused. I will say that the project manager, Derek, installer, Wjotek, and accountant, Jack, were all very solid and professional. Sometime during the course of our project we heard that the ownership of D1 had changed between our friends’ project and ours. And even they were now unable to get D1 to respond to warranty claims. The bottom line is you should only work with D1 if you have a load of money to burn , don’t care how it gets spent, and you don’t want to make any decisions.

A mixed review—great final product, terrible process. We were incredibly upfront about our budget and our priorities. We explained that the contract absolutely needed to come in below $40,000—knowing that there would be change orders and unexpected costs along the way that would likely increase that number. After some back and forth, Matt came back with some options—it came in at $47,000 but then he broke out a few "extras,", we could get it under $40,000. These “extras” were not important to us, so we were thrilled! I was out of the country at the time, but Matt told my wife that we needed to sign before a certain date (and put down a deposit) to “lock in the price” and that when I came back, if there were issues with the design we could revisit that with no penalty—which ended up not being true at all. A few problems occurred almost immediately. As we looked at the floor plans they had drawn up, we couldn’t quite understand how they fit this extra bathroom into our space.- Turns out, they didn’t measure correctly and added two feet of floor space to our upstairs. So we just asked for our money back. We circled back to our conversations with Matt about the fact that we could get a refund if the plans didn’t work out. He says that is not an option. The director of sales, Kevin, calls us and we explain. He defends Matt, tells us we want “luxury items” and that is not realistic for our price, We explain we want our money back—he says that is not an option. So we start over, use the 4th bedroom like originally planned, tell him the priorities that we told Matt, and we go back to the architects. Kevin says, “We can definitely do this for under $40,000.” So we keep walking down the road, similar things happen, but not to the same extent. Our numbers starts creeping again. We show the architect the e-mail I had from Kevin saying we can do this for under $40,000 and just like that, they take off $7,000 instantly. Why couldn’t have we done that before? We finally got to a place with a good plan and we were happy with the scope of work they were going to do, so we started. Our project manger really struggled. I would say 75% of the time she was on site it was to collect a check. Lastly, we have the change orders. We get that there are unforeseen costs go into construction. The problem is, some of the change orders were for things that were out in the open. On a load bearing wall, the change order came 2 weeks after the work was done (most of the change orders came after the work was already done— which was entirely different than the process they laid out at the beginning) and was pretty high. $1,700 to put in a small header. They told me that if I didn’t pay for these change orders, that the contractors were not going to get paid. He literally said, “You are taking money out of Oliver’s pocket if you don’t approve this change order…” I could go on but at the end of the day, we love our master bath/closet. We REALLY enjoyed working with Rod—our architect. But overall--rough, rough process. Update: After my review, I received a call from the owner, Dan. We spoke at length about the project and he was very apologetic. He learned some things about our project that he previously did not know and I was able to expand on our experience to help him better understand some of the challenges. He was grateful for the feedback and assured me that the entire team is doing a debrief of our project to prevent some of these mistakes from happening again. Specifically, he mentioned that the "change order" process will be tightened up to avoid confusion for the home owner. I really enjoyed my conversation with Dan and it meant a lot to me that he reached out. If Design First indeed addresses some of these issues, I would have no problem recommending them or using them for a future project.

DESIGNfirst did a great job designing a new open concept kitchen and dining room along with a bathroom remodel. Our outdated kitchen and dining room were due for an overhaul. The design process was very professional and they were able to make revisions to meet our price range. The lead designer, Danielle came up with the innovative idea to We closed on financing and everything went into lock down literally the next day in March 2020. DESIGNfirst was able to guide us through material selection via videoconference and was very flexible in sending multiple samples to our door due to the pandemic. Demo started May 10 2020 and the work was completed late July on time and within budget. Could not be happier with the project manager Gary and the construction crew that made it happen each week. They were very attentive and professional following up on minor details and able to work around some minor kitchen faucet and tub shipment delays due to the pandemic. The remodel looks great and we look forward to enjoying the kitchen and dining room for years to come. Thank You DESIGNfirst!

We worked with Linda at DESIGNfirst to scope out initial designs for multiple variations of a major multi-floor / multi-room remodel of our home. She was extremely helpful in proposing and developing design ideas and effective at working with her team to turn around our proposal variations in a timely fashion with high quality. We ultimately held off on our remodeling plans for reasons completely unrelated to the outstanding work Linda and DESIGNfirst provided. We hope to revisit our remodeling plans at the right time, and when we do, we know who we'll call!

It went very well and I'm very pleased with my beautiful, updated space!. There were a couple small issues that caused minor delays, but my project manager, Rick Divito, helped me with them to complete the work. I would definitely use Design First again and I have recommended them to friends.

This whole process went smoother than expected and all done in the middle of a pandemic. We love the work Design 1st did on our home and never imagined our home could have all the new features they provided.

We are very pleased with the result of our remodel. We wanted a complete gut/renovation and this was our first major renovation, so we were of course concerned about cost and time--and not knowing really what questions to ask. DesignFirst was a great partner through the project. Their designers came up with a thoughtful design, but were also happy to tweak things that we wanted to change. Their customer portal was modern and allowed us to review all the choices we had made, payment milestones and records, etc. They also have a nice showroom and a good selection of styles and materials for things like cabinet styles/hardware and stone materials. For some small items like cabinet handles/pulls, we were able to find exactly what we wanted through a third-party and it was no problem at all for us to buy there and have them install it. It was nice to find a company that was ok with us buying some items and not forcing us to use all of their vendors. The project manager was always very responsive to any questions as the project went on. We were a bit unlucky in our timing as the Covid lockdown hit our project right in the middle. But the GC and contractors were always respectful and had masks when on the property. And somewhat surprisingly our timeline was not really impacted because of the lockdown, though it was obvious that the company and contractors were having to jump through extra hoops to get things done on time. One thing that was key to our project was the relationship that the company and its lead contractors seemed to have with the city inspectors. Their contractors were obviously known for working to code and making any changes the inspectors asked for correctly. Our inspections went smoothly, and this is one of those areas where "you get what you pay for". I think we paid a fair price and got great work in return.

Amazing team and experience from start to finish. We went down to the studs and the outcome came out exactly the way it was drawn up. They acknowledge any of my concerns and came up with great ideas and results. All the workers were very timely and friendly. They treated my house as if it were there own. We couldn’t be happier!!!!

Our job started on February 18 and completed July 2, 2020. The work that was done in our home - so far - seems to be good quality. Time will tell if the work is solid, but so far, so good. If you have your pick, request Gary and Jack to supervise your job. They are both top notch. Kordi did a great job on the architectural design. Internal staff are also very pleasant and responsive. There are some things to be aware of during the sales process. 1) Look carefully at the original estimate provided during the contract phase. Examine exactly what will be done, and look very closely at the 'allowances' provided for finishes such as tile, counter tops, hardware, plumbing fixtures, etc. I would recommend getting a list of all fixtures required and pricing them on the internet before signing to be sure the estimates are close to reality. The “allowances” for these items in our contract were deceptively low compared to actual cost, and by the time you get to the “selection” phase of the process, you will have already signed the contract (with a substantial payment). Middle grade finishes increased our project by $35,000 (50%). Example: allowance in the original contract for granite/quartz countertops was $3000, but middle grade quartz was $8000 to $9000 – and the first one we were shown by D1 was $11,500 (almost 4 times the original pricing estimate). There were no granite or quartz options available for $3000 for the amount we needed. 2) Purchase all plumbing and bath fixtures on your own. D1 pushes Koehler and charges retail-plus pricing. You can buy the exact fixtures on builder.com, amazon and other sites for up to 40-50% less and have them delivered right to your home for free. 3) Nail down a realistic timeframe for completion. The sales department had been to our home twice, and was well aware of what work needed to be done, as that was how they put a design and price estimate in place. We were told 6-8 weeks when we signed the contract, but on the day of the walkthrough, just prior to the commencement of work, we were immediately told 12 weeks based on what needed to be done. The job actually took more than 4 ½ months. Three weeks were related to permit problems. This had nothing to do with delays related to COVID19. 4) Cabinets for both baths and kitchen were D1 custom made, beautiful, high quality and worth the money. The attention to detail by the various craftsmen was very good. Overall we are very happy with the finished product. Most concerns were addressed quickly and fairly. I would hire them again. Knowing what I know now, I would just be much more careful during the initial phase of the planning to be sure we stay on budget and get realistic timelines for completion.

We could not be happier with our new master suite. We added a master bath and walk in closet to our bedroom. Design First did a fantastic job from beginning to end. Very professional, clean and courteous tradesmen came into my home and I felt very comfortable with everyone involved. Would highly recommend Design First to anyone looking to remodel or add on to their home.

We received multiple estimates, and decided to go with DesignFirst Builders for numerous reasons. Promptness, Showroom, the amount of different types of cabinets, counters, tiles, flooring and more. They also had numerous prices and quality from low to high depending on the cost of the addition to which build. From the start to finish of the project we dealt with multiple architects, designer's and project managers. Anytime we called or left a voice message we were contacted within the hour. Lastly I want to give a shout out to our project manager, ( Rick Divito ). Rick went above and beyond from the begining to the finish of our addition to make sure everything was perfect. If you want your project to be perfect I highly recommend using Designfirst Builders. They are the best !

$200889.75. This is the total cost of D1's role in the remodeling of our north side Chicago home in 2019. In summary, what amounted to about 100 sq ft in new foundation allowed us to open up the house to make it more usable on the first floor kitchen/family area and then gave us the opportunity to extend backwards to gain a new master bedroom, closet, and master bathroom. On top of all this, they were able to split a very large bedroom into 2 smaller bedrooms, upgrade our electrical regarding service and compliance throughout the house making a former 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home into a 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home and gaining us about 350 sqft. All this was done without having to sacrifice any of our yard space, either. In detail, this was what they did provide in relative order of events: 1) A sales pitch and 3D rendering of the potential layout of our remodeled home 2) A very detailed spec sheet that outlined everything they were going to be responsible for doing down to the measurements. I'd have preferred that the spec sheet was itemized with cost, but there were a few times I did ask about actual cost for some items in order to see if I would be gaining savings or not elsewhere and they were able to oblige. This spec sheet was probably what sets them apart from other general contractors, and perhaps other firms that are in the 'design-build' part of construction. 3) Architectural drawings, the labor to go through the stringent Chicago permit process and some work to navigate through administrative adjustment/variance processes due to setback issues with our home as it stood originally. 4) Design and selection help/ consultation of not only floorplan but of things like kitchen island design, master bathroom design, etc. 5) Demo of an existing deck 6) Laying foundation where original deck was 7) Framing from new foundation to second floor master bedroom, bathroom, and closet. 8) Demo of walls that lay inside the new frame to open up first floor and second floor 9) A new roof to extend to new rear footprint of home 10) Insulation for new areas 11) Electrical upgrade from 100 amps to 200 amps with the help of ComEd 12) New electrical to new portion of home 13) Replaced electrical to existing part of the home that failed electrical inspection (read below for details). 14) Plumbing for master bathroom 15) Drywall and patching for the entire house 16) Trim and interior doors 17) 5 year warranty on the work they did 18) Upgraded HVAC venting for most of the home What was not included was: 1) Glass exterior patio door 2) Plumbing fixtures 3) Major light fixtures 4) Interior painting 5) Exterior painting 6) New hardwood floor installation in the new footprint of the home. 7) All permit fees 8) Cleaning services Those items ran a total of roughly $13,000, but that also saved us about $8000 had we used D1 to procure those items or provide those services, which they were open about regarding their cost and potential savings if we did the legwork on our end. The major surprise was the electrical inspection that failed with the existing part of the home. In short, inspection revealed that the existing house was using bendable conduit to run electricity throughout the house so the ENTIRE home, including garage had to be re-done with rigid conduit, which meant not only new electrical work but then the following new drywall work to patch up the areas that were now impacted. My only gripe here is that had we had known this would have been an issue, we could have gotten some cost-savings by addressing it all at once. We felt stuck in ways because 1) it was something that was needed to be done to pass final inspections, 2) we had the freedom to get a bid, but that would mean delaying the construction further by that time to get electricians out, assess the situation, come to an agreed-price and schedule, etc. The balance between time and money was a motivating factor to go with the existing electrician through D1 to gain the warranty on the work. They said we could go directly with the electrician and save about $2500, but then the work wouldn't be under the D1 warranty of work. We decided to go with paying D1. In the end, I think we were able to get some flexibility in price because we stretched ourselves to pay for this in cash. While their sales lead crunched some numbers and said that they were able to offer the agreed-to price due to other projects going on relatively at the same time, we took that with a grain of salt because well, the timeilne of when that/those project(s) was going to start after permitting didn't make it seem that plausible that the level of trade labor coordination could ever run that smoothly. I'll admit…I probably wasn't the best customer. I was into their details during the construction process because I just wanted to make sure that work was being done and we could get in within a reasonable time and the amount of money we were spending warranted that I get the details of who, what, when, where, and why whenever I felt a need to know. We were out of the house for 4 months from late August to early December. The final product lived up to our expectations, and only living in it, has let us realize that those expectations were exceeded on a lot of points. We were able to transform a very old Chicago home that had our accents In them into a more useable and livable home for our family of 5, and making the decision to do so now verses later on in life has given us the opportunity to enjoy this space more with only really 4 months of not living as comfortably as we would have liked as the only downside. The staff that we worked directly with were all professional and great, especially our project manager Meagan who was equal parts proxy, soundboard, and an empathetic person to our concerns and needs. She is smart, responsive, and someone who really does take the point of view of the customer when she does her work. I only have good things to say about her. Kudos also to Sam (architect), Megan (designer), Eli (superintendent) and Justin (lead PM). They all were responsive and helped keep things moving for us. In regards to the trades, their electricians were the ones that stood out the most. There were several days where they would start at 530am and then stay passed 6pm. While I say I'd love to work with them again, I hope we don’t have to, because we seemed to have done it all for now. I would wholeheartedly recommend them with this summary…they do great work and have great people, but what they can't do, and what no firms can really do, is prepare you for the ups and downs of construction drama that is really the anxiety of wanting a finished product called your home sooner and better than it was before. They can make the process as smooth as possible for you, and if you want to undertake being involved, you can be, and it may frustrate you, but if you let it all happen, it may be all more enjoyable. This was a huge learning experience for us, and gave us a better understanding of how things operate in the construction business. It also gave the knowledge to answer back with a snarkiy remark when asked 'How long will it take?' and I answer 'about 4 months' and they respond back with 'oh, you mean 6 months?' I can say, 'oh, did you also go through a major 200k renovation on your home?. Ha! Thanks D1!

Design First was EXCELLENT and very knowledgable on remodeling. Their amazing staff helped my husband and I select all of our options while keeping in mind our budget. The kitchen was done about 2 years ago and I haven't had one problem! The process was very smooth and everybody notified me about anything and they even provide an online portal for you to get update! 10/10 RECOMMENDED!!

outstanding quality work and just nice people to do business with.

We had a GREAT experience with Design First Builders. We gutted out first floor, walls came down, bathroom moved...complete gut job. Fully expecting the horror story that remodeling can bring, the Design First Team really takes this into account. We didn't have any major issues come up in the process and any minor issue was discussed with the Project Manager and a quick, easy solution was made. I am in the construction industry and would recommend Design First to anyone including thinking of our next project.

We are delighted with our new kitchen. We have a design and look that went beyond what anyone else proposed. We are very glad we chose DESIGNfirst, which we recognized right away was an ethical, above-board, well-managed company. Their process included using Buildertrend software to facilitate communication and transparency. The software enabled us to see 3-D images of what the room would look like as we worked through the choices available, which was a big help to us. Buildertrend also contained a calendar indicating work to be done on a daily basis, daily logs, a record of the product selections we made, change orders, and a running total of expenses incurred and paid. Signed documents were attached and comments and messages were easy to use. The entire process encouraged open communications and discouraged misunderstandings. We had a terrific team, including Architectural Designer Heather, Interior Designer Diana, Construction Manager Justin, and our outstanding Project Manager, Gary. Sandra was a gracious and significant administrative help throughout and Marketing and Client Relations Director Tara kept tabs on the project. The subcontractors provided high quality work and Gary went above and beyond to complete the project to our satisfaction.

DESIGNfirst did an amazing job on my kitchen. There were a couple minor snags but the end result is gorgeous. The team is fabulous. It was nice that they handled everything about the project, I just had to show up. I would hire them again and I definitely recommend them to anyone doing remodeling or an addition.

Loving our home!!! Still can't believe it's for real some mornings when I get up and go into the bathroom - or the kitchen..... I feel like I'm living in a dream because I have exactly what I always wanted! The project wasn't without it's hiccups, but no one should expect a remodel of any size - especially one of THIS size - to go without SOME sort of problem. Some are beyond anyone's control, and others - well, you have to work with the project manager - and if they don't help, Design First has an AMAZING client relations manager (Tara) - who will get it done! Again, we love our home - and think they did an amazing job. We are particularly happy with the quality of the tile work.... everyone who sees the kitchen back splash and shower/tub loves them - in fact, everyone who comes over loves everything too :) Apparently our style and the work of Design First was a good match! THANKS FOR A GREAT JOB!

The project went very well. It took longer than was estimated, but my wife and I were very pleased with the quality of the work and the professionalism of the folks that did the work. We used DesignFirst a few years ago for a basement remodel and were happy with that project as well. They are certainly not the cheapest, but I would say that they are committed to having happy and satisfied customers.

I hired DESIGNfirst to expand a part of my basement by dropping the floor, and they also removed some columns & a support beam. Danielle H. first built a computer layout of the work we wanted done, which was very helpful for us to visual the scope of the project. Matt M. was the lead engineer on our project and he was great to work with... very professional and thorough in his answers whenever I asked questions. The job took a few days, as one crew had to dig down about two feet to drop the floor; dirt and rocks were put on a conveyor belt that ran out through a hole they cut around an existing window. Meanwhile, another crew another cut out an old wooden support beam and replaced it with a steel one, which eliminated support columns that really opened up the space. Finally, DESIGNfirst hired a local cement company to install drain tile and then pour & smooth out the new concrete floor. All in all, we were very happy and pleased with the experience, and would recommend DESIGNfirst to anyone contemplating a similar project.

Our project went very well. I was nervous at first losing my kitchen but they did such a great job in the end it made it all worth it. Their process was the best and Heather was great when we met her. I did not get as good of a feeling with the others I had come out and some were much higher in price. I am glad I went with DESIGNfirst. The entire team was great, Diana, Justin, Rick. Sandra who set the appointment is so very nice and always welcoming. I never felt pressure or a salesy type of attitude. I would recommend them for sure and if I ever have other projects Ill be calling them back.

I could not have asked for a better end result. I received everything I wanted in my new kitchen. The team was wonderful to work with from start to finish. I enjoyed being able to select the materials for my counter top and flooring in the beautiful showroom. I would recommend DESIGNfirst to anyone looking for a remodeling project. I plan to call for my basement update soon!

Tony was great to work with during the planning and design. He and his designers (Diana) had great ideas, yet were very receptive to my input. They did not rush me to make design decisions and gave me lots of options. They also allowed me to source many of the materials myself, which saved me quite a bit of money. The scale of the project was large as we live in a very old house and tearing walls apart can be very scary. They were fantastic at communicating during the construction period and the firm has an excellent online calendar/project schedule (also an app for your phone) that I looked at daily. It also outlines all of you costs and changes, which was great to being able to keep track of the expenses. The project did take longer than expected (which I wasn't happy about), but Tony was great at talking me off the ledge and explaining the delays, as well as working with me financially on some of the design issues we had at the end. It was a very dirty rehab (old walls) and they did everything they could to keep the mess to a minimum and protect that rest of the house so that it would minimally effect our day to day life (huge bonus). I found all but one of the contractors that they used to be extremely professional and wonderful to work with. Our project manager was always available via phone or text and came by almost daily to check on the project. He (Derek) and Tony were fantastic to work with and genuinely cared about making sure that we were happy with the process, design and final product. We ended up with two fantastic new bathrooms that look exactly as I had envisioned. Thanks Tony, Derek, and Diana!

Everything went as well as we had hoped and were told it would go by people that we know did work with them.