Margaret Carter Interiors

Margaret was great. She really has a good eye for color and organization. I was really nervous about the work I wanted to get done to my kitchen. I needed advice and assurance from a professional. Margaret was just that. She provided a lot of helpful information and tips to make my kitchen and dining space the best it could be affordably. She talked to my contractor too to essentially interpret my vision to him to minimize confusion about the final product. She gave me so much advice about things I never even thought about for our living space.

Margaret arrived on time, and was very pleasant to work with. She was careful to work with both my husband and me to ensure we both liked our final selection. Her flooring suggestions were excellent. We love the new LVP we selected and can’t wait for it to be installed!

Margaret and Pete were a great help to us. Margaret did some work on my moms house and I really like her style. My husband and I were working on a major remodel and we needed to design and plan. Margaret and Pete helped us in so many ways. Pete drew up the plans and Margaret made a bid proposal that we used to get contractors to bid. They nailed down all of the details. If I had not used them, I would’ve made many mistakes. Margaret and I are now working on the furniture, wall colors, and selecting tile. I did not want to pay Margaret to buy and manage everything. She was great at helping me do it myself. She is a great teacher. I would recommend them to anyone doing a project where budget matters. I also love Margaret’s taste. Don’t know what I would’ve done without them.

I am so excited about my project with Margaret. I was reluctant to hire a decorator because I have heard how expensive it can be. Margaret is not that way. Margaret basically gave me a project list of what to buy and where to buy it from so that I could furnish my house on my timeline as I can afford it. I did not expect her to be willing to give me such great specific advise on what to buy since I wasn't going to purchase anything from her. She knows what style I liked and we selected together what was going to work for my house. She also gave me new paint colors for my kitchen, Family Room and Hallway. I wish I could do it all at one time but Margaret made me feel Okay about paying as I go over the course of a few years. I will need to have a follow up appointment in a year or so but right now I have plenty to do. Margaret's advice was well worth the pay. I would highly recommend her to anyone who needs decorating advice.

Margaret and Andrea were wonderful to work with. They helped me find great wallpaper and fabrics so that I could update my home. The access that Margaret has to fabrics and wallpaper way way surpass what you can find on the internet. Unless you have a designer, I just wouldn’t have had access. Now my house looks completely original and people rave about it. Margaret’s taste was gorgeous and Andrea did a great job with handling the orders and keeping me appraised of the different steps that we needed to take to order. Raymond, the upholsterer, was just a sweetheart. All in all, Margaret Carter Interiors, is a great team. I will use them again in the future.

I hired Margaret to do a paint color consultation for my townhouse. I really didn’t want to do a one color neutral throughout. I’m really happy with everything we selected. She also gave me great advice on how to hire and manage a painter. She doesn’t recommend anyone, because she has her own team. But I had time to be at home and hire my own. I didn’t realize how many questions they were going to have. Margaret really prepared me for that. That was an unexpected bonus. She also taught me some tricks in order to get fair and reasonable bids.

I live in Derwood with my husband and three children, and we decided to do a major remodel on our house. We both work full-time jobs, so I have limited time to do research. Every time I went onto Houzz and looked at ideas, I loved so many different things, but couldn't make any decisions about what to include, and what was over the top. A friend recommended Margaret Carter Interiors, and I invested some time in researching her to make sure I found the right designer. Because I had heard horror stories from friends about working with contractors, architects and designers, I wanted to make sure she was the right fit for us. Margaret stood out as the absolute right choice because she had the right balance of creative vision and practicality. Margaret was my first point of contact because of my friend talking me into using her. I’m so glad she did! Because she had 18 years of experience of project management, she helped me find the right builder and that builder had an architect draw up the plans. I really didn’t want to be a project manager. Fees, cost and budget were married very well into how we worked very well as a team. And between the contractor and Margaret, they set me up with the right expectations so there were no surprises. Margaret ended up saving us money by making some practical decisions as opposed to image decisions. For example, I thought I wanted two sinks in every bathroom, and Margaret recommended I put 2 sinks only in the master and the kids main bathroom. The other two bathrooms I kept a single vanity with a larger counter-top. What ended up being the most fun was selecting new furniture for the family, living, dining and master bedroom. The kids had fun picking out furniture for their rooms as well, including curtains, and pillows for their beds. My favorite part of the house has been the fabrics and wallpaper that Margaret brought in that absolutely made me feel like my personality really came through. I like things clean and updated with a sense of whimsy and unexpected pops. I think you could say that we have ended up becoming great friends and she knows my family really well. As far as Margaret’s billable time, she always aired on the side of under-billing, as opposed to over-billing. And she threw in some great suggestions of discount websites for certain products. We worked on this project for almost a year and I couldn’t be happier. I'm a known "complainer" and will complain if something is wrong, but I never complained once. It was a great experience!

Margaret has done full-service design work for me in the past (updating my living room, dining room and master bedroom). I had a great experience with her, her staff and contractors. All were professional, punctual and responsive. I now want to update, but not wholesale replace, my kitchen, and I invited Margaret over for a consult to make sure I was headed in the right direction with colors, materials, etc. She was perfectly on time, professional, and INCREDIBLY helpful. She also gave me additional helpful hints for the project. She completely understood my desire to manage the project myself to keep costs down and to use lower-end materials on some things. (She suggested a splurge on my small backsplash, and gave me some names and companies to check out.) I HIGHLY recommend Margaret. If you need a decorator with an amazing eye, a professional demeanor and that listens to you, she's the one. The fact that she's incredibly nice is an added bonus!

I am an architect specializing in residential design and I found originally Margaret Carter Interiors through the Houzz app. After seeing some of her wonderful designs and reviewing many sterling recommendations I felt that her style and taste would compliment my work. I was not disappointed. I have worked with her on numerous projects now and they have all turned out fabulous! Some of her major strong points include furniture selection, tile and finish choices, kitchen and bathroom details and where I think she is especially brilliant is for color consultations. She is simply incredible with colors! She has also been a great help to me in the selection and placement of lighting fixtures. I know from personal experience that she adapts well to a client's needs, desires and budget and is great at maintaining contact and following up with the architect, the homeowner and the builder. Margaret Carter Interiors is an excellent choice for many different facets of interior design and comes highly recommended. Peter Tokar, A.I.A. Architect

We are very happy with our results. and it was absolutely worthwhile to fly Margaret down to Texas for 2 days worth of work and consultation, which I'm sure saved us from making mistakes which would have cost us both time and money. Working with her is always a pleasure, and having a fresh perspective from a trained eye is invaluable. I'm sure we will continue to consult with her in the future.

the work was extraordinarily well thought out and has made my home very special.

Margaret arrived on time and did try to be as efficient as possible in the use of her time throughout. She listened to me and made a number of recommendations and suggestions that I had to write down (I took notes), including dome practical things such as exact color references, measurements for where the TV should go, number of recessed directional cans, etc. She did not leave any plan but said she was available for questions afterwards at her hourly price. She adopted my own idea for the flooring (but she did not seem to know this modern material/brand). She definitely has good ideas and knows design/aesthetics. She suggested accenting the fireplace with tiles all around and gave some good advice for the lighting and colors for painting the walls, ceiling and some cabinets. She is nice, polite, professional and quite fun at times. Unfortunately a lot of what she recommended was not feasible in the end or was unnecessarily too expensive or complicated to realize (with a contractor I trust and is A rated on Angie's list), like putting tiles around a very narrow brick frame around the fireplace... which I eventually decided to only have painted. Her suggestion of painting the wood panelling was almost as expensive as having drywall, because of having to sand and prime etc. (so I chose to drywall). Painting the cabinets was also way too expensive to realize (so I won't). Her suggestion of where the TV and sound system would go ended up questionable (even aesthetically) and I will have it on another wall. And I also could not find her paint reference numbers online (but I will find something approximately similar in shade). Finally, her suggestion for having about 12 directional cans on my ceiling to light the cream colored walls (or art on them) was not entirely good because there are only 4 to 5 places really needing such, the rest needing other types of lighting (center of room and above mirrors or A/C ducts blocking half the light). Overall I found I had paid a relatively (too) expensive price for her services (even after deducting the 15% Angie's List coupon on initial hour). And I would have had to pay more if I had gone back and asked questions (which I decided not to do).

Margaret Carter gave me great advice. I was stuck with too many ideas in my head and indecision. Her experience and knowledge of the trends and store inventories was super helpful. I had been working with another decorator and was very frustrated. After spending $1,000 I had nothing to show for it. After a couple of hours working with Margaret Carter, I was on track and able to make decisions about the decor of our family room.

I hired Margaret last month to do a color consultation for a handful of rooms in my house. We discussed the colors for my entire house in our consultation, which lasted less than 3 hours.?My main concern was making sure that the?wall color didn?t clash with any of my artwork or rugs, but weren't bland either.?We ended up with?a great mix of warm colors that I loved and a few neutrals, which I was?hesitant about, but it turned out to fit perfectly.?Margaret also gave me an estimate on the?paint and labor costs, and some pointers about how to get a proper bid?from the painters I had found.?Now that the painters have finished, I can?t believe how different?and lively the house looks; the walls blend perfectly with the artwork.?I am very happy?with the suggestions Margaret had given.?

Problem solved! I'm about to do a face lift, not a major renovation, for my kitchen, which has frustratingingly ittle work space. I'm so glad I chose Margaret based on her excellent A.L. reviews. I asked for a consultation, and she suggested numerous ways to add space and make other significant improvements. From shelves to plants to paint color to throwing stuff out, I can't wait to implement her suggestions. While she was at it she took a quick look at my newly redesigned bathroom and made a really creative suggestion that was outside the envelope and is going work great. Opting for a consult was a great idea.

Leah did a really great job of sourcing products, that she sent to us us electronically, Margaret truly understood our vision and led us all the way through. We loved her sense of humor and her absolutely excellent taste. Paying for their hourly consultation was worth every single penny!

It didn't go terribly well. The fact that she was so dishonest was kind of upsetting. She also wasn't helpful on top of that. I would not hire her. She works with Benjamin Moore, I guess. I thought they were going to work out. But, they didn't at all. They really weren't very good choices. It was $100 for one hour of consultation. She was pretty responsive.

Margaret was wonderful and professional.??Extremely pleased with her skills and ability to explain her choices and preferences and she listens really well.

The price was fair. To improve our experience, they could have sent a professional interior designer who had been with the company for more than a month. I don't know how long she had been with the company, I didn't ask that but she seemed like she had been hired the week before.

fantastic - Margaret was extremely helpful and a joy to work with.

We just moved into a new home in Old Town, and the size and configuration of the common areas, in particular, meant that our old furniture would not fit. In addition, my husband's mobility has deteriorated in the last year, and I knew we needed to replace furniture so that he would have armchairs and other accommodations that would make it easier for him to get in and out of a seated position. Margaret came to our old home before we moved to get a sense of our style, to see what kind of furniture we had, and to make recommendations about what furniture to part with. She and I created a list of priorities for the new space, which we have mostly adhered to, although now that we have moved in, certain needs have shifted the priorities a bit. Margaret has been extremely flexible in what might otherwise be a frustrating process. She has helped us design shelving, we have gone furniture shopping - what a pleasant experience to go to a place where the staff really know the furniture, can help you select what will be comfortable, and then choose fabrics, all in about 90 minutes! - and are now working on curtains, rugs, and paint colors. The project is still in process, but I only have praise for Margaret and her team. She has been careful to work on things I cannot, she has quickly assumed ownership of my husband's needs and keeps those front-of-mind, and she has been unfailingly pleasant. I am probably a bit difficult to work with, because I have never had a decorator before, I tend to want to just get things done, and I am not a perfectionist when it comes to home decor. Margaret is patient and helpful, even in these circumstances! I look forward to continuing to work with Margaret to unify and beautify our home! I do not have a lot of experience regarding pricing, other than the experience of buying furnishings at retail. I have been delighted with the pricing on furniture we bought through her. The carpet source she works with yielded a price for stair carpeting that we all agreed -- Margaret included -- was too high, and we ended up selecting a carpeting source we had used in our old house. We are paying an hourly rate for her and her staff's time, and I do not have experience regarding the competitiveness of that rate. I think we feel we are getting value for that time. We are trying to do a good bit on a moderate budget, so Margaret has been cost-conscious in the choices she is offering, which we very much appreciate. It will help our money go a bit further. We have been candid about what we are willing to spend on certain kinds of things, and Margaret has been candid in return, advising on ways to save, and where it makes sense to spend a bit more. In all, I give Margaret high marks, and very much appreciate her willingness to roll with all the zigging and zagging I have done as we have been settling into the new house and identifying and re-prioritizing needs on the fly. Kudos!

Leah was great. She arrived 10 minutes before the appointment time, and got right to work after getting some details of what I was looking to accomplish. She provided 4 sketches with a layout for everything that I would need for each room, including measurements! Great service, I would use Margaret Carter Interiors again.

We decided on Margaret Carter Interiors based upon reviews on Angie?s List and she worked fairly exclusively with a contractor (Guery) who she indicated she had absolute confidence in. The initial consult went fine and we also met with Guery. We wasted over a month going back and forth on cost estimates for work as Guery was very high in some areas (painting, shelves, kitchen cabinets, etc.) After we decided to go with other providers on things we thought Guery was overpriced on, Margaret decided it would be best if we dealt with Guery directly and paid her hourly when we needed her for paint colors, etc. We were a little surprised by this and contacted Guery to meet us at the house to measure for kitchen cabinets we would purchase through a major home improvement store. Guery showed up late and did not even bring a tape measure with him. He told us he would get us the measurements the following day, which he did. We went to order the cabinets and sat down with their kitchen designer and discovered some of the measurements did not add up. We paid the home improvement store $99 to send someone out and measure and it turned out Guery?s measurements were incomplete and incorrect (some as much as 5 inches off). Had we ordered those cabinets using his measurements, it would have been a financial disaster. I tried several times to contact Guery and he did not return my emails. My husband called to give him one last opportunity and when he called, Guery did not know who he was or remember the house. My husband informed Guery we would not need his services any longer. Ultimately this review is as much about Guery as it is Margaret Carter Interiors, but if she works exclusively with him, I would exercise great caution as there seems to be no sense of urgency or attention to detail on his part. Margaret Carter Interiors may not want to work with you as we found out if you do not do everything through her and Guery. After all the hassle, we received a bill from Margaret Carter Interiors for the time it took to get estimates, which we promptly paid to be done with the entire poor experience.

My husband and I hired Margaret in the fall of 2014 to help us with a few things around our Arlington home. Margaret had so many great ideas that we were inspired to expand our project and follow Margaret's lead. We laughed a lot about our old style that definitely needed to be refreshed. Our one room ended up being a refresh of our entire home! Margaret's sources were much better than what we could find on our own. When we purchased a second home Margaret was the first person we called for help to set the vision for what has become a gorgeous industrial/loft style retreat. Margaret is not only extremely knowledgeable but fun, and talented. We felt that Margaret made our interests her priority. She advised me on where to buy things on our own as well as adding some "Margaret pieces" to the mix. Margaret created with us two spectacular homes and it has been effortless to work with her.

I don't usually write reviews of service providers. In fact, I don't think I have ever written one before in my life. But I feel compelled to write one regarding Margaret Carter Interiors. I've worked with Margaret going on ten years now. She has basically re-modeled every single room in our house, including our garage and laundry room. Her workers are top notch; her design and color skills extraordinary. She is lovely to work with -- funny, honest and kind. I have three teenage boys and wanted to create beautiful and welcoming spaces that were also strong and durable. Every single room that she re-did for us has held up. Somehow, Margaret is able to combine exceptional designs with a high degree of functionality. I will continue to use her again and again. She is the best game in town!