Star Kitchens

They completely gutted out my kitchen and re-did it all. The service was wonderful. The service planner made the designs and if I wanted something changed, he would change it then ask again. He did all the measurements for the remodel. He subcontracted some of the workers and made it so that I only talk to him and not everyone else. He did exactly what I wanted and if something was wrong he got it fixed. It took about two months to gut kitchen, wait for parts and install everything.

I spent 3 years researching kitchen designs to both update my kitchen and fix a lot of design flaws that come with a builder grade kitchen. I even paid for 5 different designs from 5 different kitchen remodelling companies. The last design came from a designer at Bray and Scarff where we got our appliances. It ifnally solved the last flaw that noone else could solve. So I was about to give them the actual business of the entire remodel. I gave them a budget of $50K including appliances and they came back with a quote of $80K not including appliances. I was furious because that was a waste of my time. Then they behaved like a used car salesman and went in secretly to the manager to see how they could get a number closer to our number. To make a long story (2 months) short, they never reached my budget and they chopped a whole lot of what I wanted out trying to get there so we walked away. But I had paid for the design so I had that. At that point, I went back to Star Kitchens because out of the 5 companies, I felt that they had the most knowledge, experience, common sense and I gave Richard the design and my budget and asked if he could do it with everything I wanted. He said he could do it for $55K. And he did. Richard is a chef, a cabinet maker, an engineer, and a kitchen design guru. What a combination! As a chef, he suggested my husband stand in front of the stove in the show room pretending to cook so he could evaluate his height against the beutiful hood we wanted to make sure my husband's head wouldn't bang into the corner of the hood and get hurt. As a cabiinet maker he made some custom pieces for our cabinets that the cabinet company didn't supply and then shipped them up to the cabinet maker to have them stained in the same color so our cabinets look more like furniture in one part of our kitchen. As an engineer, he made sure our exhaust fan was the proper size for the cooktop and our duct work was the right size. As a kitchen design guru, we have an awesome ktichen! His subs were excellent - the tile guy did amazing work for very inexpensive. The electrician had a huge job (we had bad wiring original to the house which he fixed along with adding a new panel in our basement and other things). The plumber was in and out so fast I never saw him. Richard's foreman has been with Richard since the beginning - 20+ years. That tells you something. My husband's one complaint with the foreman was that the house wasn't clean enough for him when we got home from work. I thought it was fine. My husband is a bit picky about those things while I was more picky about the work being done rather than the cleanup. The foreman also did some side work for us, installing our old kitchen cabinets into our laundry room which was really nice. The tile guy also put in new tile in the laundry room because he had some left over from a previous job that matched our kitchen perfectly so he did that on the side as well. We ended up getting a new laundry room for very little money as a bonus. We signed the contract in December. They started in April and finished in June. We were without a kitchen for 2 complete months. Not bad for a total redo.

Star Kitchens did an excellent job of renovating the bathroom/closet/office area off of our master bedroom. The head carpenter/project supervisor and all of the craftsmen they used (electrician, plumber, tile & flooring) were topnotch as well. Care was taken cleaning up each day and to avoid tracking dirt up and down our staircase to the second floor bedroom area. Everyone was easy to work with and helpful implementing a design we pretty much had in mind when we started. A suggestion from owner Richard Bussey gained us unexpected extra closet space. We were very happy with the result and would recommend them to anyone.

Their prices were fine. The owner, Richard Bussey, was very detail oriented, very precise with measurements, and cared about the final product.

Not well. They do an average job, but when you pay an above average price, you expect better.

This is an older Annapolis and quot;Historic Districtand quot; house (1879), although the kitchen had been somewhat updated in the 1960's. The old cabinets were removed, which showed the need for a repair of one of the walls. An extensive update of the electric wiring, including removal of the old knob and tube wiring, was required. In addition, the old tile floor was removed (the tile had been laid over a 2-inch concrete layer over the old floor) and a new wooden floor added. The sink was moved to a new location under a window. The new cabinets had to be attached directly to the brick walls, through a thin layer of old and quot;horsehairand quot; plaster. The plaster had to be repaired in some locations. New tile and a granite countertop was installed. A new gas line was run. Finally, the kitchen was repainted. All updates and construction had to be performed and inspected according to applicable codes, which the designer took care of. The kitchen designer supplied all the workers and supervised the process. The designer was always available to answer any questions, and all his workers were trustworthy, personable and very competent. The high-end and quot;customand quot; cabinetry looks very nice!

They were some good things and some bad things. The kitchen and all the work were excellent, professional and beautiful. The quality was very good but the price was changing all the time. There was an enormous escalation of cost.

I had a special situation where I could not be around for the renovations. I tried another service and they were terrible, but I hit pay dirt with Star Kitchens. After my experience with the other contractor I decided to go for just the kitchen. On faith I went to Star Kitchens and met Richard Bussey. He was just what I needed although I had to take everything on faith at the time. I learned that he concentrates on kitchen renovations, but had done baths in the past. He could manage the job even with me thousands of miles away. He walked me through the possible designs for my kitchen listening to all of my ideas, told me how to save money on my baths and kitchen and, later, would kept me up-to-date on where the renovations were. Even though it was not part of his business, he took care of other things that had to be done like fixing a window and replacing the water heater. Certain challenges came up in my renovation of an older place like electric issues, plumbing, and uneven floors. He fixed them all within the agreed budget and the results were beautiful. I can't stress enough how on top of it all he was (fulfilling my design wishes, making sure the work and materials were quality, and keeping me in on the work and decisions through it all). It has been a few years and I am in a new (but older) home, but I think of Richard all of the time. I know I can trust him and because of this I am planning on using him for the renovations of this home when the time comes.

See above

Richard Bussey (owner) of Star Kitchens was always supportive and informative during the pre-contract phase, to help determine my needs and the best way to meet them. He came out to the house to do measurements, and generated a design as part of the proposal process. This included a rip-out of the existing kitchen, the removal of an old tile floor and installation of a new floor (through a subcontractor), providing and installing the cabinets, and applying decorative finish molding. It also involved extensive electrical work, plumbing, gas installation, plastering, and tile application (again through subcontractors). He had to work within the existing dimensions of the original kitchen. My wife and I liked the design, and felt he quoted us a fair price, thus we accepted the offer. Due to unforseen (but not unexpected) problems in an old house (circa 1890), and the need for scheduling of several subcontractors, obtaining permits etc, the kitchen rehab took about 3 months. I had a problem with some of the cabinet doors, but these were sent back to the factory and re-worked for no additional cost. Mr. Bussey was always helpful and supportive during the process, and his workers were always cheerful, cooperative and skillful in performing their tasks.

The work cost me over $50000 on the job. I asked around a couple of places. They installed cabinets for me. They demolished the old kitchen and they did lots of electric work. They also did flooring work, plumbing, and painting work. They were very good. They were very personable. The owner was very accommodating and very good workman. There was a problem with the door fitting of the cabinets, but it was not his fault. They were not the cheapest, but they were not the most expensive either. The company was great, but they did have some problems with the cabinets. They have not fixed it yet. I will continue to use them in the future.

It had some good points and some bad. I am very happy with the end result. It looks great. Star Kitchens really stood by the quality of their product. They were really easy to work with regarding changes. On the other hand, they were expensive. Part of the quality of the product relied on very good workmanship, which comes with a price, but they really kept the work going and got it done quickly.

His crew is fast, courteous and extremely competent. He has done a number jobs at my place and not only does he do great work, but he is a honest and nice guy. So if you are looking for great work at a great price, give them a call.