Dream Kitchen Designs LLC

After many years of considering a much needed kitchen remodel we decided it was time. We made trips to “big box stores,” listened to friends’ recommendations, poured over websites and magazines and then discovered Dream Kitchen Designs of Cranford, NJ at a home remodeling show. We visited with a number of design/installers but it was Dream Kitchen’s Greg Poszyler who made the most sense. His decades of experience were key to our selection. He guided us in so many ways. From the first appointment in his inspiring showroom, to his personal measuring of our existing kitchen, the unique design, choice of cabinetry, countertop, backsplash, lighting and appliances, we were guided by his knowledgeable and professional input. Greg and his son’s tireless craftsmanship, consideration and attention to detail and neatness were unsurpassed. We thoroughly enjoyed having them in our home and were actually kind of sad when the job was completed. The results exceeded our expectations, fell within budget and timetables and their dedication to perfection provided us with a “Dream” kitchen we look forward to waking up to everyday!

Dream Kitchen Designs offered a single-source solution from design and materials through installation and renovation. Their impeccable knowledge, expertise, creativity, selection and pricing is what differentiated them from the numerous Kitchen cabinet/remodeling companies we researched over a six-month period. Their professional design software gave us the exact detailed picture of our requirements and Greg's experience and creativity enhanced it to perfection, exceeding our expectations. And what surprised us the most, all within our budget. They offered a very wide selection of products, designs, textures and colors including custom cabinets, amazing innovative accessories and functionality (that we use every day), striking molding options, countertops, flooring, backsplashes and appliances. We were easily able to coordinate the perfect colors and styles without the hassle and confusion of hunting down stores and searching for products with other companies. They were intimate with every product, feature and what every manufacturer offered. Another huge selling point was the installation by co-owners whose expertise in remodeling streamlined every aspect of the installation. Their complete knowledge, creativity, craftsmanship, speed and attention to detail (including sheetrock, spackling, door/window molding and painting) was unparalleled to any other contractor I've ever worked with or hired. From demolition to the finishing touches they completed the entire kitchen in a week and a half flawlessly. That eliminated the nightmare of a general contractor coordinating timing and different resources to install the multiple components of the remodeling effort, which always results in extensive delays, increased cost, quality issues and finger pointing. Dream Kitchen Designs delivered everything they promised from start to finish, worked with us throughout the process to stay within budget and with their one-stop-shop and single point of responsibility made the entire process a very painless and enjoyable experience. Our kitchen is literally a dream come true! (the picture is only one side of the kitchen)

I found Dream Kitchen Design at a home improvment show that was in my local area around June 2011. The work was 99% completed except for brackets that were to be installed on all cabinet doors which stops the doors from slamming shut and a drawer that will not completely close. I have since made several calls and have spoken to both Greg (owner/installer) and his wife who answers the phone in the office... always to receive the same response "I'll call you on Friday so we can set something up". It's now 2 years later and I have just given up.

It did not go well. The workmanship was very sloppy. Floor kick panels left with screws jutting out. Left the entire kitchen a mess, didn't clean up after any of the work. They forgot to put the Lazy Susans in the 2 corner cabinets before the counter top was placed. Cabinet doors were not properly aligned. Had to get another plumber to come out and fix the sink their plumber installed. Very few of the mounting screws were placed flush with the wall.

Greg, Sr. designed our ?dream kitchen? and the cabinets were set to be installed at the end of June. When the demolition of our old kitchen was finished, we found some issues and the cabinet installation was pushed back to early July. Greg told us the cabinets should be installed first before the new flooring was laid. We were very hesitant because we thought if our dishwasher or refrigerator ever leaked, the water could leak thru to the subfloor and cause major damage. That should have been a red flag to us that this company liked to do what was easiest for them, not necessarily what was right for the customer. Gregory, the son, came to our house to take ?before? photos and told us installation would take 2 to 3 days max. On July 9, the first issue arose when our $2400 mantel style hood was installed. It was way too big and did not look like what we thought was ordered. On day 2 when Gregory came back, I told him we wanted a new hood. This was too overwhelming for the space and looked nothing like the picture. When I showed him the computer generated design in our plans he said the scale was off. We were sold something that we only saw on the computer drawing. Maybe Greg should have shown us an actual picture from the manufacturer? We got over how it looked but we wanted it to be smaller. I hit my head on the corner because it jutted out too far. After being told this was the only hood of this type that was made, we were stuck with it. Gregory removed it, cut 3 inches off the back and moved it up 1inch. Although it looked better than what it was, we were still not satisfied. It hung much too low and close to the range. Gregory told me, ?If I start cutting any more, it will damage the integrity of the unit.? This was the first lie. I was not happy but he was not going to do any more and I did not want the piece to fall apart? I just wanted my kitchen completed. When the cabinets were installed, one set of upper and lower cabinets needed to be replaced with a larger size set to fill up the wall space. This was Greg?s mistake when he originally measured, so the correct ones were reordered at the time of installation. He realized his mistake prior to installation but never reordered them. We also were missing finished end panels, rollout drawers, and a soft close hinge. Nothing major, but we had an empty space for the last set of cabinets. Our countertops were already installed except for that last piece. Gregory received the order and came on August 15th. He showed up with the cabinets and nothing else. He said that was all that came in the shipment and they yelled at the company. He put up the cabinets but did not finish it with the crown molding, knobs, and toe kick. He said he would be back to do it when the rest of the order arrived. So now we had to wait again. We had our tile backsplash installed in September so the kitchen would look more complete. Finally on October 25th (now 10 weeks later and 3 ½ months from the start of the job) Gregory was set to finish. On October 24th, we had someone come to look at the job to install the venting system within the hood. The installer immediately noticed that the hood was way too close to the commercial style range. He told us that it was a fire hazard because of the amount of heat that was put out by this Wolf range. The wood was a combustible material and could potentially catch fire. We were livid because we knew something was not right back in July and Gregory would not fix it. The next day when Gregory came, I told him about the problem. He said it was absolutely fine and that it would not catch fire because it was sealed and the venting system would take up the heat. He proceeded to blame the vent installer for causing us unnecessary concern. He arrived at my house around 10:00 AM and stayed in his truck making phone calls and looking into the issue for 4 hours. At 2:00 PM he said that he needed to further investigate as there was conflicting information between the manufacturer of the range (Wolf) specifications and the vent (Best) specifications. He believed at 22 inches above the range, he was in the clear. Wolf stated a minimum of 30 inches from a combustible material. Gregory seemed concerned and told me if this really was considered a fire hazard at this distance he should ?take down the hood right now and not even leave it up until he figures this out? because if a fire should start tomorrow, blame would fall on him. He left there without removing the hood and for the next week or so, we did not hear from him. He had gotten the appliance company involved and tried to get them to make the decision so the blame would be off Dream Kitchen. By the following Friday, now 8 days later he decided that it can be taken down again and cut to bring it up another 5 inches to 27 inches (still not enough by Wolf?s specifications). However, in July, any more cutting ?would damage the integrity of the unit?. Now that he knew it was a potential liability for the company, he would cut it. In all of this long drawn out process, we did not hear from Greg Sr., the one who designed the kitchen as well as the owner of the business. It was his mistake and never once owned up to it or at least called to apologize for the inconvenience. We understand that he may not have known the specific requirements for Wolf but he should have taken responsibility for this error. He let his son deal with the predicament. The one time we actually were able to speak to him on the phone is when my husband told Gregory that he was so annoyed he would let them walk away from the job. We would hire another contractor to complete it, and not pay him the balance owed. THEN Greg Sr., who was listening in, got on the phone yelling that we better pay and they will fix this. No apology was given. Gregory came about 3½ weeks later (now November 27) and brought the hood up about 4 ½ inches. We had empty spaces from where our tile backsplash was missing. Greg Sr. said they would not take money off our balance to get more tiles or pay for someone to fix them. Gregory did the right thing and used a couple of extra tiles we had to fix the job. Had the hood been raised in July when we asked him to, before the tile work was done, this would never have been an issue. Gregory finished the rest of the outstanding work (the finished end panels and the rollout drawers in the pantry). The soft close hinge had not come in with the order (again). He also put the toe kick on the last cabinet installed. I noticed that the wood on the toe kick did not match the others. I went over to touch it and it felt rough, not like the smooth finish on the cabinets. When I asked why it looked different and horrible, his answer was ?That?s how it came from the manufacturer. Not sure why. I?ll order you a new one?. I realized later that was another lie. I saw him in my garage earlier, staining a piece of wood. For some reason he did not have the piece for the toe kick. He salvaged a piece of scrap wood, turned it over and stained it as best he could to match the cabinets. Gregory often talked about the quality of his workmanship and how he took pride in his work and wanted things done the right way. This was done quickly just so he could get paid for the ?completed? job, assuming I would not notice the difference. I did not appreciate that. When it came time for payment, I asked Gregory to offer us a fair price on what we should now pay for this $2400 hood, that had been taken down twice and had approximately 8 inches cut from it. We noticed the imperfections on where it had been cut and the spacing around the design was now no longer even. We settled on $300 off the price, which we had hoped that for all the trouble and inconvenience they could have given it to us for less. The remaining $2700 balance was paid. Gregory said he would be back when the missing soft close hinge and the correct toe kick came in, but have not yet heard from him. We are done with Dream Kitchen and are offended by how this job came to a close. We understand that renovations have issues and complications that arise. Although, we did not expect this lack of customer service, complete disrespect, and lies from this seemingly ?nice small family run business? when they sold us our $30,000 in cabinetry! Very disappointing.

I saw a display from this company at a home improvement expo in Teaneck. The display included cabinets, appliances, granite countertops and flooring for $8,900, all inclusive. I spoke to the representative who was the son of a father/son team. He was polite and informative. I waited for a call, but finally had to call them for an appt. I spoke to father on the phone. He was upset that no one from his office had followed up and apologized, saying he didn't like to do business that way, and he had a reputation based on responsiveness to clients and good customer service. We spoke for a while, exchanging pleasantries and recounting stories about how nice it was to work with honest and reliable individuals, and how, with many other companies, customer service was not the priority it should be. I arranged for a visit. He arrived 40 minutes late, although he had called to advise that he was behind schedule. When he arrived I attempted to tell him what I wanted done, but was interrupted constantly in a rude and condescending manner. He proceeded to tell me what he would and would not do, advising against moving certain appliances, even though I wanted to expose a window that was covered. He reminded me frequently that he had been doing this for 30 years, as if that was justification for his refusal to listen to my ideas. Whenever I attempted to explain what I had in mind, he shook his head and said it wasn't advisable. In his opinion, none of the things I wanted to do should be done. His manner and attitude were so unpleasant that I did not even have him take measurements. as he headed for the doorHe said if I did things the way I wanted and it went wrong he didn't want to be the one responsible . Unlike him, I was polite, thanked him for his time and escorted him to the door. I have no problem accepting advice from experts, but when those so called experts don't listen to a potential client before insisting they know better, they are not someone I want to work with. Frankly, I was stunned that the person I met with was the same person I spoke to on the phone. Before we met he was polite and enthusiastic, but after he saw me his manner changed from courteous to condescending. Perhaps he made certain assumptions about me that were not true and he was disappointed with the reality of our meeting. It is unfortunate that his inability to focus on the job at hand instead of the fact that the client may not have been what he expected caused him to lose a potential client. I hope, for the sake of his business, he changes his approach and revises his concept of "customer service". I won't go so far as to say the customer is always right, but one should at least listen to all the customer has to say and try to come up with workable compromises or solutions before rejecting ideas without consideration or discussion.