North Shore Kitchen Design Center

We first Hired NSKD to do design work for a major remodel of our kitchen. We were really looking for ideas at that time, as we knew we wanted to refresh the kitchen and change the layout in a major way. Paula and Sara patiently worked with us through possible layouts and options – maybe as high as 10 different potential options. Once we chose a few options and started to consider the details and costs of the finalists we did decide on a layout, and refined it slightly more based upon cost and on some dimensional challenges. North Shore ended up with the remodel contract and used Elite Construction to do the work. They were both professional, attentive to detail and timely in their responses. The project finished in what both said was the most aggressive time they could hit - ahead of the expected time and in time for us to host a family Christmas gathering. Scope of the job included gutting the kitchen; removing a 45 degree corner to open up the kitchen; shortening a wall between the kitchen/family room; running the same tile flooring through both rooms; adding to the electric box; replacing a hot water tank; and in the kitchen implementing a new layout while replacing all cabinetry, plumbing, electric, lighting, countertops/backsplash and appliances. We have been using the kitchen now for two months, and could not be happier with the finished product.

It went well. I have beautiful walnut cabinets, you can’t believe how beautiful they are.

My walnut cabinets are gorgeous. Jim English worked with me to address some of the architectural challenges we needed to work around.

Slowly, but with high quality. Paula came up with a creative concept design, far more ambitious than other contractors (at correspondingly higher cost -- but worth it!) . Paula & Sara provided thoroughly professional and precise CAD drawings of the project. Paula's esthetic sense is nearly flawless, yet was adaptable to our own tastes. Unlike most "designers", Paula understands engineering as well as decor, and this was invaluable. She constantly facilitated communication between us and subcontractor and vendors. The individual workers provided by the subcontractor were all communicative and extremely careful to get it right.

Contractor was great to work with and had top notch professionals doing the work. Very high quality and the end result was amazing.

Fabulous. Sarah was a pleasure to work with! The cabinets she recommended and provided are beautiful and the quality exceeded our expectations. Sarah listened to our needs and designed the spaces perfectly to our desires.

It went as scheduled. Materials, products and workmanship were all excellent.

These folks are true professionals. We are delighted with the bathroom and are about to begin a kitchen renovation with them. Highly recommend North Shore to anyone considering a new kitchen or bath.

Our experience with North Shore Kitchens was nothing but positive. When any questions or possible problems arises with the project they were very quick and attentive to taking care of our concerns. They made the design and installation process a great experience. The prices were a little more than we expected but we soon found out that you get what You pay for. The quality of everything from materials to sales and design consultants were top notch. They recommended a great contract that was also top notch. Our project was started and completed within the set time frame. Which is huge when you hear horror stories of contractors staying in your house for weeks/months longer than planned. Our project turned out amazing and a year later I am still in awe of it. I would recommend NSK to anyone.

I sent Paula this email "Just wanted to give you an update on our Wine Club Party that we hosted. It was a success! Everyone complimented us on how beautiful the craftsmanship was in our wet bar area and how it complimented the rest of our home. The Copper Dune Quartzite was really a conversation piece with the graining in it. Everyone kept touching it. Please pass along our gratitude to everyone who was involved in making the area so attractive - you for the design and coordination, Ray and his son for their exquisite carpentry skills and comic antics which added to the pleasure of having them work in our home, Armina Stone for cutting and polishing our Copper Dune and sending out someone who did a really good install, to Jane at Habitat Hardware who found the perfect hardware to compliment our existing 30 year old hardware and supplying the Waterstone Annapolis Prep Faucet & its unique finish that ties everything together. A little bit of jewelry. I spoke to Jane and thanked her and told her I know where to come to find unique hardware and where to send our friends as well. I wanted to pass along that Jane had really nice compliments about you as well for your professionalism. She enjoyed working with you as did we. Again, thank you and I will be sure to send your name and North Shore Kitchens and Bath’s name along to anyone I know who is planning on a remodel or building a new home for that matter. I am sure that your future projects you are involved with will be very successful."

Jim and Sara provided detailed plans for our entire renovation. We received drawings, and a detailed quote for the work. Pricing was inline with another quote we received, but the level of professionalism and the detailed drawings of our plans were unparalleled. Working with Jim and Sara is a true collaboration. We shared ideas and worked together for a final process. Sara's creativity is unparalleled. Jim's industry contacts are a fabulous bonus as well. Sara had wonderful ideas for all aspects of the job and spent hours of her time going with me to select tile, upholstery, paint colors, lighting, etc. We love our new space and would absolutely recommend.

The design work was completed over about a 3 month period in spring/early summer 2016. Much of that time was for us to think about what exactly we wanted in our kitchen- North Shore was always very prompt in providing us with updated specs/estimates etc throughtout this design process. We were nervous having never done any kitchen design, except for buying a few appliances. We went to a few design firms for similar requests – North Shore was the only group to provide us with a variety of potential designs, ranging from no change at all to completely changing the layout of all our main living areas of the house. They listened to our requirements but also stretched our imagination in showing us alternatives to consider. Jim spent over an hour with us during our initial visit to his showroom just educating us on all the choices available in kitchen-related materials. He and Sara were terrific in spending time with us – walking us through all aspects from defining an initial design to all the very specific choices along the way. They went out of their way to accommodate our schedules in setting up meeting times. They went to lengths to explain pros/cons of various design choices, materials etc. The final contract was detailed so that there was no question what was included (and not included) in the scope of the project. They provided detailed designs, including 3 d photographic type simulations of what the design would actually look like when completed in our space – down to colors/styles etc. And it was very accurate! As result, we knew what we were committing to and ultimately were extremely happy with the results of our wonderful new kitchen! We felt throughout the process that Jim and Sara were wonderful partners to us and had our best interests at heart. They had an excellent relationship with the contractor who implemented the design – it was a seamless transition in ensuring that the contractor knew down to each detail the design decisions that we had agreed upon. North Shore Kitchens provided the general oversight through end of project completion. The timetable for the installation turned out to be just what was estimated – approximately 8 weeks elapsed time (mid-September through mid-November, 2016). Jim and Sara were excellent at providing realistic expectations to us and accurately estimating the overall timeline and holding to that schedule(along with their implementation partner, Elite Renovations Corp). We would strongly recommend North Shore Kitchens as an excellent kitchen design firm.

The process went great from start to finish. Very professional staff and contractors. Would recommend to anyone looking for a design build firm.

They started working with us on the design in the fall of 2015. It was a fantastic collaborative process. We gave them our ideas and they put it together. We went back and forth on the design until we were completely satisfied. Once this was complete we started to pick materials. Again, they provided us the pros and cons of all materials so we were able to make informed decisions, When the actual work began ( it was a total gut job) they worked with us to provide answers to all our concerns and updates on what to expect next. Also, a reasonable timeframe. The project completed near the end of May 2016 even with the additional add on project. They were Wonderful to work with. Professional, knowledgeable and wanted I be certain things would be perfect. And they are. Totally satisfied and enjoying a beautiful new kirchen?????????

I researched the company and read the reviews. On Sunday June 5th I went to there website and filled out my information on the Contact Us tab. I was emailed a Case Number and I expected to hear from them. By Tuesday, June 7th I had not received a call.I was very busy at work this week so I did not get a chance to call them during office hours. I decided to call and leave a voice mail on their answering machine. I still have not received a call back. I guess my kitchen remodel will go to someone else.

The process was great from start to finish. They were patient with us as we made our design selections and helpful in showing us how it would work in our kitchen. Their contractors were clean, friendly, and respectful of our home. They are true professionals.

If it is possible, we actually enjoyed this remodel. We were saving money for several years in anticipation of remodeling the kitchen. We had been talking about what we wanted and designing the space for the last 3 years and met with 3 different contractors when we came to a dead standstill - where we remained for another six months due to never feeling certain that we were ready to begin. After consulting Angie's List for kitchen design services, we decided to stop by North Shore Kitchens just to see if there was any hope of getting unstuck in our planning. The first and maybe most important thing Jim English and Sara Doliboa did for us was to gain our confidence. We both left there finally feeling like we were really ready to get started. We selected one of the plans, made a series of adjustments that took us slightly into our dining room space, which they redesigned as well. They said they would be as involved or as uninvolved as we would like until the project was complete. Having little experience doing anything like this, or spending this much money, we took full advantage of their offer of assistance. They kept us informed of everything that was going on and what to expect; they worked with the various suppliers and coordinated deliveries; they worked with the contractor and kept the project moving at all times. Jim and Sara were available and responsive on every occasion - and we were needy. The work crew was lively, hard working, considerate, fun, talented and seemed to enjoy their work and each other. The work (which included gutting the entire kitchen down to the rafters) was done in 8 weeks, as expected. Having to pack up and find a place for everything and figure out how to shop and cook without the use of the kitchen is not fun, but I can say I had fun working with Jim, Sara and Elite Renovations during this project. It was so exciting to work with a "Team" focused on our project, to pick out everything start to finish, and then watch the daily progress. The end result is absolutely amazing. Our kitchen AND our dining room look much bigger though there was no expansion. It is just extremely well-planned and the space is so well-utilized; it feels like we have moved into a new house. We love it everyday and would highly recommend the services of Jim and Sara at North Shore Kitchen Design Center.

I got several estimates on this job and Jim's was in line with most (but not as expensive as some). I was getting semi-custom cabinetry, so that is a big expense. I knew exactly what I wanted my kitchen to look like aesthetically, but I needed help planning the space and figuring out if we could easily remove a wall or not. Jim and the contractor (Larry Wetmiller of Elite Renovations) looked everything over and figured out that we had a non-load-bearing wall that could come out pretty easily. Everything went pretty much according to plan, on time and on budget and I have a beautiful, functional kitchen now. Larry and his crew are awesome!!--really responsive. Larry is a perfectionist in the best possible way--he'll work on something until it is right.

We had previously used North Shore for our kitchen renovation in 2007. At that time, they were great to work with both in the design, which Jim and Sarah did, and the contractor, Rick Jackson. Our kitchen was demoed and rebuilt in under 6 weeks and we had use of the sink and oven within 3 weeks. When we contacted Jim for our bathroom, he gave us a reasonable bid and nice design for our master bath. First, a master bath remodel is very painful. Not just because of the absence of a bathroom but because of the dust that gets into your bedroom every day. Even though the contractor built a barrier to prevent dirt and dust from getting into the bedroom, a lot of dust got out. Every night I would try to dust and vacuum but still we had respiratory issues for the duration of the project. No fault of the contractor - just a fact of doing a master bath. Our contract had stated 4-6 weeks depending on the cabinet delivery. Our cabinets were delivered before the project started so I felt confident that the timeline would be met. The contractor, Elite renovations and Larry Wetmiller were nice but SLOWWWWW. After 2 weeks the demo was not complete. Larry was not there but his laborers were. After 4 weeks, were were billed for the final billing but the bathroom was nowhere near being complete. There was some drywall but nothing else. Our bedroom was a staging area and filled with tools, vacuums, fixture boxes. The cabinets were stored in our hallway (we were expecting a few weeks but turned out to be 2 months). When I contacted Jim English about the slowness he responded to me in the most unprofessional email I had ever received calling me 'unreasonable', difficult and generally insulting me and telling me I was not complimenting the contractor enough and Larry was feeling bad. It was unbelievable. They were weeks behind schedule and I was supposed to make him feel good? The project finally got done - in all it took 10 weeks to complete with most of the work being done in 8 weeks which was 50%-100% more than contracted. Far more unpleasant than it needed to be.

We couldn't be happier with our new kitchen. Jim and Sara took great care and attention to detail from the start of the project to listen to our wish list and to custom design a kitchen to fit our family and our tastes in materials etc. The attention to detail resulted in a result that included things we had not even thought of like opening up our pantry to be included on he overall kitchen with matching cabinets as well as a custom coat and storage area to blend seamlessly into our design and remove all clutter from our kitchen. The quality of materials and design expertise used by Northshore causes them to be pricier than other options in town but you get what you pay for. Not only are we blown away by the uniqueness of our kitchen when we encountered a few unforeseen issues with our cabinets which was not the fault of northshore but a defect in the material from the manufacturer, Jim and Sara worked behind the scenes for us with little effort on our part for complete replacement of all defective items on a timely and prompt basis and visited to oversee the corrections themselves. This hands on expertise and approach to customer service is nothing short of excellent and I would use them again for future renovation projects without hesitation. I also want to point out that we interviewed and got estimates from several kitchen I companies and were blown away in that Northshore is in a league of their own. I can't even compare their price to anyone else because the quality of the product was so superior it was a no brainer. Also as part of the review process Northshore has e installer they will be using on your project come to the home for you to meet as well to ensure that you are comfortable with the team for all aspects of the project. Larry Wetmiller of Elite Renovation Corporation did our installation and his work is impeccable. Between the incredible custom design and attention to detail and the first class installation we are sure to enjoy our kitchen for years to come.

We evaluated several vendors and designs for our new kitchen before selecting North Shore. Jim English and Sara Doliboa provided the most innovative design which made the best use of the space. The idea was to remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room and open up the space. The result is great. We have so much more usable space and the kitchen, which had been cramped, is now open and roomy. In addition we have access to and use of the dining room that we hadn't previously enjoyed. The work was performed by Larry Wetmiller as a subcontractor to North Shore. Larry is a skilled craftsman who takes his work very seriously. Larry's crew was great. They always arrived on time and always left the job site clean. The work took 9 weeks to complete, but progress was steady and continuous. That included some downtime waiting for the quartz countertops to arrive. Larry took care to use plastic curtains in the work area during the de-construction phase so as to minimize dust and dirt. They quality of the final product is exceptional. They installed a new tile floor, cabinets and ceiling. We couldn't be happier. We would recommend Jim, Sara and Larry at North Shore Kitchens to anyone looking to do a complete renovation.

They were very good, very professional and friendly. The price was very reasonable and they did a very beautiful work. They were always on time.

Jim was great to work with throughout the planning process. He was able to take our ideas and show us options for accomplishing them, always helping us explore the pros and cons of every major decision. We always felt he was ?on our side? making sure we got the best value possible. Jim provided excellent resources for items we needed to select, including tile, counters and appliances. During construction he kept us up to date on deliveries and the coordination of other process issues. Fred Whitney and contracting team were very good to work with as well. They quickly brought any unique conditions (it?s an older house ? surprises happen) to our attention, and explained the options for resolving them before proceeding. They were flexible with some changes we wanted to make along the way. They kept the site very clean, and did a great job minimizing the dirt and debris from the demolition and construction unlike some other contractors we've worked with. The completed kitchen fully achieved the vision we had from an aesthetic, functional and quality standpoint.

They were very good, and the owner, Jim English, was top notch. For the flooring, we knew we wanted matching ceramic tile to go around the base and perimeter of our floor as opposed to the rubber cording. Two other service providers I got estimates from said they would not do tile, and we would have to do the rubber. Jim was able to take the new ceramic tile, cut the individual pieces in half, and then put them up around the base and perimeter of our new floor so it matched perfectly. For the console and the mirrors, Jim took measurements of our current space, then he sent me several options/photos of new consoles, mirrors, and colors that would fit within our current space. That saved me from having to run all around and figure everything out on my own. I chose what I wanted for the new console and mirrors based on Jim's suggestions, and I am very happy with what I picked out. Jim was also able to work within our budget. He offered fantastic suggestions and he was very easy to work. Jim and his crew were excellent.

My experience with them was not as good as I had hoped. It was frustrating. Mr. Jim who is the owner is wonderful to work with and his assistant Ms. Sara is wonderful as well. My biggest disappointment was that they failed to complete the project in the timeframe. I was having a knee surgery and when I had given them the dates they had informed me that they could do it. I had informed them they should let me know if they thought it is going to be tight or if could not meet the deadline so that I could do the work after Christmas. They assured me that it would be done. They were supposed to wrap up by late November or early December because my surgery was early December. They did not wrap up until the first or second week of January which has been my frustration. Mr. Jim bent over backwards to help and get things done but I think it all slowed down as far as the contractors were concerned. There was such a disparity between them.