Decorating on a Shoe String

If you are thinking of redecorating your home, Ginny is your go to girl. She is so easy going, creative and affordable. I have known her for over 10 years and loved the outcome of every project. My house has become my home.

Ginny was wonderfully creative, patient and creative! Excellent customer service!!!

We thought it went well, Ginny's coordinates her crews to come in and do their thing. She has had the same crews for quite some time, as our neighbors used her prior to us. Her crews were professional in my experience. She or her handi woman were present for the major pieces of this remodel which I appreciated. There were a couple items that needed to be done after the fact, just a couple of touch ups on grout and painting, both are now complete. We had extra hardware which she offered to install for no charge in our other bathroom, a nice touch. We would use her again, we are enjoying our new bathroom! Remodeling is dusty and dirty, so my cleaning crew is coming next week. :-)

Ginny did a great job of selecting paint colors to update the whole house inside and out. The colors she chose in the kitchen really minimized the ugly color of our granite countertops that we could not change at the time. She also suggested adding some trim and painting the kitchen cabinets. It looked like a whole new kitchen when we were finished with the project - I didn't even notice granite anymore! Her help dressing windows really helped our house feel like a home. I loved the paint color she recommended for the exterior of our home. All of the the people she used to get the work done were top notch. We sold our house a few years later for top dollar in large part due to the improvements she helped us make.

Ginny's interior design skills are amazing! She came up with ideas I never would have thought of and created a totally new floor plan. She is so creative in her use of space. She did a great job selecting exterior paint colors to really help our curb appeal. She also helped me design a newly built detached garage to look like it belonged on our property. She is always available by phone or text day or night to answer questions or confirm choices. She is fun and fantastic to work with!

Our kitchen remodel started 2nd week of November. We finished right before Christmas. I've purposely waiting on posting this review to make sure that it is as fair as possible now that I am 30 days+ removed from the remodel. In general, the remodel experience was okay. My wife and I are extremely happy with the final results, however, there were some mis-steps on the way. I understand that remodeling jobs of this size, there are a lot of unexpected things, but part of the general contractor's (Ginny) job is to help through the process. My wife and I had a general vision, and Ginny did help clarify that vision, and again, we are extremely pleased with the final results. We went to great care to personally select appliances, fixtures, marble that fit our taste and lifestyle, so Ginny's role in the re-model was more general contractor. It is here where Ginny could have improved. I understand that she is busy, but she was absent for a lot of the work. I understand this is the world of general contracting, but when 1/3 of the budget is used on marble, and she was not present for the install, I was a little frustrated, especially since the marble guys had to come out again to drill another hole. Other frustrations that I experienced were due to lack of clarity in costs. Make no mistake that Ginny will charge you for every bit of work and materials. My family has been in the real estate business for over 30 years. I know how much things should cost, and Ginny will usually tack on about 20% to all services AND materials. I had questions toward the end of the remodel on what was included in the project, and what was new and out of the original scope. In the end, I paid everything Ginny wanted just to be finished with the remodel. In general, the experience was okay, although in the future I would look for a general contractor with more experience and someone who is clearer regarding costs and is better at managing the project overall. We are pleased with the final results, but for the amount of money that was spent, any good remodel crew could have done the same in my opinion, but probably with better time management and project management.

Gosh, we first hired Ginny with ?Decorating on a Shoestring? many years ago. We got her name from a friend of a friend. Since then Ginny has done numerous projects in our home and at the home of a handful of our own friends who I have referred her to. Our biggest job (and most favorite) that she did for us was to re-do our young daughters bedroom. She changed it from a baby?s room into a young girl?s room she could grow with and it was the loveliest thing I?d ever seen! I left for the day and let Ginny ?do her thing? and came home to the ?grand revealing.? I was in shock at what I saw because it way over exceeded my expectations!! (We had never hired anyone to do this kind of thing before and really didn?t know what we were going to end up with. It was a total ?trust? thing to give Ginny free reign and we gave it to her 100%) The results just blew us away and everyone else that saw the room! Since then Ginny has helped with numerous other projects around our house from helping us with custom window treatments to adding ?layers? to a room to give it a more finished and complete look. She worked with what we already owned and brought in things to compliment and fill in where needed. We've ordered custom furniture from her that we loved! Most recently (Oct of 2015) we hired Ginny to help us choose a paint color for the inside of our home. She?s done a variety of projects both big and small. In the process of working with Ginny we have also become friends. Over the years my husband and kids have grown fond of Ginny. We love her creativity, honesty, work ethic, sense of humor, and caring heart. She is a gem to work with and a blessing to know! I know that others who have worked with her have also become her friends. She has a way about making you feel special whether she is doing a huge project or simply picking out paint colors.

We laughed a lot. We selected fabrics for quite a few things, which would have been very overwhelming had Ginny not helped us. We felt like we were her favorite clients at the time. We sent her home with home baked goodies each time she came. We enjoyed working with Ginny and felt like we were her favorites. We are very pleased with the end result. 18 friends were here last night and raved about our bedroom. They are anxious to work with Ginny.

We are very pleased with all our Decorating On A Shoe String home remodels. We have contracted with Decorating On A Shoe String for remodel projects 3 times over the past 4 years. Our current project included updating two bathrooms. Ginny Andrews' teams of craftsmen included carpenters, a tile layer, a plumber, painters, and carpet layers. Each team worked with professionalism, often cleaning the workspace twice a day. Ginny communicated with us frequently with calls and text, stopping by at least once a day to check on job progress. We did have a few surprise issues arise in remodeling a 30 year old home. No one expected to discover that the drain plumbing of one bathtub had never been installed, or that a doorway was never connected to the foundation. Any issues that arose were handled quickly, efficiently, and to the satisfaction of all parties. My husband and I were very confident in the integrity of the craftsmen. We often left for the afternoon, trusting them to lock up when they left, which they always did. The completion of this project seniorized one bathroom and modernized another bathroom. We have enjoyed many positive complements on the results.

The entire job went very smoothly. I'm very happy with the results! I recommend her to all my friends, and will definitely use her again if I ever move.

We moved into our new home and we needed window coverings, and we wanted some new art-work and accessories. Plus we needed advice on where to put all of the stuff that we already owned. One thing I loved about working with Ginny was that she was eager to help us figure our how to use our existing furniture and accessories. We went room to room and she always started by making the most of what we had. She has a knack for helping find just the right spot for each item. Then along the way we would see that there was a space that needed some new artwork or a lamp or other accessory. Because Ginny knew us and what we like, she immediately had some items that we could purchase. In other cases she would go shopping and find items for us. She made great choices that we loved and that were within our budget. We needed coverings for all our windows. Ginny walked us through all the options and we decided on plantation shutters, and some custom draperies. She did all the measurements, and provided the fabric samples for the draperies. Then she had all of the connections to get the draperies and shutters made and installed. We were so happy with Ginny's process and the end result. We love the look of our new home!

There are so many choices to make and it seemed overwhelming, but Ginny was able to take the stress out of the process. She has such a great eye for design that she helped us make beautiful choices. Ginny listens well, so we ended up with a home design that we love. And it feels like our home, not one designed by someone else. We just paid her an hourly rate for her time, and that was some of the best money we spent on our home!

It was a wonderful experience. She helped me buy some furniture and arranged all the rooms in an updated fashion. Ginny chose accessories such as rugs, cushions, art and lamps to complete the décor of each room. Window treatments were selected and put up along with necessary hardware. Her practical advice with color schemes was amazing and the overall effect was more than I had hoped for. My family and I were thrilled with the completed look and the time and effort that were put into selections and arrangements. I especially appreciated her pleasant manner and efficiency in handling the work in progress with time constraints involved. I would gladly recommend this business to anyone who is looking for cheerful and professional experience in the area of decorating an entire house or even a small project/room which might need special attention,

Ginny was very helpful and mindful of my daughter's budget in selecting the granite; coordinated with installers that she had worked with previously. No issues except the ancient plumbing. Counters look great and have gotten rave reviews.

I WOULD NOT recommend Ginny Andrews of Decorating on a Shoe String for any design/decorating/remodeling/etc. work. She bills herself as someone who has "morphed" into turn-key residential remodeling and commercial design. If you are looking for reputable and warrantied remodeling work, hire a licensed, experienced contractor. We had problems every step of the way with Ginny and her "sub-contractors" after we purchased a 30 year old home that needed updating and remodeling....to the tune of over $25,000 by the time we were done with Ginny. She was rarely present to oversee or "sign-off" on the work done in our home.....carpentry work, wood floor, electrical fixture and bathroom vent installation, tile backsplash installation and custom plantation shutters. Her carpenter built "custom" mirrors for our bathrooms on walls that were not level and added shelves and clothes rods and doors for the master closet. The mirrors had to be re-done 3 times, and we were left with huge mirrors that are now pulling away from the walls and coming apart at the seams and have a distorted reflection - much like a fun house. We were also left with holes in the wall where the mirrors were removed and reattached to the wall. We were told to have our painters (not hired by Ginny - we wised up by that time) to repair the holes and to also fill in the cracks at the mirror corners (not mitered well!), even though the painter had nothing to do with those issues. We waited three weeks for a transition to be made from the new wood closet floor to the existing travertine in the master bath, and then Ginny tried to pass off white, textured, raised tile as matching the travertine tile in our bathrooms - which was tan/brown and flat - completely different tile. Plus, using tile to do the transition would have necessitated tearing up existing tile (more money for Ginny) when we specifically asked for a wood transition (no tile tear-up, less money for Ginny). We won that battle but it took another week of staining and re-staining the transition to get it right. It was up to us to inspect work as it was completed, and when it wasn't done well, Ginny always supported the sub contractors and made excuses for them rather than supporting her paying clients. She demanded pay for overseeing shutter installation that she was not present for and never called to check on. Her carpenter (Dean) refused to complete agreed upon work on our baseboards because he "simply wasn't willing to do it" per Ginny. My understanding is that he wasn't pleased that we had issues with his shoddy work. We now have wood floor boards that have cracked, but Ginny refuses to put me in contact with the floor guy (Jay Bryant Floors). I have tried to contact him myself but I'm sure he has been told by Ginny not to return our calls. I have asked for the warranty information on the floors and other work that was done, but Ginny will not supply that information to us. My perception is that Ginny is upset or angry that we were not pleased with some of the work done and after a while we found other sub contractors to do some of the work - painting and windows, which she wasn't happy about since she wouldn't make money off them, I suppose. I believe that because we were unhappy clients, Ginny refuses to communicate with us and supply us with warranty information. Basically, she does not stand by her work. Ginny's bookkeeping and accounting skills were also called into question when she asked for a $2000 payment towards some of the work that I had already paid, two weeks prior. After my stating that the check had cleared the bank, she admitted that the check had been credited to another client. We also returned from vacation to find our air conditioner thermostat turned down to 60 degrees, the unit running continuously, but the house temp was nearly 90. Ginny's floor installers had turned it down while they were working, left it turned down and the unit broke. Of course that was our fault, not sure why, but it was. My husband had tools taken from the house, our pool cleaning unit was clogged and subsequently broke from rag covered in tile grout that was tossed into our pool and the tile powder and left over grout was dumped inside our fence near the pool to "flow" into the alley, rather than disposed of properly. Ginny said this was standard procedure. Every "sub contractor" Ginny had in our home left a huge mess when they were done - saw dust everywhere, masking tape residue all over the counter tops, grout on tiles...Ginny said I might want to hire a professional cleaning service if I wanted the house clean after all work was done. This is a very long review, I could make it longer, there were so many issues, but I'll just say if you are looking for quality, reputable work and someone who stands by their work, do not use Ginny Andrews.

Everything was excellent. They had super prices.

Made suggestions about paint colors for kitchen and family room. Measured windows for blinds. Paint colors were an excellent suggestion, waiting on window blinds to arrive, then hung. So far, so good! I used my own excellent painter.

The owner contacted quickly after I contacted her. As a recent widow, I wanted my home restaged so it didn't look like the same house in which I lived with my late husband. (I was still quite distraught.) She quoted a figure close to $600 for the restaging. That was for two or three people for three hours. It ended up being seven hours plus and additional three hours for two movers. My total was 1365. The result was stunning, but I was stunned that the cost was nearly twice what I had expected. Also, they removed my china cabinet. They didn't just move it, as I had expected -- they put it in my garage! They also put one of my curio cabinets in my garage. (!!!) I have a lot of china and curios. I had the items in a guest room, unpacked from the cabinet so they could move it around. The did put my curios in my two of my three curio cabinets. Imagine my surprise when I had no place to put my china and crystal! (I had told the owner that I have a LARGE family, so I use all the china and crystal for family dinners.) I am just too overwhelmed and still emotionally raw to deal with all my things. _________________________ I wrote the above review after the staging and, obviously, didn't post it. My short-term memory was still bad due to my grief. Just over one year later, I am moving some of my curios and found that a Waterford sandwich plate from my mother and a t Waterford Lismore vase are CHIPPED!! I am now taking every item out of my curios cases to examine them. I am absolutely sick about the damage I've found thus far. I should have examined every piece at the time of the staging, but I was still pretty tender in my grief. These were expensive and heart-rending lessons: Don't make changes for two years after a loss. (You are not in your right mind!) Have details and possible extra costs detailed in a contract. Examine EVERY item after they are moved.

The entire project could have not gone better! We love Ginny's selections and recommendations. She was so easy to get ahold of and work with. Jobs were completed in budget and on time. The contractors she used are polite and courteous. Overall a wonderful home improvement experience!

She provided just what we wanted -- a professional opinion on repainting the interior of our 120-yr old home. She first toured our home, noting the current colors and the decorations. She ask enough questions to ascertain our preferences, and then sat down with a color chart and went through various suggestions and options. At the end, we were very satisfied with the colors we chose, with her guidance.

It went great! Ginny is very friendly and helpful. She also does a great job of working with your taste, no imposing her own. Below is a list of services we have had her assist us with: Paint color selection - remodel and new construction Carpet - selecting and installation Window Treatments - custom - was even able to hem previous window treatments to use in our new home Accessories/art - selection, placement, hanging Furniture - re-upholstery, fabric selection for customer furniture, placement in the room

Fabulous!!! Ginny works with you and your family and makes sure that you are very happy.

I found Decorating on A Shoestring here on Angie's List after years of feeling frustrated with my inability to come up with specific decorating ideas, prioritizing projects, and shopping around for what I need. I always assumed that hiring a designer is something that only wealthy people can afford to do. So, I felt very encouraged by what I read here about Ginny (the owner) and also her own description of her business on her Website. Still very hesitant, I contacted her asking for help and she responded right away with an enthusiasm that now I recognize as genuine of who she is. She came to my house a few days later and we did a run-through of the whole place while I talked about what we loved and did not love about our new house, who we are as a family, etc. She listed to me, asked questions that would help her understand my needs and personal taste, and told me about her own philosophy as a personal decorator. After the initial run-through, she helped me decide what would be our first project based on what my main frustration and needs were. We decided on window treatments for the exterior windows. She presented several general ideas to me and later sent me some pictures of what she was talking about. After communicating back and forth with Ginny and talking to my husband we decided on shutters (the most expensive option, which she did NOT push me towards--actually she worked hard to improve my windows on a much smaller budget). On a later visit, she brought samples from a local shutter manufacturer and helped me settle on a color and style. She then contacted the manufacturer to communicate what we wanted, negotiate price, and make scheduling arrangements (just the stuff I hate doing!). The manufacturer's prices were very reasonable and we are very happy with the final work they did. As for Ginny, she is staying on my contact list for the foreseeable future. She is a warm, caring person who wants her clients to love their home and I look forward to working with her, one project at a time.

Ginny is amazing! She has wonderful ideas, prices and is one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of working with. I can't sing her praises enough and she is about to put up treatments in my other daughters room as well as my kitchen and dining room. She's a true gem.

Fabulously. Worth repeating. See above. to