LORI JOLIN DESIGN

I let her go - because she was totally clueless and provided no value whatsoever, and not a smidgen of a creative idea in anything.
Some of her screw ups:  
1.  Her measurements were in error
2.  She and her sidekick continually forgot which room was which room in terms of function.
3.   Said a bathroom "wasn't possible" in the basement area I wanted it in - and had
to invite her back to prove to her that several GC's and plumbers stated
that she was in error.  (and she billed me for that visit (so that I could prove to her that she was wrong))
4.  She drew that bathroom quite far  away from the plumbing stacks - and it would have been costly to rip out
concrete that far out - not to mention she drew it right under a support wall - and I told her I didn't want it there - but she did it anyway. 
5.  She supplied no media room measurements in what was supposed to be a full basement remodel - and forgot which room is was - repeatedly.
6.  Her only "creative idea" was "paint the trim white" in in basement.  In fact - every visit - she said it repeatedly - forgetting that she had said it on each prior visit. 
7.  Had no plan for lighting, no plan for kitchen, and no good plan for windows or landscaping or anything.
8.  Unprofessional - calling my mid century wrought iron stairway unit "So Elvis"
9.   Had the gall after I pointed out all her screw ups to bill me $750 "for her time" though nothing she did was correct or usable.
I decided to go with an architect who did a great job planning the entire home redesign out.    He said her so-called CAD drawing was a joke.  Totally useless and wrong measurements.  He stated that she "doesn't have any credentials nor does she have much experience and is pretty naive / uninformed about things from my past conversation with her.
10.   I told her - If you want me to pay you - you can at least give me something that I
could actually use - with correct measurements.     I asked her to give me measurements of all rooms in the basement and she never did. She claimed that she "put in many more hours than that" (and she may have at her exorbitant rates) - but that is irrelevant.  She provided nothing of value.
11.  Since my first meeting - I kept asking her for a rough ballpark quote - and she refused to give
me one - stating that everything had to be detailed out.  (IE - to run up her bill - taking forever to finally give me a quote - which was a joke because it was so much worse than even a rough ballpark.) 
12.  Her  response was - I am not an architect, and never said I was,   I have 10-15
projects going on - so I really don't have time for yours.   You owe me $750 by the way.
 13.   I told her -- For $750 bucks - I certainly
expected rooms to be properly measured and to scale... The architect provided many times  more
info to me in his initial consultation than you provided in your entire time
with me."   (Side note - he was half as much per hour with more
credentials and a heck of a lot more speed and expertise.)
I told her - for a detailed quote - I'd expect that you would have to have a lighting plan - and
you didn't even provide one.  It is not "decorative details to come"
Paying 750 for a fuzzy PDF of a couple of basement rooms with incorrect measurements - and no ideas for
lighting or anything else  is a joke. 
14.  To top it off - her last EM stated - You didn't say you wanted a ballpark,
you wanted to know what it was gong to cost. "     That was not true.  had many conversations and e-mails asking
her for a ballpark and she refused.
15.   After telling her  and her sidekick for 2 months) which room function was associated with
which room (there were only 3 in the basement to consider - it isn't
rocket science)  - she tried to claim that I had said the reverse -
to which I said -  are you kidding me?   Seriously?   They literally could get nothing right.
Occasionally she would admit to something like "Kate just forgot to erase the line between rooms on the CAD drawing"
16.   She wasn?t happy that I didn't want to go with her ?preferred? vendors - such as
landscaper ? Ganshert (I was happy I chose the one I did - not that Ganshert would have been bad - but they weren't my cup of tea based on wanting a retainer up front before I even knew if I would have good chemistry with them)  or that I might choose H Window vs Marvin. When I read an article about Lori in a trade magazine - it appeared she gave
the same stock answers to everyone that she gave to me  "paint the trim white"  "make the
windows bigger"  - and her same preferred vendors etc. 
17.  Note that it is not unusual to have a design build person specify the vendors they want you to use
(though some will be flexible with you) - so I suggest to anyone that
you analyze the vendors that a design/build person would use (or perhaps try to mandate)  for
landscaping, kitchen cabinets, windows etc - so you know what you are
getting into before you even consider them.   And note that just
because someone has won a couple of NARI awards does not mean that they
are good.  They hand them out like candy - and there is some politics
involved in receiving them.  
18.  Rather than argue with her about the 750 - I just decided to pay her (though I knew I had received
absolutely nothing of value whatsoever) and move on - as I didn't have
the  time to litigate.  I asked her for her raw CAD files after I paid
her (figuring maybe it would work with architect's system) but I never received
anything.  I also asked her for all room measurements - and she did not provide them.
19.  Throughout my time with her - I had to repeat myself repeatedly because they would constantly forget what I had told them before.    Side note - not that it matters - but in just about every e-mail there were a number of
misspellings as if she hadn't graduated from High School -- such as
"sight" vs site - or just bizarrely - just blank e-mails.   May have been her sidekick Kate vs her... I don't know..
All in all - it was an awful experience.  I paid $750 for absolutely nothing of value.  If you use a design/build firm - I would recommend Art Design Build or Degnan design - which have loads of experience and credentials vs Lori, and would certainly be more professional.   Or use an architect - and then have contractors bid on your design so that you have an apples to apples quote for what you want to do.

I can't give enough woderful accolades about Lori! She has been extemely helpful and creative with the remodeling of my home! We moved out of the house for about 8 months for the remodeling project. She has helped us pick out every aspect of the remodel! She has helped us pick colors for everything, lighting, wallpaper, flooring, and even the furniture we wanted! Her design for the remodeling project is outstanding! All of her subcontractors are top notch and do great work too! I would highly recommend her services!

She's been wonderful to work with. She's super efficient and extremely personable which I think is important when you're having remodeling done. She's very much a go to person because if I called her she dealt with the problem or situation immediately. She also kept me up to date throughout the whole process and I loved all the subcontractors that she used. Everybody was professional and polite and it was a good experience working with her overall. She's talented and kind of pricey, but she gets really down to the fine details and is a high quality contractor. I don't think that she overcharged us and you do get what you pay for and I would highly recommend her.

She helped design some remodeling that I had done on my house. She handled everything from arranging for the contractors to come and give me estimates to helping pick colors. She was excellent in her ability to integrate colors and make the atmosphere of the room exactly what I wanted. She continued through with the follow up to make sure all the work was performed to her standards. Her expectations from the contractors ensured that the work was done 100% to my satisfaction. I liked that she was easy to deal with and I was always able to reach her when I had questions. I understand that sometimes it is had to reach the people in this industry and that was never a problem. At the same time I had the above project going on I received hail damage on my roof and siding and she helped me with the colors and in achieving a whole new appearance on my house. It was GREAT!