Design Essentials

I am so thrilled with all of the beautiful work Milena has done in my home. After purchasing our home, I was overwhelmed by the design process in the two major rooms (living room and family room) in our home. Milena helped me hone my taste and really listened to what worked and didn't work for our young family. She selected everything from window treatments, a stair runner, furniture, wallpaper, paint, carpeting, light fixtures etc. for both rooms and made sure everything was delivered and installed to perfection. Even though Milena pulled all of the elements together, the design still feels like something a more creative version of me would have dreamed up- Milena has such an amazing sense of what I'm drawn to from our consultations together. The final result is absolutely beautiful, polished, and functional for our family-- it looks beautiful, but it is practical and so comfortable for us. More recently my husband and I decided to re-design our kitchen. We were already working with a contractor and had a specific layout in mind but were struggling on how to give it a polished, unique feel so we decided to do a Design Day with Milena. We had a conversation about what we were looking for and about our budget and landed on a couple of inspirational photos. After our conversation, Milena came back a week later with BEAUTIFUL mood boards from which I selected all of our final touches including lighting fixtures, paint colors, backsplash, sink, cabinet hardware, window treatments, seating area design, counter tops and cabinet styles. She looked at the cabinet styles and countertops our contractor had available and helped us with the perfect selection. The other touches will elevate our kitchen so much and Milena's years of experience and advice on spacing and other key elements in a kitchen have been invaluable. After I made all of my selections, Milena curated a product list complete with links and pricing to all of the things I selected and offered to purchase components where she would be able to get a designer discount for us. She offered lower cost alternatives in places where she did not feel it would compromise the design. Thank you, Milena, you have done such an amazing job of elevating our home just to our taste and we LOVE spending time with you!

We hired Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn to do a remodel of our master bath and an upgrade of our other three bathrooms. The project started in July and ended in November 2015. There are a lot of moving parts to this type of project from ideas, design, materials, outside contractors, etc. One should expect the usual delays that come along with any project. The reason why we went with Kitchen Studios is because we did not have the time nor the patience to manage the hundreds of details required and we had a friend who used them and were quite pleased. The three things a homeowner must focus on in out sourcing this type of project is: 1. The creativity and utility of the design 2. The skill sets of the contractors deployed 3. Communication of cost impact to the project from changes and unforeseen surprises. In our estimation Kitchen Studios excelled in the design phase. We met often and were shown numerous options for color, style and design. We were very pleased with the final layout of the Master Bathroom. Susan is very gifted as a design artist. She helped us visualize what we were imagining. She got to know us as people and was able to design exactly what we wanted in a master bath. She was never pushy or overbearing. The contractors were professional, had attention to detail and skilled at what they did. There were times we had to wait extra days to fit into their schedule which pushed back the completion date. But to us, quality was more important than time and Kitchen Studios accomplished that. We had determined a budget we wanted to stick to and Susan was very mindful of that. However, there are always changes that impact your cost basis. Its very important that a detailed accounting be understood by both sides. We feel Jeff did a very good job in keeping track of all the changes and Susan did a great job in keeping us close to our budget. We would highly recommend Kitchen Studios for either a bathroom or kitchen project.

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!!! We could not ask for a better experience with The Kitchen Studio team in Glen Ellyn. We had a full kitchen remodel done and it is beautiful, we just love it! The entire team--including the owners, the designers, and the contractors were all very professional, punctual, responsive and reliable every day of our project. They kept us updated every day about what was done with our kitchen, what was happening the next day and if there were any delays with deliveries or supplies. The quality of the products (countertops, cabinets, appliances, tile backsplash, etc) are all excellent quality and look amazing. The contractors showed up every day on time and cleaned up very nicely at the end of the day--and always showed up! The designers really listened to our wants and needs for our kitchen and worked with us to make sure we liked the overall design. We also had some major structural work to do to our kitchen and they had a very good structural engineer make safe and aesthetically pleasing suggestions with a challenging wall in our kitchen. We had to have our floors refinished on our entire first floor and they look perfect. If you are looking to have your kitchen remodeled, whether a big or small project, hire The Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn! You will be so happy you did!

Working with The Kitchen Studio was by far the smoothest and least stressful project we’ve ever done in our 130-year-old home. With Susan at the helm, our first floor bathroom renovation was handled by a great team with professionalism and a focus on customer satisfaction from start to finish. Susan is a talented designer who took on the challenge of our historic home with a refreshing enthusiasm, re-assuring calm, and a “can-do” approach. She has impeccable taste mixed with a grounded sensibility that allows her to tailor a project to any budget and style. I really appreciated how she listened to my ideas and concerns, came up with a design that was sensitive to the history of the house, and assigned a competent and “old-house friendly” contractor to make it come to fruition. Mary Ellen, the project manager, worked through every construction issue with an attentive focus and great problem solving skills. Although they always collaborated with me, she and Susan took full ownership of my project as if it were in their own house…and that type of intentional and personal approach translated to a close attention to detail that was unparalleled! I couldn’t be happier with the finished product. I highly recommend The Kitchen studio of Glen Ellyn!

We chose the Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn for our kitchen and bathroom remodeling based on reviews, personal recommendations, and attendance at special events sponsored by the Studio. From our first consultation through final inspections and tweaks, our projects proceeded smoothly and with minimal stress and disruption. Susan is a highly creative designer with great ideas and experience. She leads a talented team of designers, project managers, and support staff who were all helpful and patient throughout. The main crew who worked daily were skilled, prompt, clean, hardworking, and very considerate. They completed the carpentry, tilework, cabinet installation, and drywall with high quality workmanship. We were pleased that the projects were completed on schedule, and we attribute this to the Kitchen Studio’s high standards of organization, professionalism, and customer service. Minor problems were corrected in an efficient and responsible manner. Best of all, we love the results! Our kitchen and bathrooms are beautiful. The improvements are especially striking given the small scale of our rooms. The colors, textures, finishes, and overall design have greatly enhanced the look and value of our home. Thanks to all at the Kitchen Studio!