RyanAlexander Interiors

Caveat emptor! Buyer beware! Before signing anything with this company, have it reviewed by an attorney. Do not believe impressive web sites, be swayed by affiliations with a reputable organization (like the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce), unsubstantiated claims from the designer such as «Miami’s Top Interior Designer» or stated affiliation with professional organizations on their business card (Allied ASID, IDS Associate). Check to see if they have paid their dues and are actually members of these associations, and know that even this guarantees nothing of substance.
We contracted RyanAlexander Interiors allowing them to build their professional service fees into the cost of goods & services purchased through them. We have since been advised that this is not a smart way to go unless you know a designer really well, as there is incentive for them to use the cheapest vendors, materials and contractors they can find in order to keep their costs down and their profits at the max. Again, discussing this with an attorney before you hire anyone is probably money well spent. Negotiating a clearly worded contract with ITEMIZED DETAILS of the work to be done, DEADLINES and MATERIALS TO BE USED with a STATED FEE is likely a better option.
I LOVE giving good reviews on Unilocal.This is an exception, as I believe others should be forewarned. Interior Designers do not have to be licensed to do residential work in Florida, so according to an knowledgable attorney we contacted after the fact, there are a lot of horror stories in SoFla. He suggested I post on line reviews to help others avoid making the same mistakes we did.
The owner/​designer is a great salesperson. She has a winning personality and made us feel at ease until we signed the contract and gave her a deposit, at which point she informed us to «beware, I am a Taurus you know.» Little did we know.
It really saddens me to say that this company failed on almost every front. The contractors they hired were inferior pretty much across the board. Work had to be redone repeatedly to meet even the most basic of standards, and much of it still remained inferior once we finally gave up on their ability to deliver. We tried to be accommodating and reasonable, but there are just so many times paint can be tracked across a freshly polished marble floor, a bathtub refinishing job can be botched (grit and bubbles under the paint the 1^st time, white bathtub in a bathroom when the fixtures in the bath are almond colored the 2^nd), a granite counter top chipped or a paint ring left on a kitchen table that can be overlooked (these are just a few of the annoying problems we encountered — there were many, many more — we have pics). We put most everything in storage before they started the job thankfully.
The owner/​designer eventually admitted she has limited experience with local contractors and that she and her husband had moved from Sarasota to Miami «to get a fresh start.» She left multiple tasks she was contracted to do not completed, or didn’t charge for work that even she couldn’t defend as acceptable.
Perhaps the saddest part of our multi-​thousand dollar experience is that I still want to believe she was trying to do a good job. But the facts point to the opposite: 1. paint faded in less than a year (Sherwin Williams confirmed that she used the cheapest, contractor grade paint they carry, or used the wrong paint finish for the job in some instances) 2. the «black out» drapes she designed for our bedroom do not actually meet in the middle by about an inch — so they allow light into the room (something called to her attention that she refused to fix after we paid). Long unsightly screws were used to attach the rods to the ceiling, as the drapes were too heavy to be supported by drywall brackets initially installed. She knew we had drywall when she designed the drapes but apparently didn’t take their weight into account in her design as the brackets pulled away from the walls after about a month. 3. the blind in the bathroom broke after a few months, we contacted her about any warranty and she advised us that there was no warranty as she had «purchased a cheap blind from a local home goods store» and 4. she behaved in a very unprofessional manner both during the work and after. She didn’t show up to meet contractors, or came late, and several of her contractors told us they would never work with her again. Mechanical problems, that she assured us her husband could repair without a problem, either were never done or had to be redone.
We would never hire this company again; one of the biggest mistake we’ve ever made. I can usually trust my gut, but in this case I was wrong. I’ve since joined a paid online review site and am happy to report that every contractor we’ve hired using online reviews like Unilocal and the paid service in tandem since has been stellar. If you hire RyanAlexander Interiors, I hope you have a better experience.