The Design Firm

I have used The Design Firm for two homes, and I plan on using them for my next home in the future. My husband and I have been nothing less that satisfied with their services. Kara was a dream to work with. Her personality is more addicting than chocolate.
About their process…
It’s different from most interior designers. They don’t charge hourly. They also store EVERYTHING for your project in their facility until it’s time for the installation. This is nice, so you aren’t dealing with items being delivered one at a time or having to leave work so they can drop off something, and the room slowly makes a transformation. Instead, with them its —BANG!— MASTERPIECE. And it really is.
Every time my husband and I walk through our front door I smile (or sigh in relief, it all depends on what kind of day it’s been). Kara’s creations are unlike anything you will ever see. My friends and family «ooh» and «aah» when they see her work. It’s indescribable.
She also does everything within YOUR budget. That’s furniture, window treatments, rugs, accessories, art, plants… everything. And she’s not going to drag you around to 40,000 stores trying to find pieces you like on your weekend when you would rather be spending time with your family or using that precious time to get a pedicure. She has everything at her fingertips. (I get the impression that she’s a very powerful woman in the industry.) The Design Firm plans it so that all the annoying fees, like taxes, freight, shipping, assembly, all fit into the budget so there are no nasty surprises at the end. I don’t like surprises.
My favorite part of the process was the «PRESENTATION.» They take you into this special room with all your fabric swatches, wood samples, accessory samples, art, and even a couple throw pillows. They also have renderings (an artist draws different points of view of the room with the furniture and color selections) so you are able to picture how the furniture is going to be laid out in the room and the overall atmosphere. After the presentation, the next couple of weeks I spent waiting for my install date to arrive was like a six year old waiting for Christmas. I was beyond excited.
Kara and The Design Firm are the best.
The best in the industry, the best to work with, the best to fit any budget.

I hate to have to write a bad review — but if someone else would have told me about this place I would have been able to make an informed decision to stay away. Granted — let me start with the fact that I do like their design… But I just can’t get passed their fees… Which is exactly how they get you! They don’t charge hourly fees but rather they take a cut on the items you purchase directly from them, which they say they get directly from the manufacturer at a discount — sounds great right? That’s what I thought until after I found several of the exact same pieces online for about 30% to 50% of their «discounted pricing». Granted they are professional and their design was good and they should be paid for that — but a 50% to 70% markup on big ticket art and furniture for their fees??? That’s crazy! I would have saved more paying someone $ 200/​hour! (BTW — you’re stuck paying their highly inflated «discounted» price after signing the contract) When we talked to them about it, they would not reveal their fees at all. But kept telling how in addition to their design they provide a service of thoroughly inspecting the furniture and installing everything correctly…
Well I came home after my install and was told (and invoice showed) that we were getting black dining chairs… come to find out the manufacturer never made them in back (I called them directly after getting the name of the bottom of the chair) so Design Firm refinished them for me at their cost (kudos to making it right). Then after my couch was 4 months delayed they brought the sectional in and had brought in two «left» side pieces of the sectional! They had to act fast and found the right pieces somewhere in the US and had it quickly shipped over (kudos again, to making it right)… — but what happened to the thorough inspection we were paying for?
Then come to find out most of the items they had never seen before in person, so they were giving us the wrong descriptions — telling us that we were getting a table with black ebony inlay, turned out it was only the shadow of the pieces of glass that came together.
I learned that when I hire a consultant, I should know what their fees are and to make sure that they are worth it!