Michael Merrill Design Studio

He doesn't have a lot of integrity and uses a lot of questionable business practices. He also shares personal info that has nothing to do with anything.

We hired Michael to help remodel and decorate several rooms in our home. He is experienced and has good taste and good ideas. He is a great designer and decorator and we are happy with the look of our place, but he is inefficient and a terrible project manager. Our project took a year longer than estimated, was way more expensive than estimated and we had serious concerns over how inefficient MMDS was. In short, it was exhausting to deal with and we were always concerned that if we didn't stay on top of MM we would see astronomical bills for all kinds of inefficient time and effort. Michael tends to push expensive solutions, but when challenged he can come up with more economical solutions. In short, unless you want to spend big $$$$ for high end design and spend massive time managing -I don't recommend MMDS.

Please don't patronize this designer. Call GREEN COUGH INSTEAD! Now I have to prepare for my court date and further waste more of my time and money but I wont tolerate this kind of disrespect. I think he has serious financial problems. His professional practices are so bad. There is very little regulation of this industry. Please don't also sign the contract he gives you. HIRE GREEN COUCH DESIGN they are the best group of designers. They are fresh, cool, modern and classic, and the style is exactly what I wanted. I got my entire project done in half the time Michael took to do one part and even more than I wanted. I got all new furniture, great pillows, flooring, windows, bedding. They gave me a wonderful binder with a proposal that was given to me before any deposit. They never even cashed my deposit until the project was over. I told them how much I was willing to spend and they told me exactly how much the entire project would cost before we even started and THEY DELIVERED. The place looks amazing. My friends and family rave about how beautiful it looks and I can't stop enjoying what they have done. I can't say enough good things about the work they did. It was exactly the style I wanted, with great quality pieces and the most organized business. I LOVE them. Please don't hire MMD unless you like to burn your cash. Please see the other negative review under Michael Merrill design and decoration by Rosemary. Rosemary has told him other people have contacted her with similar experiences. They guy is a CON ARTIST!

I hired Michael Merrill based on one very good and one reasonable reference from some others in my condo building and excellent grades on Angie's List. This is why I am writing this review now, because my experience was terrible and totally unexpected given the high marks he got on Angie' List. In my experience his actual work fell far short of the promises he made. But the most critical problem is that he does not run his business in a way that complies with California laws. Michael Merrill is licensed as an Interior designer only, however he frequently acts in the capacity of general contractor (which he did in my circumstance) and this requires a separate license in CA. In addition there are specific rules which must be followed regarding the handling of money between the client the contractor and the subs. I found out that although he was billing me for the work of the subs, he was not remitting the payment to them as the law requires, but was keeping the money for weeks and in some cases months. Some subs waited 6 months to get their final payment from him even though he had received the payment from me when it was billed. And according to the subs who had worked with him in the past his practice of making late payments was pretty standard. Furthermore when he billed me for materials such as wallpaper or lighting, he was unable in numerous instances to produce the actual vendor bill as proof of his cost. He says he does not charge a markup on subcontractor services but I found that in some cases he had done so. Whether this was because of sloppiness or dishonesty I cannot say. In any case, when I found out this stuff was going on I fired him and lost my retainer. He hired a lawyer to intimidate me, saying I had to give him 30 days notice to terminate our agreement. So I hired my own lawyer, which is how I found out that he was acting as a general contractor without a license. My painter took a lien on my property because Michael never paid the painter even though I paid Michael Merrill. The painter took him to small claims court and he eventually released the lien on my property because I paid him some additional money and knew that the lien would not influence Michael Merrill to pay him anyway. I finished the rest of the job by working with the subs directly and paying them directly. Do not hire him, but f you do make sure you pay any subs directly and get receipts for all materials before you pay the bills. As for the actual work performed, we allowed him to develop the budget for the remodel but once the work began he presented us with bills for labor and materials costs that were sometimes double his own estimate. An example of this is the carpeting. He billed me 6 hours to select carpets but only presented 3 samples for us to consider, and 2 of the 3 were double the cost he had budgeted for carpeting. He repeatedly told us that he has been doing this for 20 years, but for many tasks, he billed us for hours of "research" for things like the required distance between a ceiling light fixture and a sprinkler head. Even so, the lighting plan that he delivered to the electricians was incomplete and required him to send his assistant to the site for clarification--and he billed me additional hours for this. In another instance he billed me for the travel time to deliver items to the painter but I later found out that he had asked one of the subs to drop off the items since it was on his way home. So he never actually made the trip, even though he billed me for it. There were more than a few of these types of billing discrepancies. This man is totally dishonest.

For those who are interested, see for yourself how many times Michael Merrill has lost against his happy clients in small claims court. You can access the info via:http://sfsuperiorcourt.org/index.aspx?page=467

Choose Name Search query (second from top) and input: Merrill, Michael

You will find the first two entries have numerous cases belonging to Michael Merrill in his capacity as Interior Designer.

Michael Merrill very accurately evaluated our condominium in a very timely fashion and identified the changes we would need to make to the bathrooms and floor to prepare to sell it. He arranged for the floors to be replaced with insulated carpeting and helped up remodel both bathrooms, and the condo sold within 30 days. When we moved into our new home, he helped us select window coverings to enhance the interior. He has been very helpful and prompt in all our interactions. We plan to work with him again in the future any time we need interior design services.

We had a set of wooden blinds on our front window installed shortly after we moved into our home and the pull cords had broken. Michael was extremely helpful in making sure the defective blinds were removed, repaired and replaced in a timely fashion. He has also been very helpful in designing window coverings throughout our home and in installing carpet in our former condominimum. We have been very pleased with all our interactions with Michael and his team. We would recommend him highly and certainly we look forward to working with him again in the future when we need any interior design assistance or expertise.

They were very professional but their pricing was too high. Their responsiveness was great.

Michael is an excellent designer. He and his team are incredibly professional; they consulted with me every step of the process. He expertly selected and coordinated items for the living room, bedroom and kitchen that absolutely wowed me. He has a ?good eye? and does everything flawless. Michael is fantastic. I?m happy with my d?cor.

He was great to work with. He really knew what he was doing when it came time to getting the project done. They had really good ideas and they were very helpful with the color coordination of the rooms. I really like how everything turned out.

Michael wasted no time during his initial consultation in our home. This on-site assessment gave us even more insight about the direction our project should take. He pointed-out areas of strength in our floor plan and those spaces that could be improved even with the most minor of changes. A few days latter we received a thank you note from Michael followed by a written, detailed evaluation for our project. The plans included a summary of talking points from his initial visit; step-by-step instructions for the purchase of new items for our home and how to phase-out the old; advice for prioritizing short and long-term projects; and a project time-line that was realistic not only with our budget, but with our skill-level as well. Michael was also available to offer his advice about all kinds of materials for our projects. We even had a field trip to a local show room for backsplash material, and at all times, Michael remained sensitive to our budget.

We were extremely impressed with Michael's professionalism, his design acumen, his humor, his ability to get this job done as perfectly as possible, and his always gracious treatment of our family. He would bill promptly and adjust fees if necessary. He listens to you with an ear toward unexpressed needs. Phone calls are always, always returned promptly. When our original contractor walked out on the job, he convinced another, and also obtained excellent subcontractors (particularly the wall upholsterer, wall-paper hanger, and hardwood floor people). He would demand that subs honor their commitment: if something was not done right, Michael would be able to get them to re-do the piece of work at no added cost and no hostility! His sense of professional honor brings the same out in others on the job site. While remodeling can be a difficult journey, Michael Merrill brings huge talent and rewarding care to the client.

Michael is a visionary designer and is able in a short time to assimilate a multiplicity of complex factors and present an innovative and practical design. His implementation was flawless with each detail executed to top perfection. He respectfully responded to my every concern and requirement, no matter how small.