Touchstone Interiors

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Touchstone Interiors and their entire staff are highly recommended. Sarah took the time to listen to our wish list and develop designs that met the list as much as possible within budget. (Budget is used advisedly because no one really sticks to the anticipated amount and gets what they want ed.) She scheduled and oversaw the work of her subcontractors (more on that later), which is the one thing we wanted no part of. Her husband and chief custom woodcrafter and often demolition and clean-up guy was superb; everything he did was first class, his experience and skill were very helpful in handling dilemmas presented by the house itself. He became unable to continue work on the project about 1/4 of the way through due to a shoulder injury, but they found a comparably-skilled substitute to make the cabinets and do the framing in each room. We're happy with that work.
After we discussed ideas about redecorating the bedroom, she presented options but never foisted her taste or preferences on us. Spent many hours with me selecting fabrics, wallpaper, etc. We ended up with exactly what I wanted and it was also fun.
Nothing goes perfectly, however. The delay in cabinetry work necessitated by the change in craftsman was long and stressful for us because we were without a master bedroom and bath for several months. Blame lies not with Touchstone but with fate. Some sub-contractors and their workers did not show up when promised, requiring new scheduling. The electrician was earnest and came when scheduled, but his bill was high given there were places where he cut corners that, while within code, did not constitute a first class job. The paper hanger seriously over-estimated the amount of wallpaper that was needed, and the manufacturer charged an exorbitant return fee. But Touchstone made sure we were ultimately satisfied.
Where Touchstone and we encountered the biggest difficulties was in finding substitute vendors or getting good service from vendors used in the past. Some new vendors contacted were not interested or never responded. The stone and tile vendor is an example of bad business practice. (Albany Marble) They were often no shows or not on time, tile work had to be redone, and they ruined a large stone piece for the counter top requiring us to start again after other bathroom features had been matched to the first slab. The customer service/satisfaction response to these errors was almost non-existent. I think Touchstone learned from this that a re-evaluation of some of its vendors might be needed. And WE learned that, despite what we hear on the news, businesses in the capital region are not in need of work nor suffering enough economically to attract new or retain old customers.

I couldn't be happier. Sarah and Cornelius are wonderful to work with. Sarah really does listen and she understood exactly what I wanted. I love everything she picked, from the cabinet hardware, to the light fixtures, to the granite.. She saw things that I overlooked and updated them beautifully. They finished on time and on budget, kept me informed throughout the project and were a joy to work with. I highly recommend Sarah and her husband Cornelius (C4 Custom Woodworking) and would work with them again without hesitation.

Overall--the experience was the best I have ever had with a and quot;designerand quot;. Highly recommended.

After calling while she was away on vacation, she returned my call and was able to set up an appointment within the week. She was very prompt and came prepared with color charts and furniture catalogs. I was very impressed with her knowledge of the field and her professionalism.

Her name is Sarah Powell and she had good ratings on Angie's List. She was wonderful and it was well worth it and I would do it again. She was fabulous and I would recommend her anybody who is looking for assistance in decorating a house.

Sarah was wonderful! Like the previous review I was relieved to find out she was so helpful, prompt, and insightful in so many ways. I have met with dozens of contractors and as a first time home buyer it has been very overwhelming. Thanks to Sarah I was able to narrow down my decisions to concrete ideas and probably will save me a ton of money just having talked to her for just an hour. She was very good at listening and providing good resources for where to find the best products for what I was looking for. Once I start renovation I will be talking to her again for more advice.

Sarah is fabulous. She is one of the most professional people that I have had the pleasure of working with. She is punctual, courteous; she goes absolutely one hundred and fifty percent to get her clients what they need. She is about as five star as you can possibly get. She uncomplainingly redid it when we said that we needed something in particular. Her designs are just enough out of the ordinary that it does not look like a ticky tacky design house nor does it look so strange that it would only appear in Architectural Digest. She truly listens to her clients about what their needs are and what their budget is. She does research for me. There is pretty much nothing that I could need that she is not willing to put her hand too. I just love her. She has both a flat rate and an hourly rate. For the sketches she has been extremely reasonable.