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Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
Designer Interior Lighting Plan, Acoustic Ceiling Tiles - Install, Carpentry Framing - Install,
About us
We are a full service interior design firm with over 25 years experience in homes, offices and all types of commercial areas. We offer semi-annual sales on most all of our product lines. We also provide Kitchen & Bathroom remodeling. Interior design services offered remotely for Southwest Florida, Melbourne/Palm Bay, & Savannah/Hilton Head markets.
Business highlights
44 years of experience
Services we offer
Interior design, colors, flooring, furnishings, kitchen & bath renovation, kitchen designs, lighting, new home, space planning & consulting, staging for home & condo sale., wall coverings, window treatments
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Reviews
4.625 Reviews
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 80% | ||
| 12% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 8% | ||
| 0% |
Showing 1-25 of 25 reviews
Annette C.
Sep 2016
Very well excellent service
Barbara M.
Aug 2016
Frustrating remodel experience.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"This was an involved project touching six or more areas of this home. The project involved master bath complete renovation with a custom tile shower, new countertops in kitchen, guest bath cabinetry, window cornices in the billiard room , custom kitchen cabinetry adds and additional items required to compete the homeowners requests. These areas of remodeling all needed much attention. This lovely home required extensive product, material and labor coordination. Karen Lantz"
Maryann K.
Jun 2016
Over the years I have had decorating and home projects but no one came close to Karen and her team. Everyone was organized, efficient and excellent in their advise, carpentry and painting skills and very easy to talk with and kind. All jobs were perfect and finished on time. They schedule everything in an orderly manner and I am sure the next phase will go as well as the first.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you for the kind review. It was my pleasure working on your condo. Regards, Karen"
Rebekah S.
Mar 2016
Karen was extremely responsive and helpful immediately. Her design team put together a beautiful kitchen for me within my budget. She led me through every step of the process, from layout to cabinetry to granite to appliances to paint color, etc. I am very satisfied with my kitchen and could not have done it without Karen. I would definitely hire her again and would recommend her to any of my clients (I am a Realtor). There was one issue with the kitchen vendor where I was dissatisfied with an appliance and Karen handled my concerns very smoothly and quickly got me a refund on the appliance. She made a large and difficult project feel easy. I am very grateful for her and my $60,000 kitchen is incredible ... I think it looks like it cost way more than it did! :)
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you [Member Name Removed], it was great to work with you on your kitchen project. Please call if we can be of further service. Regards, Karen"
Genevieve J.
Jun 2015
March 2014 - We had moved into a new home that was 50 years old and in good condition. A modest kitchen update was on our list. We decided to reface the cabintes, install new countertops, restore the ceramic floor, replace 3 doors, replace the baseboard moulding, replace the light fixtures and install new appliances. The cabinet reface turned out to be an unfortunate mistake and we were on our own to complete the project. We needed a good carpenter to finish up what we couldn't do ourselves and we needed help with developing a paint color scheme for our first floor, beginning with the kitchen. A co-worker had recommended Karen for the paint consultation so I made an approintment. Karen arrived and looked around. We talked about what we still needed to do in the kitchen. She put us in touch with two carpenters. The first carpenter provided and installed 3 doors in the kitchen, installed moulding around these doors and around three existing doors in the entry, and replaced the old baseboard moulding in the kitchen and entry with new moulding. The second carpenter did an outstanding job finishing off the poorly done cabinet reface by installing light rails and thin custom corner and edge mouldings to unsightly edges. Karen then suggested paint colors for the kitchen and we narrowed it down to two that we liked best. She also suggested updating the kitchen further by painting the dark wood beams on the ceiling white. I would not have done this on my own because I liked the beams but I ultimately decided to take her suggestion and I'm glad I did. It made a huge difference! I still have the beams but painting them white opened up the space and brightened up the whole room. With Karen's help, we now have a kitchen we love.
March 2015 - A year later, we were ready to to paint the living room and dining room. We called Karen again for a consultation to help us choose colors to tie the first floor together. Again, we narrowed it down to two colors. Karen also suggested painting the dark wood crown, window and floor mouldings white--which we will do without hestitation this time.
I think the cost of the consultations is money well spent. The expert advice from someone who sees a lot of homes can save you the time and disappointment of learning from your own mistakes.
March 2015 - A year later, we were ready to to paint the living room and dining room. We called Karen again for a consultation to help us choose colors to tie the first floor together. Again, we narrowed it down to two colors. Karen also suggested painting the dark wood crown, window and floor mouldings white--which we will do without hestitation this time.
I think the cost of the consultations is money well spent. The expert advice from someone who sees a lot of homes can save you the time and disappointment of learning from your own mistakes.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you again for the the kind remarks. I'm so excited for the new remodeling done at your home. Regards Karen"
John L.
Mar 2015
We had been looking for a contractor to do a large redesign & remodel. After several failed attempts to get anyone interested in taking on a large project, we found Karen. She was very willing to meet with us and we met with her within a week. She took notes and listened to what we wanted. From the first visit, she realized that we would need an architect to achieve the results we wanted. She was able to put us in touch with an architect that drew up some plans for us. She also was able to locate a contractor who was willing to take on a large project. It ended up being a total first floor remodel. Karen has been wonderful with keeping up with the contractor all the while helping us pick every design choice. She gave us many great suggestions, but was always flexible when we wanted to go in a different direction. Karen has always been available to us and a dream to work with. We would highly recommend Karen to do a great job for anyone wanting wonderful results with a small project to an extremely large remodel.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you to the [member name removed] it was my pleasure creating your new home for you. Regards, Karen"
David A.
Mar 2015
In a nutshel, frustrating and fruitless. I'm not sure what I paid for.
I contacted Karen for help with function and flow problems off the kitchen on our main floor and in our master bath. Although not an architect, she assured me she'd had experience with moving walls and changing the footprint of a room. Our problem is tricky and I certainly did not expect Karen to have the perfect solution at first sight. My frustration came from the fact that she took no notes or pictures of our problem areas and made no offers to think on it and get back to me with possible solutions. Along that line, she brought no catalogue of examples of her work but instead tried showing me pictures of a previous job from her smart phone. They were irrelevant to what I was trying to discuss with her and too small to be useful anyway. She was definitely more comfortable talking about products and materials rather than a re-design of a small room and hallway. I kept having to steer the conversation back to where I need help. I was very disappointed that she was not at all pro-active. We were definately not on the same page.
Discussions in the master bath were better but in the end produced no ideas that my husband and I hadn't already talked about. It's another small and awkward space. It was clear by this time that we were getting no where but she really lost me when she said that I'd have to spend $60,000 to fix it up to the standards I was asking for! My tastes or budget are not that crazy!
She did promise to e mail photos of a similar bathroom reno to me by the end of the day. She apparently forgot because I didn't get anything until I reminded her 4 days later. I didn't get an explanation for the slip. Three of the 5 master bath pictures she sent were the same shot of a vanity. One was a toilet. The other a shower. They had no meaningful commentary and were not helpful.
If you need help pulling together color pallets and materials I'm sure Karen will do a nice job. If you need practical design solutions I strongly suggest not contacting her.
Update: After reading my review, Karen was of course not happy with me but did refund my check in full.
I contacted Karen for help with function and flow problems off the kitchen on our main floor and in our master bath. Although not an architect, she assured me she'd had experience with moving walls and changing the footprint of a room. Our problem is tricky and I certainly did not expect Karen to have the perfect solution at first sight. My frustration came from the fact that she took no notes or pictures of our problem areas and made no offers to think on it and get back to me with possible solutions. Along that line, she brought no catalogue of examples of her work but instead tried showing me pictures of a previous job from her smart phone. They were irrelevant to what I was trying to discuss with her and too small to be useful anyway. She was definitely more comfortable talking about products and materials rather than a re-design of a small room and hallway. I kept having to steer the conversation back to where I need help. I was very disappointed that she was not at all pro-active. We were definately not on the same page.
Discussions in the master bath were better but in the end produced no ideas that my husband and I hadn't already talked about. It's another small and awkward space. It was clear by this time that we were getting no where but she really lost me when she said that I'd have to spend $60,000 to fix it up to the standards I was asking for! My tastes or budget are not that crazy!
She did promise to e mail photos of a similar bathroom reno to me by the end of the day. She apparently forgot because I didn't get anything until I reminded her 4 days later. I didn't get an explanation for the slip. Three of the 5 master bath pictures she sent were the same shot of a vanity. One was a toilet. The other a shower. They had no meaningful commentary and were not helpful.
If you need help pulling together color pallets and materials I'm sure Karen will do a nice job. If you need practical design solutions I strongly suggest not contacting her.
Update: After reading my review, Karen was of course not happy with me but did refund my check in full.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"The client job we are discussing are two major projects requiring an architect to measure and present drawings to change the flow of the kitchen/mudroom area and family room and keep the same orientation to the front entrance door, The project will have a big impact on the footprint of the first floor. This requires moving walls, changing ceiling lines, windows, new kitchen, etc. There are many potential scenarios for this project and an architect would provide options for this work.; The master bath project has many options also, but again involved moving entrance, changing plumbing, moving plumbing, stack lines, closet orientation and many electrical needs. One hour in the home is not what is required for either project, but meeting with an architect to obtain drawings is what is required here. Once drawings are supplied I then meet with the homeowner and architect to review their drawings and help select the most applicable footprint for their home and budget. I am a Angie's List Super Service Award winner, the highest award given to my design company. My experience has always been in construction from project management to specification for the past 25 plus years with hundreds of satisfied clients in all phases of design and construction around the country. I am very sorry to hear your comments. Regards Karen Lantz"
Bilal S.
Sep 2014
I was impressed by her great reviews. Scheduling was easy. We got something for 2 weeks or so. She came on time. We started by giving her an idea of what we wanted to get out of this consultation. She listened carefully and gave us feedback along the way. She was very thorough and clear on her recommendations. She was not pushy in any way. Really liked her gentle but attentive approach. We had a couple of questions afterwards and emailed her. She responded promptly. She is a gem !
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you [name removed], I enjoyed visiting with you at your home. Best of luck with your projects. Karen."
Nanci G.
Aug 2014
Karen helped us design and select our new kitchen. Our job was small but she never made us feel unimportant. She located and managed the contractors and helped us get an amazing price on cabinets and countertops. She is easy to get a hold of and she responds quickly with the information you need. She is professional and delightful to work with. She is not a pressure salesperson, she is just really great at what she does!
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"[Member name removed], Thank you so much for the kind works. It was my pleasure to work on your kitchen remodeling. I know you will have lots enjoyment from the completed work. Regards, Karen"
Nancy H.
May 2014
That went very well. She was very helpful. I think she did a very good job.
Glenn S.
Mar 2014
Very professional.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you so much for the kind review. I love your interesting barn/apartment project and certainly will be available, if necessary. Regards, Karen."
Kathy K.
Mar 2014
Karen was great to work with. She listened to what we wanted help with and then gave us that help. We were pretty sure where things would go,in our new house, but Karen had suggestions that improved the placement and overall effect of the paintings, groupings, etc. also was helpful with re-hanging our window coverings after they came back from the dry cleaners.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"[Member name removed], Thank you again for reviewing our design consultation. Best wishes in your new home and we are certainly available if you need our services. Regards, Karen"
Mariss M.
Nov 2013
The kitchen renovation went very well. Karen understood the scope of work that was required and was able to leverage her pre-existing relationships with high quality contractors to complete all aspects of the job. Karen's design is both contemporary and timeless. We would recommend her for your design and project management needs.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you [member name removed], again it was my pleasure to create a new kitchen/ breakfast area for your family to enjoy . Karen"
Leslie S.
Aug 2013
Karen answered my call and arrived at the scheduled time punctually. She listened to my concerns and questions. She was knowledgeable about how to update my house and what are popular options for houses in my area.
MOLLY V.
Dec 2012
Very pleasant and helpful experience - good ideas but at the same time she was very responsive to my overall taste and style.
A K.
Sep 2012
We were building a new house and were seeking advice on which furniture we could use in new house and how to lay it out - specifically for our new great room and basement gameroom.
Karen arrived the day of our appointment and we discussed our wishes and reviewed the plans/blueprints for the new house.. Unfortunately, we and quot;did not clickand quot; with Karen and decided not to use her initial suggestions or to pursue any further involvement with her.
Karen arrived the day of our appointment and we discussed our wishes and reviewed the plans/blueprints for the new house.. Unfortunately, we and quot;did not clickand quot; with Karen and decided not to use her initial suggestions or to pursue any further involvement with her.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Member, We are very sorry that you were so unhappy with our one hour consultation; during that short time it was obvious that we were not connecting. Please contact my office and we will be glad to give you a full refund of your one hour consultation fee. Best regards, Karen Lantz"
Mindy H.
Aug 2012
Do consult with Karen Lantz when you design or update your home.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you, it was my pleasure. Karen"
Mark B.
Jul 2012
Karen Lantz followed up quickly to come out and look at the job. We selected Karen over one other designer based on her professionalism and creative ideas. We agreed on a budget of $30,000 total. Karen worked with us to come up with a color scheme that we were happy with. She sub-contracted professionals to refinish the hardwood floors and to do the painting and touch-up and polyurethane the woodwork. The sub-contractors did good quality work. The floors and painting was done in about 6 weeks (including drying time) which seemed fast to us.She helped us select some beautiful, high quality furniture and it arrived in the time she said it would. She presented high quality carpeting samples for the living room of which we made a final selection and had it installed. Window treatment selection seemed to take longer than we thought it should have but it was because the material we selected turned out to be discontinued. Karen said that it was just the nature of the fabric business. She also made suggestions about lighting, the accent tables, and an oriental rug (which were not covered by the budget). The whole project took about six months. Karen is a very talented interior designer and very professional. She coordinated and managed all of the tasks very well. We are very proud of our home and love how it all turned out. I would highly recommend Designs Plus by Karen Lantz to anyone requiring professional help with interior design and decorating.
TOM G.
Apr 2012
Bought the Big Deal, she walked around our house making suggestions, and we told her we wanted her to do the work. Started with the installing wood floors, then some plastering and painting. Followed by blinds, carpeting and furniture. She took care of everything and we are very satisfied.
Mother B.
Apr 2012
I purchased an Angie's List special from this decorator for an hour of in home design consultation. I had just moved two weeks prior into a new (100 years old) home, and needed a lot of help. Karen came, spent a little extra time with me because every room needed everything...and I got some very good ideas from her. We discussed furniture arrangement, furniture purchases I needed to make, furniture I needed to replace, draperies, and window treatments to augment original stained glass windows, lighting, kitchen remodeling, carpets, closets, bathroom remodeling, out door porch areas, cement finishing, etc. I had my list of questions and concerns ready, and we covered everything. I liked her design tastes, appreciated her fast and clear communication and the fact that she was not put off by the fact that I had nothing but a big mess and boxes everywhere....and she was still able to help me pull together a basic plan. I have implemented her furniture purchase and arrangement ideas, carpet ideas, and am in the process of implementing her lighting and window blinds ideas. I got my money's worth for sure. The only thing that distresses me is that she said she would email me pictures of fabric samples for window treatments, and she did not follow through on that. I emailed her once and she did not come through.... I thought she lost a little bit out of the professionalism category for that, but perhaps it's just as well...because I found fabric on my own. Maybe in her experience she realized I had too much going on, with every room needing everything, to focus on one room's window treatments, but I thought she should have kept her word and followed through. Maybe she didn't know that getting window treatments up helps me feel settled... In any case, I liked her a lot and gained a lot from my exposure to her, but she did not keep her professional word to follow through with me.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"Thank you for the Angie's List Report on my 1 hour consultation. I am very glad that you received important information for pulling your home together after moving in. We checked our records and there were two emails with links to fabric suppliers sent out to you on November 10th. and 11th. We have found that many times these links are in the trash folder of your computer. When I heard no response from you, we assumed that you had already selected items on your own. We are very sorry for the mix up. Best wishes in your new home. Designs Plus"
Philip A.
Mar 2011
The services were performed very well.
Response from Designs Plus by Karen Lantz
"The design job was a fire restoration project. The interior of the home was gutted to the interior studs and subsequently re-built. It was a very complex project because all interior items needed specifications and selections made. The project was quoted to me as color and kitchen selections. I was responsible for lighting layouts, 35+ fixture selections, fireplace design, kitchen and bath selections, carpet, hardwood, stains, plumbing specs, colors, door selections, trim, etc. I became the "go to person" for specifications on the three new floors of the home. The home interior is beautiful and I would be glad to supply photos of our work on this property. A designer could not complete the work needed to complete this project in one or two months. We were on the job site over 60+ times to complete the necessary work. This was not a decorating project, but a complex re-building job."
Melanie H.
Oct 2008
She was vey nice. She had some very good ideas. She always got back to us on time when she said she would.
GRAHAM H.
Aug 2008
She is excellent. She helped me select colors for the kitchen and dining room. She helped me transition from a color that we thought we really liked in the dining room to a color that was very similar to it. At first we were skeptical, but when we saw it, it was perfect. She really knows her stuff.
Virginia A.
Jul 2007
After calling Karen and explaining what style I was looking for she brought a variety of samples to my home. I was very satisfied with her design and choices. Karen called me the next day with her bid, that I accepted. All the work was very professionally done and looks beautiful. From start to finish the job was completed in the time frame stated in the bid.
Virginia A.
Jul 2007
Mr. Lantz was on time for our meeting and gave us an estimate that was within our projected budget. Mr Lantz made every effort to give us the design we wanted. The construction was started and completed on time. Special care was given to the rooms off the kitchen that protected them from any dust and dirt. Our kitchen has a beautiful new up dated look. The addition to the back of our house was also completed on time and we enjoy this room more and more every day. We are very pleased with all the work done by Cross Towne Builders.
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FAQ
Designs Plus by Karen Lantz is currently rated 4.6 overall out of 5.
Designs Plus by Karen Lantz accepts the following forms of payment: CreditCard
No, Designs Plus by Karen Lantz does not offer free project estimates.
No, Designs Plus by Karen Lantz does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.
No, Designs Plus by Karen Lantz does not offer a senior discount.
No, Designs Plus by Karen Lantz does not offer emergency services.
No, Designs Plus by Karen Lantz does not offer warranties.