Betm Renovation Design & Management

Categories: Kitchen Renovation, Interior Design

1. 
   User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

   by dwr249

   02/04/2008

   Brenda Be of beTM design did an excellent job for the kitchen renovation in my Boston condo. I had a galley kitchen that was crowded, ugly, and lacking in work and storage space. Basically, it was depressing to live with – and I had lived with it a long time! I considered two options – one was just using a contractor that specialized in kitchens, and the other was using Brenda Be to do the design, and project manage the construction. I decided to use her because the design concepts she came up with were very original and distinctly better than the concepts presented by the contractor, with comparable costs. The result gets a "WOW" from visitors, and without doubt has paid for itself by increasing the value and salability of my unit. My girlfriend was excited about having a kitchen where we could cook together – she even bought me a cookbook – and we've enjoyed using it on a regular basis.
   
   A few comments on what it’s like to work with Brenda. In the beginning of my first time working with a designer, I was worried about ending up with something too "artsy" or that I would be uncomfortable with. However, she goes through an interesting process to understand your own style and what results you are trying to achieve – even if you have a hard time describing it. This includes everything from having you do homework on likes and dislikes from magazines, to looking at what your clothes say about your taste. She takes her job seriously to produce something YOU will like, even if it might be somewhat different from her favorites. Secondly, she pushes the envelope to solve difficult technical problems by using construction options conventional contractors would never think of, or might consider inconvenient. But also, she knows about construction – and designs to avoid inflated costs. In my kitchen, through her ideas, we relocated a door, removed an unneeded radiator, and moved fixtures – all at least doubling the efficiency and feeling of space in the tight room. None of this was ever considered by the “kitchen specialist” contractor, and made a world of difference in the results – and because of her care in selecting materials and details, the final cost was still very comfortable for my budget! Finally, her knowledge of products is outstanding. I was amazed (really, overwhelmed) by the variety of choices out there, and definitely felt that her knowledge saved me countless hours of time and produced a much better result.
   
   I'd highly recommend beTM if you want a result that really looks – and works – superior to "run of the mill".
   
   Pros: Creativity, knowledge of materials and construction, watches your budget
   
   Cons: None

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