Design Matters

Most Recent Comments

• April 2023 by Dan D.
  Update: Julie responded to my review on another platform. She did not dispute her numerous mistakes picking and ordering materials, or her refusal to deliver complete plans, or her refusal to estimate costs. She instead claimed that doing the job correctly was actually a premium feature that cost extra (beyond the $10,700 we paid), so it was our responsibility to find and correct her mistakes, and that she should have even billed us an extra $6,000 for time spent correcting her own mistakes. This also meant she claimed to have made $6,000 worth of mistakes on a $10,700 job. She then threatened to get lawyers involved in retaliation for this review, even though all that was needed was a sincere apology and a promise to improve. I originally gave her 3 stars and a balanced review in the hope she would improve, but her response made me doubt that she will.
• January 2023 by Fiona Y.
  My fiancé and I remodeled our bathrooms recently with the help of Design Matters, and while the execution wasn't absolutely perfect, the most important thing to me at the end of the day is that the materials and layout look good, and they absolutely do. We ended up with a uniquely beautiful master bathroom that neither we nor our GC could have helped us design.
• January 2023 by Dan Duncan
  We hired Julie to design two bathrooms for us. We had such a mixed experience, with some aspects of her service deserving 5 stars and other aspects deserving 1 star, that it is difficult to pick a single rating for her. Our main takeaway is if you want to hire Julie, you can end up with a beautiful final product, but you will have to manage the execution yourself and fill in many gaps, and you will pay a premium price.Total costs for hiring Julie to design a master bathroom (140 sqft) and guest bathroom (70 sqft):Julie's fees: $10,700Tile, countertop, and vanities: $33,000Plumbing and other fixtures: $16,000What was good:Julie's main strength is coming up with the grand vision for both layout and materials. Julie gave us a proposal that was far better than any of our ideas and still matched to our tastes. Julie also offered to pick all of the finished materials, which we really liked since this was our first time remodeling and neither of us is good at design.What was not good:- Execution was poor. For example, she did not verify that the colors of fixtures in person. She picked a gold medicine cabinet to match our gold fixtures, but we later discovered it was almost yellow and clashed with our fixtures. She also ordered 30% less tile than we needed for the master bathroom. By the time we discovered this, no more tile was available from the same lot and we had to finish 30% of the bathroom with tile from a different lot.- Major avoidable mistakes were made: Julie chose custom countertops, then sent us a drawing of the counter with a sink in it, but no dimensions or placement for the sink. We noticed this and asked for dimensions for where to place the sink, and she actually refused to provide them. Later, after our fabricator cut the countertop, we discovered the actual sink was too small and wasn't even the same shape as her drawings. Julie eventually paid for us to get a new sink cut, but this was still a hassle that could have been avoided if she had just provided complete plans like we requested.- You almost need to write a blank check: After we picked a layout with Julie, she refused to estimate how much things like vanities would cost, making it impossible for us to budget. She later sent a bill for $33,000 that covered tile, vanities, and countertops, but refused to provide any itemized breakdown for how much individual items cost or how much markup she added. The large bill and lack of transparency left us feeling like we had been ripped off. It may be that Julie's business is just intended for someone with an unlimited budget, and we were not her target market.- If you're noticing the word "refused" a lot in this review, it's because it was not unusual to send Julie a question and have her ignore it or refuse to answer it directly.- Lack of trust: A goofy-looking light was mistakenly sent for one bathroom. We messaged Julie, and she responded that she had actually intended to order that light, and it would look "cool and unique." A few days later, possibly after confirming she could still exchange the light without paying to fix the mistake, she told us it was the wrong light after all and she would help exchange it. I asked her if she had not been straight with us in her first response, but she ignored my question, making us suspect she had lied to us.- She made changes with major structural implications without telling us to run them by our architect, potentially because she herself did not understand the implications. This is also partly the architect's fault, as he never asked to look at Julie's designs either. Julie designed a niche in our shower that runs the length of the shower, 80". The niche looked great, but unfortunately this was a load-bearing wall. We had to pause construction partway through when the builder discovered the niche and pay an engineer to draw up a plan for how to reinforce the shower wall. This added thousands of dollars in unexpected costs to the project.I still believe this could be a five star business if Julie ever
• December 2022 by Heeral Kota
  I have been working with Julie and the Design Matters team for about a year now on my remodeling project. I can't say enough about the talent Julie and her team have. They brought my dream home to life! Julie has extremely great taste and a great work ethic.Julie not only created our dream kitchen but she designed the living room, bathroom, perfect lighting to go with the space, furniture, and my dream prayer room! She put a lot of thought into the custom cabinet design, making sure all of my requirements were met.From the moment you meet her, you can tell she is passionate about what she does and you know you are in great hands! I highly recommend them!Services: Flooring selection
• May 2022 by Deborah Harden
  Last June we awoke to a dishwasher flood that ruined our kitchen floors. In the midst of water remediation and insurance claims, we decided to remodel, since much demo had already been done. We contacted Julie Cavanaugh because she was recommended by a friend, and she came right over to view the space and listen to our needs and wants. We were absolutely amazed by her design- we never would have thought to turn the entire space 90 degrees. This was a brilliant inspiration, and things continued from there. The space itself was unchanged except moving a door, a big saving. And she and her team responded to our need for more reachable storage and better lighting as we age. She respected our suggestions about changes to materials and layout. Her firm did all the detailed plans for the permits, assisting with appliance orders, and communicating with our contractor. Julie always answered emails promptly, even on weekends. Design Matters is definitely worth the cost, and we are really thrilled with our kitchen.Services: Cabinetry & hardware design
• March 2022 by RM F.
  We signed a contract to work with Design Matters to renovate a house we purchased in June 2021. We searched for reviews on Design Matters but not the principal. Big mistake, we didn't know the principal changed company name after fraud issues. When she first visited the house, she recommended we open drywalls and talked like an engineer. In discussions she would say you don't need permits for just moving drywalls but in emails, she used to mention we are responsible for permits. This drove us nuts.. She insisted we order cabinets as they are long lead, we paid 100% upfront and cabinets dimensions are incorrect and incomplete. We opened the drywalls and realized some of the walls are structural and we ended up spending 50k just to cover walls to bring back to original. After learning about her, we terminated our contract. We ended up hiring a lawyer as we didn't want to deal with her. Later on she sends threatening emails about reporting us to city. She is terrible and please google her name before you decide to work with DM.
• November 2021 by G Collins
  Simply the best. If you are looking to remodel your home, you need Design Matters. Julie and her team are wonderful. From the moment Julie steps into your home she starts envisioning the best remodel for your house. She redesigned our whole first floor and we loved it so much we had her do the same for our second home! Her work ethic is unbeatable. She does it all, from blueprints, appliance selection, materials, and permit documentation. I had no idea what I wanted and Julie kept working with me to design rooms I absolutely loved.
• November 2021 by Tania Gai
  We want to start off by saying, the ladies at Design Matters are absolutely amazing! We started our home project with nothing more than a rough idea of what things were important to us. Julie and Nicole have a wealth of knowledge in space planning and this was the first step in turning our dreams into reality. These ladies asked all the right questions and listened to what we wanted in our dream home. When the final day came to review their design, we were almost in tears with how well the vision was understood. They thought of every little detail and didn't overlook any aspect of the project that we felt was important. The level of detail and thoroughness when it came to how the space was laid out really showed their level of expertise. We immediately knew that this team had our dreams, vision, and best interest in mind. We look forward to the next stages of our project. Look no further this is the A-team! We are super fortunate to have met them and been able to have our dreams come to life.
• October 2021 by David P
  Julie has an incredible vision and attention to detail. Her eye on identifying, pairing, and aligning materials is incredible. Our kitchen remodel design is a masterpiece. We loved so much, we ended up designing most of the house. I highly recommend Design Matters.Service: Refurbishment
• October 2021 by Diana Perkins
  I first used Design Matters in 2020 for a kitchen remodel. I really liked the designer's suggestions and knowledge of materials and suppliers. However, there were several problems along the way including mis-measuring the size of the sink (causing me additional return fees and time), not enough tile ordered for the backsplash (causing a week delay during construction), and not ordering the correct number of door knobs/drawer pulls (causing further delay in the completion of the project).When I started to plan for a bathroom remodel earlier this year my first thought was to select the materials on my own without the help of a designer. After visiting a few tile stores, I was overwhelmed and decided to use Design Matters again. Although the issues with the kitchen remodel were frustrating, I gave them the benefit of the doubt as that was during a heightened Covid period and the designer did not visit my kitchen to determine the details as often as they probably would have otherwise.I met with the designer at the Los Gatos showroom in the end of June to discuss materials, colors, and tile layout. I was not able to find a new vanity by that time, so the designer said she would look into one and get back to me with a suggestion. She did place the orders for the tile. However, after two months, and with the contractor starting in two weeks, I had not received any follow up on the vanity, design plans, paint colors, etc. I emailed the designer and received a response that she was out of the office and after several back-and-forth emails, over a week later I finally received the design information that was overdue. However, Design Matters completely dropped the ball on the new vanity and at that point there was no time to order one before the contactor started. No apology, suggestions, or alternatives were ever offered.Most frustrating was the lack of follow-through on the tile order. Design Matters had ordered tile from Porcelanosa in early July that was to take 8-12 weeks to arrive. Porcelanosa informed Design Matters of a two to three month shipping delay. Without any communication with me, with Design Matters told Porcelanosa it would not be an issue, even though they were aware of my construction start date. Not only did Design Matters not inform me of this delay, they offered absolutely no assistance or suggestions on how to solve the issue. Luckily for me, the staff at Porcelanosa was wonderful and were able to rush a new order for the tile with expedited shipping. Of course, I had to pay significant amount of money for the additional order and expedited shipping; again, without any remedy or assistance from Design Matters.I did like the design suggestions provided by Design Matters; however, the lack of follow up, accurate material ordering, or follow-through on the ordering caused me significant additional costs and time. I would not recommend Design Matters and will certainly not use their services in the future.
• January 2021 by Paul Lester
  We worked with Sasha and her team in the Morgan Hill office, it was a wonderful experience. We did what I’d call an 80% remodel of a 3400sqft house, pretty much everything except drywall or major structural changes...full kitchen gut, 2 of 3 bathrooms including the master, adding a home office in the master, new flooring throughout the house, new fireplace, new baseboards and crown, wainscoting, etc, etc.Sasha was available and attentive. Her suggestions were always spot-on and she knew exactly which company to talk to in order to get what we wanted.We simply couldn’t have done this effectively without Sasha and her team. If you’re hesitant about the cost of hiring a designer or simply think it will turn out just as well if you do it yourself, I’m convinced that working with Design Matters actually saved us time and money...well worth the investment, we plan on working with her again on an addition down the road. Highly recommend you use Design Matters!Service: Refurbishment
• January 2021 by Paul Moran
  My wife and I selected Design Matters for the interior design of our home we purchased in the fall of 2019. It was a complete interior renovation, including the relocation of some interior walls. Julie and Beverly were great to work with. From the initial space planning, the layout of tile and cabinetry, selection of all the finish materials, colors, fixtures and hardware, they are very professional to work with. Details matter to us, and their attention to detail is apparent in our finished home. They have a great design process and were there every step of the way from start to finish. We recommend Design Matters wholeheartedly.Service: Refurbishment
• January 2021 by Shelby Davidson
  We discovered Design Matters and were impressed by the immense amount of value, knowledge, and expertise that they added to our project. We started engaging with Design Matters later in our process and wished we would have engaged much earlier with their team.. Ideally, at the same stage as with the Architect and Builder.Julie and the Design Matters team reorganized the home layout for better function and flow, while guiding us on material selections. They provided industry expertise related to project oversight, project management, coordination with building professionals, detailed specification reviews, and installation support for the sub-contractors. Julie’s passion for her craft and her profession is contagious. It was a lot of work, but she did it with full charge enthusiasm and made it a worthwhile and fun process for us as well!The quality and creativity provided by Design Matters is unmatched! Their work ethic and streamlined process provided peace of mind and more benefit than I ever thought possible. Julie is detailed, articulate, purposeful in her explanation of why one thing vs. another thing Julie and the Design Matters team have been advocates for us and I would recommend Design Matters without any hesitation. We will be working with them on our next project in the Los Altos area, and any other project that comes our way!
• January 2021 by Natalie Daprile
  I have decorated six homes in my life but I've never worked with any decorator as good as Sasha Wylde with Design Matters. This company was highly recommended by my contractor and I could not possibly be happier. With one visit to my home, Sasha was able to pick out 90% of the products (literally examples sitting on her table) and the remaining 10% soon followed. She has a gifted eye for color and dimensions and my home is beautiful but also done creatively. Even my contractor keeps bringing people over as he is as impressed as we are! On top of doing a great job, she is also affordable and extremely responsive via phone/text and email. If I ever move again I will definitely use this company to assist me and highly recommend them to anyone looking for a decorator - projects big and small.
• July 2020 by Shelby D.
  We discovered Design Matters and were impressed by the immense amount of value, knowledge, and expertise that they added to our project. We started engaging with Design Matters later in our process and wished we would have engaged much earlier with their team.. Ideally, at the same stage as with the Architect and Builder. Julie and the Design Matters team reorganized the home layout for better function and flow, while guiding us on material selections. They provided industry expertise related to project oversight, project management, coordination with building professionals, detailed specification reviews, and installation support for the sub-contractors. Julie's passion for her craft and her profession is contagious. It was a lot of work, but she did it with full charge enthusiasm and made it a worthwhile and fun process for us as well! The quality and creativity provided by Design Matters is unmatched! Their work ethic and streamlined process provided peace of mind and more benefit than I ever thought possible. Julie is detailed, articulate, purposeful in her explanation of why one thing vs. another thing Julie and the Design Matters team have been advocates for us and I would recommend Design Matters without any hesitation. We will be working with them on our next project in the Los Altos area, and any other project that comes our way!