Get matched with top designers/decorators in La Mesa, CA

"Sarah is wonderful! Do not hesitate to use her. She has done multiple projects for us. She resigned out kitchen on a budget and it looks beautiful. She worked with us to pick out living and dinning room furniture. She designed/reimagined our primary and primary bathroom. Year later she designed my son's nursery. She is detailed and works closely with her clients. I still get compliments on my home bc of her. I refer her to anyone who needs help with designing a beautiful home."

"CTID was (is!) great to work with -- they are still helping us with some final decorating items. We were new to town so Charles was a great help in introducing us to options, listening to us and translating what we wanted into recommendations. CTID sourced most if not all our materials from wood flooring, tile and countertops for kitchen and baths, kitchen cabinets and appliances, bath fixtures and vanities, and stone for the fireplace. They designed a built-in bed for the main bedroom and found us a wall bed for the guest room, Afghan rugs, living room furniture and cabinetry and outdoor furniture. Nearly all facets of our design and build were shepherded by Charles. We would definitely work with Charles again and it is clear from the various suppliers we met through him that he is highly respected."

"I had an amazing experience with Be home Remodeling, I want to thank Josh Zack's and his team of dedicated professionals for the amazing job they did on my master bathroom. Josh?s dedication and communication was crucial in ensuring the job was done quickly and professionally. He was is always available and provided quick response! We decided to do a bathroom remodel a couple of weeks ago. The entire process was done properly and as described to me at the start. Project was on schedule and went extremely smooth. The workers and staff were really professional, polite and easy to work with. I highly recommended BE Home Remodeling and specifically Josh Zack."

"There were several challenges specific to this project. First, it is was our first remodel ever - so we were novice clients and needed a GC that could provide an extra level of guidance for us. Second, the project was done remotely - we lived 500 miles away and could only visit the project periodically, so we needed someone who was a very good communicator and easy to access. Finally, the home had never been updated, so there were many unknowns about what might be discovered during the demo and remodel stages. We bought the home in 2012 on a short sale "as-is" and rented it out until we started the remodel.

At the bid stage, Danny Montijo (CEO of DM Building) provided the most detailed proposal by far. His pricing was also very competitive. He had been recommended by the architect who had drawn up our plans and he was at the top of our Angie's list search as well. We made our decision to go with Danny based on the referrals, his bid and phone conversations. He proved to be a very good communicator throughout. Since he doesn't do any of the hands-on work himself, he was very prompt in returning calls - phone/txt/email are his main personal tools. His very detailed bid/estimate proved to be a very helpful document throughout the project, as it was easy to see what was included and what wasn't. 

Quality-wise, the project was first class. During our periodic visits, we were able to talk not only to some of his team, but also to some of his subcontractors. Danny's requirement for high quality was constantly brought up unsolicited. Subtle aspects of higher quality were regularly pointed out. - from tile work, to painting, to cleaning up. Really, at every step, every decision.

The bid was fixed price; we never had a situation where Danny came back to us and complained about an aspect of the project going over budget if the task proved more difficult than expected. He was extremely fair and ethical. He was also straightforward - if he ran into a problem or felt he needed to recommend something that was originally outside the scope, he did so, provided a price, and we felt it was fair. Some of the discoveries during the demo and remodel were ugly ones in terms of budget and schedule (e.g. we learned we needed to re-pipe all hot & cold water and there was a recommendation to install all new drainage under the house, which we decided to do). We also made requests for additions/modifications that were outside of the original scope, such as adding some electrical, putting new insulation in the attic, etc. In a couple of cases, costs of the scope additions came back higher than expected, but we never felt like we were being taken advantage of - it was just a matter of the actual costs being higher than what we expected based on initial verbal discussions. 

Another positive aspect was Danny's willingness to provide his opinion (or say he didn't have one), if we asked him a design question. In a couple of cases where Danny had strong feelings about a particular design plan that we hadn't yet implemented, he volunteered his opinion. A couple of those recommendations proved to be very beneficial. Danny was also helpful in steering us toward products (e.g. doors & handles) where had no knowledge of what to order or specify. He recommendations were generally for high quality at a good price with a proven vendor.

Danny was also very skilled in managing interactions with inspectors. His good people and communication skills are very valuable in those aspects. He handled many behind-the-scenes aspects of the project without us having to worry about them. 

The only "problem" we had with the project was overall schedule. The project was supposed to take 4-5 months, but wound up taking much longer. One factor was the long-distance/remote nature of the project. Our general inexperience in remodeling/construction and our lack of availability when certain decisions needed to be made also played a role. Another factor was availability of subcontractors or crews. The project was done during a period of peak demand for good GCs and subs; one of the unpleasant learnings we had as clients was that project schedule was more dependent on subcontractor availability than anything else and that GCs have little to no control over that aspect. Even with his own staff, our project was competing with other commitments, so a delay on our end with a decision sometimes translated into subs or his own staff no longer being available. For quality and cost reasons, it appeared that Danny uses only certain subs, so if a key one is not available when the project is at the "ready" stage, it can be a problem. 

Good news conversations are easy to have; you find out about your GC and he finds out about you when you have to discuss bad news (such as ugly discoveries about the home's infrastructure that only become evident during demo or a schedule delay, etc). We found that we could have these difficult discussions in an open and respectful manner with no finger pointing or acrimony. 

His staff that we interacted with were very professional and polite and clearly had good chemistry when they were working together. He has very experienced staff who like working for someone with a focus on quality and doing things right. 

In the end, the overall result was outstanding in terms of how the remodel itself turned out. Danny lived up to his high marks on Angie's list. We have received many compliments about the remodel, including from subs who have worked on various aspects of it and know what they're looking at when they see the work of others on the project. After we moved into the home, if a problem popped up, Danny was very quick to respond and fix it. 

On the payment and financing side, everything went smoothly - Danny was easy to work with and very fair.


"

"Exceptional service with quality care and very professional hardscaping (Team Andy) and landscaping team (Team Omar). CEO, Emily Ayala was not only professional but provided thorough communication during our front yard project. Emily provided a 3D virtual design within hours after our initial consultation meeting all of our requests as well as comprehensive architectural design. Overall, we had an excellent experience working with Emily and her crew at San Diego Premier Outdoor Design! We are thrilled with the new look and quality of pavers, turf, landscape, lighting and irrigation system."

"I hired this landscape designer to transform my backyard and was thrilled with the end result. The designer was creative, attentive, and provided practical solutions to improve the functionality and beauty of my outdoor space. Highly recommend!"

"Kacen and his team pulled up our existing lawn, his design turned it into beautiful low maintenance, water wise front yard that exceeded our expectations. Kacen and his team arrived for work early everyday, worked in the rain, made sure our yard was clean at the end of each day. The entire transformation took 4 days. We received several proposals, C & H proposal was very reasonable and gave us the most for the price that we were able to have our driveway and side walks acid stained. Kacen returned on day 5 to make sure we were 100% satisfied. I have been in contact with Kacen since the project was completed, he is quick to reply and be available to assist. We are extremely satisfied."

"Leslie was an incredible find. I had had a dreadful experience with a large Hvac company and Leslie was able to rectify their shoddy work, comprehend numerous highly technical reports, deal with state licensing board, city permitting and multiple testing companies. She assessed the qualifications of numerous contractors and oversaw contract arrangements. She was experienced knowledgeable and brought an end to a nightmare situation with calm professionalism. I recommend her highly and would hire her again without hesitation."

"Keith and his team at Walter Electric are incredible. We had them do a ton of work on our house: new lighting in closets, LED lighting in two rooms, install new track lighting and ceiling fans, move switches and outlets around, and install hard wired lights in the bathroom and the front of the house. All of the work was done with precision craftsmanship and they left our house cleaned up nicely each day. Keith provided great guidance and recommendations along the way and was responsive to answer our questions. Would highly recommend Walter Electric!"

"This was a complete landscape redo for our residence. The project included fencing and painting, repair redwood deck and paint, install pavers and fire pit, remove grass and install synthetic turf, large tree removal, hedge removal, destruction and removal of sidewalk and replacement with pavers, replacement of lawn with decorative rock and succulents/cactus, complete irrigation overhaul and installation of drip system, install landscape lighting. Luis is a stickler for detail and made sure the job was done right. He is great to work with and his crew are professional and courteous."