Threshold Design Lab

We worked with Paul and Threshold on a redesign of our primary bedroom. Paul is incredibly talented in design and perfectly combines cutting edge and classic design that will last. He was able to integrate pieces we already had as well as elevate the design of our space. He’s responsive, a good communicator, and we felt lucky to be able to get to work with him when we did. Book him while you can, he’s only going to get more expensive. I cannot recommend him highly enough!

My partner and I wanted to redesign our bedroom. While we didn't make any structural changes we did however need a decent amount of built-in cabinetry designed and installed. Paul was wonderful! He put together elevations and renderings and also helped with sourcing all new furniture and carpet. He worked with his own millworker to custom build all of the millwork and a very affordable price. He also had the millworker build custom nightstands which he designed based on all of the elements of our room and they came out beautifully!!! We don't live local so we were able to get everything shipped and had a local carpenter do the millwork installation. Paul oversaw everything and it all got installed smoothly! I highly recommend working with Paul!!!

We absolutely love working with Paul. He is extremely knowledgable, makes wonderful recommendations, stays on budget, and finishes projects on time!

REVIEW OF PAUL SCHULMAN DESIGN We hired Paul to design the kitchen and two bathrooms in our 1910 condo, and we intended to hire him to oversee the entire remodel budgeted at $150,000. Initially, he appeared professional, responsive, and creative. However, working with Paul turned out to be a horrible experience. He repeatedly missed promised deadlines, delayed meetings, gave endless excuses (seven by text alone), and blamed us for problems resulting from his poor management of the project. All along, his work contained numerous errors and oversights, and he offered few constructive or creative solutions. We tried to be flexible and accommodating, and Paul several times apologized for the delays and communication issues, blaming personnel issues (he soon thereafter fired a new employee) and family issues (new school year, etc.), which we could certainly appreciate. Unfortunately, it only got worse. Nearly two months after his proposed design deadline, he largely stopped responding to my e-mails (four e-mails over two weeks) and kept postponing phone conversations. We asked him to complete the design work by a new deadline in order for us to consider using his company to supervise the remodel. Instead of completing the design or asking for another extension, he said that our project “caught him at a bad time” and that we would be “best served going elsewhere.” Because he chose to quit four months into the project, he waived our final payment (he had tried to collect it before the work was finished and he refused to refund what we had already payed totaling over $4,000). If you hire Paul, do not pay the final invoice until the work is complete to your satisfaction—but even that cannot guarantee completion. Overall, we were left pretty unimpressed with his design skills. Good design requires a commitment to both the big picture and the fine details. Paul repeatedly promised but never actually attempted to pull all of the details together, which probably resulted in more revisions than necessary. The selection of tiles, paint colors, moldings, light fixtures, electrical design, etc. was promised, but never delivered. One hires a designer to think through how all of those details, colors, and materials interact: how a paint color looks next to certain materials and fixtures in the actual room. In reality, Paul basically just told us to research faucets online ourselves and directed us to a few tile manufacturer websites (he pulled some selections together on pintrest, but they were hardly helpful—mainly because they were not envisioned as part of a larger whole). He had bold ideas about tiles ("a beautiful hand-painted tile would look good there"), but then would leave it to us to research and come back to him with the options, only to get no response. This was his standard practice, and ultimately we felt that Paul’s work lacked both vision and execution. A rough budget was coming together towards the end, though it still had numerous errors and omissions. When he chose to abandon the project, he again blamed our indecision for wasting his time—in actuality, the budget and finish schedule was so poorly executed that it required corrections to the majority of line items; I’m sure that was frustrating for Paul and his team. Some changes were due to their own oversights, and others were due to discoveries about the hundred-year-old building, which is a totally normal part of the process. As I would say, better to make those changes on paper than after everything has been purchased. Paul frequently complained that we were being unreasonable or costing him money. He complained that we had sent him 138 e-mails over six months: Really, it was 121 emails, including scheduling exchanges, brief messages of approval (e.g., “sounds great!”), e-mails to follow up on promises and deadlines unmet by Paul and his team, e-mails requesting updates after weeks of silence, and—of course—ideas and feedback on the designs, some of which had to be revised or returned to earlier ideas: anyone in design knows that is just part of the process and, again, many of the revisions were due to his own initial errors or oversights. Paul claims to have 17 years of design experience, but every architect, contractor, and designer who has seen his drawings for our project has pointed out numerous problems with them. Multiple contractors have said that the designs were so incomplete that any reasonable sub-contractor would have to overbid the job to protect themselves from potential changes. Paul clearly lacks solid construction knowledge and experience. He deemed several of our ideas impossible from a construction perspective; in reality, many of our original ideas actually ended up being easier to construct than those in his plans (again, we ended up having to toss out most of his drawings—a total waste of $4,000). As clients, perhaps we were too proactive with our ideas, research, and sketches; perhaps we cared a lot about good communication; perhaps we didn’t give him enough free reign with the budget—perhaps our budget (pushed to over $150,000) was too small for him; perhaps we frustrated Paul because we brought changes to his attention that needed to be made to improve the design. But overall these concerns could have been avoided with more careful and attentive work on the part of Paul and his team in the first place. I know there are worse remodeling horror stories out there, and we feel fortunate that we did not have to use Paul for the actual renovation. But we genuinely hope no one else has the experience we had with Paul Schulman Design. In summary: + Design process was delayed almost two months and never completed. + Numerous (at least twelve) initial mismeasurements in crucial places. These were off by 3-4” and would have cost us a lot of money in change orders (e.g., I asked Paul if he would be responsible if I ordered cabinets based on his measurements and they happened to be wrong; he laughed and dismissed it as an impossibility because he used a laser measuring device—he should probably get the device recalibrated or learn how to use it). + Designs contained amateurish errors and oversights: cabinet doors that would hit each other when opened; a shower that would drench the user when turning the valve on; a custom vanity (35% upcharge, by the way) with a sink specified that would have been 2” too large to fit. These are oversights that you hire a designer precisely to avoid. Worse, Paul would complain when we brought them to his attention. + Revisions of designs were often delayed by weeks and were often incomplete. + Paul would often commit to doing tasks by a certain date and fail to do so. + Meetings were frequently rescheduled with little regard to client's time; too many excuses were given; we actively had to request updates. + Prices are inflated: his demolition bid was over $9,000 while other contractors bid it at $4,000; his plumbing bid was $13,000 per bathroom, other plumbers consistently bid each bathroom around $2,000-$3,000. Those are huge differences. + Lighting and electrical design was largely absent and thoughtless. + Drawings were incomplete and amateurish. (For example, Paul never provided a standard demolition drawing, specifying which walls, etc., needed to be removed). Basically, Paul does not have architectural skills, so when you show his drawings to a contractor/ plumber/ electrician/ cabinetmaker, they do not have enough clear information to work from and bid out the project accurately. The drawings project an air of accuracy (e.g., measurements to an impractical 1/16”), but actually contain numerous larger more meaningful errors. If you compare Paul’s drawings to a professional’s drawings you will immediately see the difference. + Generally inconsistent communication: sometimes Paul would respond quickly and thoroughly, other times there would be no responses whatsoever. + It took four weeks and four e-mails for him to finally return our house keys! + We found Paul because of his excellent Houzz reviews, but beware: Houzz allows companies to delete bad reviews! A few pros: + Paul took detail

As a plumber in Chicago. I've worked with a lot of General Contractors and Paul by far is a pleasure to work with. We have worked side by side on some beautiful projects from downtown Greystones to huge Bucktown lofts. He runs his job very professional and punctual. I have even used his services for my own home which turned out stellar. Needless to say, we are extremely happy with Paul and his team.

Smooth;y and well.

Thumbs up .If my budget allowed

Paul was great to work with. We looked on the computer till we found some appropriate pieces of furniture. I liked his attention to scale which is something I really had not given much thought. He made some excellent suggestions on accessories for the living room and hallway. Would definitely recommend him for big and little projects.

We are thrilled with the results. The renovations fit seamlessly into our 1896 home. The kitchen is bright, functional and beautiful - a total transformation from its previous incarnation with dark cherry cabinetry and granite to light grey, whites and a warm honey colored wood floor throughout the three rooms. The tiny powder room has beautiful wallpaper that makes and simple fixtures that we love. The workmen were professional and did great work, as well as leaving our home as clean and usable as possible during a renovation. My husband and I have very different taste is everything, but Paul and his team were develop and execute a design that thrills us both. Highly recommended!!

Went well.

This is the first negative review I’ve ever written on Angie’s List. I bought an initial consultation of 2 hours with Paul and asked him to work on three projects as listed above. The initial 2-hour process went great and he was very responsive, and had great ideas. Then I signed on with him to do the actual work and basically he did nothing. I had to email him numerous times in order to get any response, and he never did anything on even the simplest of the three projects, the kitchen lighting. He blamed the lack of work on the door on a bad subcontractor but ultimately that is his responsibility and not mine because he marks up their fees by 30% and guarantees their work. He billed me for design work on the bookshelves , but then never did anything to start work. Unfortunately I paid. So I’m out several hundred dollars with absolutely nothing to show for it. His assistant told me they were over-committed which is why they never did any of my work. I have emails to back up everything I’m saying here.

It went very well. He had some good ideas and recommended various workers.

He delivered sketches of design

Paul was a lot of fun to work with and although the process can be intimidating, this project was great!  Paul was very respectful of the budget - we did lots of high/low and he's fine with using retail where appropriate.  The result reflected our design esthetic but Paul also brought us new ideas to give us a beautiful home that has our stuff in it but looks much better than we could have possibly done on our own!  On time (more or less, as usual when ordering furniture is involved) and on budget and a pleasure to work with - can't ask for more than that!

Paul believed in our vision of building a sustainable, net-zero, passive solar home and wanted to contribute, in his words, "to this special project." What began as basic floorplan review and general aesthetic consultation quickly turned into complete design oversight. From millwork and fixture specifications to material and finish selections and everything in-between, Paul committed his valuable time and professional expertise. His comprehensive understanding of the construction process, meticulous attention to detail, and keen artistic sense offered us a truly extraordinary design service. We can't thank him enough for creating a home that is functional, authentic, and stunning.

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We ended up meeting with him but not going with him. We had a little trouble getting together with vacations and everything. We never did get 3D renderings, all we got were some drafted drawings. It was not clear on Angie's List that he was not only an architect but a design build, which meant that he would create the plans and he would get his own contractors to come in and do the work. We just did not have a sense. So that was a little deceiving on the advertising part from Angie's List. That was a disappointment because had I known he was a design build operator, I may not have used him. So, that was unclear going in. And then, it was very difficult to pin down cost. So, we were not able to get to a point where we had any comfort level. He just couldn't pin down cost for us. He never even gave us a ballpark. So we said, "Well, this is what our budget is." He was coming in with estimates which was almost double we had budgeted. So, whether it was unrealistic to consider him to begin with or whatever the case may be, we never had a real comfort level that in fact he was going to work to what we needed. He showed up very much on time. I don't see myself doing any projects where he would cover. If somebody else was doing a project like I was doing, I would definitely call him.

Took time to address my questions and was very professional. <br />

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He helped us think through the project.  He was explicit and clear in his explanation about how much his fees would be, and what time he would charge for.  We liked him.  However, in the end, we ended up utilizing a different designer. <br />

It was a $50 first overview/assessment to remodel a condo.  I am not sure Paul knew how serious I was about remodeling the condo or if he did not think I had the $ to do so.  There was no follow through on either side after the initial meeting <br />