Sustainable Design Services in New Haven, CT

“We hired Faros to remodel our two bathrooms before our son was born this spring. We had a deadline and we were really counting on them to deliver on time - and they blew it out of the water. They show up, are incredibly communicative, and do a stellar job. I don't think any email ever even sat for a few hours unanswered! They are incredibly prompt, skilled, and they CARE. I think this story really exemplifies their level of professionalism: we were having my baby shower at our house and the bathroom still needed to be finished, but unfortunately, a huge snowstorm came and delayed almost every piece of the final installation. The owner and his son came to our house in the middle of the blizzard to finish the job. They wouldn't let it sit unfinished- they even shoveled our driveway to get it done on time! That's the kind of care I'm talking about - you'd be exceptionally lucky to have them work on your house. We look forward to working with them again and constantly recommend them to all of our friends.”

“From the moment my husband and I met Lucien, we knew he was a genuine person with vast creative ideas. This was what we were looking for when deciding to embark on a long-term relationship for the creation of our new home. Lucien’s ideas on how to bring our dream to reality furthered our trust in him and admiration for his work. What Lucien has created in our home is a complete marriage of art and architecture. We challenged Lucien to design an open floor plan home with built-in art niche’s to showcase very special family sculpture. Since sculpture is a 3 dimensional expression, Lucien was truly able to design locations where our art is displayed and experienced from many rooms. Lucien functions very much like a true artist, taking ownership and quality assurance of his end product. We never felt we were counting hours and revisions that he put into our project but rather he gave whatever was needed to complete the job to his and my level of approval. We would absolutely use Lucien again for any project, large or small to help bring ideas to reality.”

“Great to work with. Adheres to budget. High quality and attention to detail work. They build a great home and are there years later to service the home if necessary. Professional and loyal builders. Family business so you always feel like you are special. I couldn't be happier.”

“We used Maegan from Soglia Studios on more than one occasion over the past 2 years and have found her to be smart, professional, and very talented. She's done everything from guiding us on roof design and improvements to designing built-ins and storage in our living room to showing us new options and designs for our bathroom renovation. We will continue to use Soglia Studios in the future!”

“We’ve owned our house for about 16 years, and over that period of time we’ve added-on an extension as well as remodeled most all of the rooms and areas in our Colonial built in 1958. When it came to the basement, however, we just let it be as it was a combination workout room, pantry and generally a way to get to our patio. It had some original light-wood paneling, carpet and unflattering fluorescent lighting. Outside, we had recently built and planted a whole bunch of raised garden beds, and put up some fencing to protect those beds from the 6 chickens who live in a coop in our backyard. Throughout the winter, we were looking forward to getting a better start this Spring by starting seeds indoors, and so that was the excuse to call up Old World Craftsmen and have them go through their Design-Build program in order to completely re-imagine our basement. In order to prevent me from going back on this impulse, I spent a good 12 hours on a Saturday ripping down all the ugly paneling. We were dreaming of shiplap – which has become quite the popular wall stock thanks to Chip + Joanne and their Fixer Upper show. We also wanted a sliding barn door to our re-built pantry, a heated tile floor and a sink with some character to put next to the potting benches. Add a wall-mount TV for the teenage girls in the house (and of course for Dad when war or history movies are on), and some comfortable sofas and chairs, as well as lots of shelves for plants and books – and there’d truly be a multi-functional basement. The design that we iterated with Scott Simonsen, the owner of Old World, included a primary white, brown tile and stain, as well as a contrasting wrought-iron black throughout for emphasis and texture. The design elements included -Shiplap – everywhere! -Shaker doors to complement – 3 internal doors, 1 double internal door and one exterior door -4 new windows with grills-between-glass including replacing some rotted sills -Installation of 24 LED ceiling lights – 3000K for a warm, neutral light -Schluter DITRA matting to whole basement including landing for electric heat -Basement levelling and textured ‘redwood’ porcelain tiling throughout -Re-plumbing an antique porcelain Crane sink -Removal of old baseboard that went around entire basement, deploy new baseboard to one wall -Knotty alder barn door in burnt umber stain with wrought iron hardware -Wrap columns and beams in hand-distressed pine wrap with burnt umber stain -Base and ceiling trim that complemented the shiplap design -Custom-designed iron railing for stairs We painted the shiplap and all the trim Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White in eggshell – we learned that in this style of design, it is better not to differentiate between the walls and the windows and trim – it came out nicely. For the stair treads/risers, stair trim and bathroom we used a combination of grays including Benjamin Moore Winter Solstice and Englewood Cliffs in satin. The whole Old World Craftsmen crew were courteous and professional for the whole month they were in our house. The basement was cleaned each evening before they left, and they arrived promptly at 8am each morning to begin work. The worksmanship and attention to detail throughout the project was very apparent. There were some areas of the basement that might be termed a little deficient in the right-angle category, but the crew made subtle accommodations which successfully prevented the imperfections from being noticeable. When vendors shipped the wrong door (3 times!), or a doorknob didn’t fit one of our specially made doors, Old World took it upon themselves to get things right without causing us any additional trouble. The tilers, plumbers, heating technicians, electricians and on-staff carpenters all were scheduled and arrived as planned and promised and all did a fantastic job. Paperwork and invoicing went smoothly and special requests were cheerfully received, acknowledged and executed. I was, for example, having trouble getting consistent staining of the pine breams – so Old World Craftsmen came by and did an expert job that turned out beautifully. Overall – the concept of design-build works out really nicely. The general contractor spends, in our case, a few hours talking about what the client wants and then translates that into the requirements that eventually become the finished product. An experienced contractor will already know all the do’s and dont’s and can competently guide homeowners that might have a real idea, but have no idea how to make it real. Old World Craftsmen really delivered a spectacular end-product and we couldn’t be more pleased.”

“Design Builders employs competent project managers and skilled trades people. They are responsive, enthusiastic, and they offer great ideas. I have hired them to work in my own home as well as on client projects and have never been disappointed. My own kitchen renovation was tricky and they tackled the issues with creative solutions. In my clients home I trust them to provide professional service and top quality cabinetry. My clients have expressed their pleasure with the finished results in their home which came from close and easy collaboration with the Design Builders team.”

“Joe and staff are great to work with. We bring him in when our interior design clients need architectural services as well. Always a pleasure to have on a project, very professional and get things done in a timely manner.”

“We hired Gary to add a ceiling/floor to loft space in order to create a new room. He was very professional in keeping us informed of the progress and maintaining a tidy, organized work area at all times. He is very trustworthy and was a pleasure to have in our home for the duration of the project.”

“Katharine Jessica Interior Design has been working with me for over a year now in every stage of building my house. Katharine has helped me make structural decisions along with my architect and builder, she has helped me design built-in units and custom furniture, select all appliances and fixtures, as well as help the decorative decisions. Katharine is very easy to work with and I trust her opinions. I also am very happy that she understands and respects my vision. I highly recommend Katharine Jessica Interior Design.”

“I have been working with Milton development for over 15 years. It is clear that, relationship, quality, integrity and care is given to each and every project. They operate at a different level then most. A design center, project managers, in house architects and designers, and a office personal in tune and in control. They are an amazing firm that is driven on their clients satisfaction and I am proud to say I do business with them.”