Sustainable Design Services in Southport, CT

“My wife and I hired Kling Brothers Builders/Keith Kling to build an addition onto the back of our house, which included a new kitchen, family room, patio, mudroom, and other modifications to the interior. From the start, I was very impressed with Keith’s preparedness and diligence. He created a very detailed and transparent budget (approximately 10 pages), which outlined each item to be done and the price. More importantly, his estimate was accurate, and the prices that we agreed to did not change throughout the project. Keith is also very hands-on. He was on-site every day during the project. He is extremely responsive by email and phone, and if I emailed him a question while I was at work, within a very short period of time, I would receive a response. He was also available on weekends to meet with me, which was more convenient for my schedule. The workmanship of Kling Brothers Builders is top notch. Their on-staff carpenters are excellent, and their subcontractors are all superb. I did not have any issues with shoddy work or questionable characters walking around my property or in my house. Keith is very diligent about the “structure” and integrity of the building, and takes pride in how well built and solid the “bones” of the project are. Although I am not a builder myself, you can just tell that something is well put together by looking at it. Keith stresses quality and perfection, and was not satisfied until we were satisfied. He has access to some of the best craftsmen in the area, and in particular he introduced us to a custom cabinet maker who created a showcase kitchen for us. His other subs, such as the electrician, the plumber, etc., were all personable and flexible. All in all, we were very impressed and happy with Keith Kling. Although my wife and I are reasonable, we also have very high standards. Given the size of our project (to us), we expected top service and attention. Keith came through with flying colors, and he was very friendly, personable, and professional throughout. I have no tolerance for service providers who do not do what they say or make you feel as though you are doing them a favor by giving them your money. Keith is certainly not one of those people. Our project came in on budget, and any additional work that I wanted done was communicated and agreed-to up front. There were no surprises and the communication between Keith and us could not have been better. I give Kling Brothers Builders/Keith Kling my highest recommendation. I hope to use them again on a future project.”

“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.”

“We hired German and crew to remodel our kitchen,master bath, and paint the house. I can't say enough about the service provided to us by this company. They listened to what we wanted and made sure we were completely satisfied before leaving. Our house looks gorgeous and feels like a new home! I will be hiring them for our next home improvement project.”

“I thought that finding an honest contractor who follows through with what they promise would be impossible but decided to take the chance with Essential and finally do my first renovation. I was very nervous at first but the contractor Peter was extremely patient and was with me every step of the way. His team which included a talented designer put together a picture perfect kitchen, powder bathroom and master bedroom bathroom. I was blown away by the attention to detail and if you’re looking for a wonderful experience limiting your stress level for such a major project then Peter and his team are a great fit.”

“Kieth is a professional whom I would hire for a top notch bathroom or kitchen renovation. We hired Kieth's company to do both small and large jobs and he always came in on time and within budget and stood behind his work. The quality of the jobs are always top notch. He has a sterling reputation in town for good reason. He does what he says. A rare gem!”

“Lee was my architect of record for a gut renovation for a condo in Manhattan that is to commence this fall. He worked with my draftsman to get the initial drawings ready for approval by the building's management company's engineer and the building's board. He then worked diligently with my expeditor as she prepared the package of documents needed to submit for approval not only from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, but also the DOB. Throughout the entire long drawn out process, Lee was attentive and responsive to any changes that were required. He quickly responded to any questions or concerns I had and worked collaboratively with all the other folks involved in moving this project along. If I ever need an architect for another project, I would not hesitate to call Leandro Dickson.”

“Van Buren Design Build recently completed a kitchen remodel for us. We are delighted with every aspect of the process. Zak, Frank and the entire team were professional while being very approachable. They all displayed expertise in each area of the remodel from the initial design to the finish and were very organized along the way. Our kitchen turned out just as we had dreamed. Our daughter, who also used them for a kitchen remodel, recommended VBDB to us . And, we will highly recommend them to our friends.”

“This was our second time working with the amazing team of contractors, project managers and designers at Prominent. They had previously done a spectacular job refinishing our basement (beams, bedroom, bathroom, storage, Martha Stewart mudroom, you name it). We were expecting twins and the need to expand our house was imminent. Our house is a hundred year old arts & crafts house so maintaining the integrity was essential. And being on schedule! We renovated our kitchen into a kitchen/great room area which therefore doubled our master bedroom and master bath located above. In addition, we created a bar room space where our former EIK was located and renovated our powder room. Lastly, we finished our third floor to be a guest suite with the most incredible bathroom ever. In addition, we added a new deck with under decking materials and had to rebuild stone walls-- I had no idea just how gorgeous this could be. A deck is not just a deck. The end result is nothing short of spectacular, extremely tasteful and maintained Arts & Crafts integrity although my husband and I were adamant that although we liked the linear style and functionality of A&C, we did not like the "darkness." Prominent stayed within our budget unless my husband and I personally strayed afar. They advised us when aesthetically we could all make a better choice. They were available 24/7, literally and if we had even the smallest emergencies, someone from Prominent was in our home immediately. I also love that Promiment Design factors into every project. Having Traci to literally help us with the tile work, cabinetry, paint colors, furniture layouts, the babies' nursery was such a wonderful finishing touch. Our home would not be the same otherwise. I am really not being overly sensationalistic here. We have truly had an amazing experience working with Prominent and having to live out the end of my pregnancy in my basement, and the first two months with twins, 2 big dogs, baby nurse and so forth down there, they did everything possible to expedite and keep us very comfortable.”

“Themis and ReBuild were fantastic to work with. We heard so many horror stories about projects that ended up double the timeline and double the price; Themis, Peter and their team kept those nightmares from being our reality. Thanks to their careful management, we ended up finishing the project right on budget and nearly on time - seemingly unheard of in New York City renovations. Even more vital, Themis was as concerned as we were about the small details along the way, and as a result, we ended up with high-quality construction. We couldn't have been more pleased with our experience and final product!”

“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.”