Community Update

I made the mistake of hiring Creative Interiors to design and manage the renovation of a medium sized bathroom. The project ended up requiring over twice as much time and money as was stipulated in the contract. The extra time was due to their poor project management skills. The extra cost was due to their self-serving business model which was to maximize sales commissions by all possible means. They charged me 35% above the retail price for all materials even if they paid wholesale or less, and they did their best to hide these exorbitant commissions from me. They never mentioned them during the initial interview, they never disclosed them in the contract, and they never listed or itemized them on any of their numerous invoices or “accounting statements”. Commissions also drove their design strategy which was to buy the most expensive possible materials and fixtures, even if they were not the most suitable for the bathroom and surrounding space or they did not go well together.

These people lied to me on numerous occasions and were also rude, arrogant, condescending, and threw temper tantrums when questioned about any of their purchases or designs. For example, after half the bathroom was tiled, I realized that the entire shipment of marble tile was unacceptable and would have to be returned. I halted work and when Tony and Louis of Creative Interiors arrived, they staged an award winning scene exclaiming what poor taste I had and how beautiful the tile looked, as I and every member of the construction team stared at each other in disbelief. The subsequent cost of re-demolition and re-tiling was still another unnecessary expense. Then, to add insult to injury, they refused to refund their 35% sales commissions on the defective tile.

Hiring Creative Interiors was indeed a huge mistake. The renovated bathroom is acceptable in appearance, but it is very high maintenance, contains combinations of fixtures and tile that do not look well together, and was definitely not worth the time, money, and aggravation.