Home Design

We had Mariana (she was recommended by another friend) come to our home to do a colour, furniture, fabric and accessories consultation for our entire home. She listened to our needs/wants which resulted in a truly beautiful/stylish place we now can call home! She treated us like we were her only customer; she was extremely prompt at answering our phone calls, emails and making herself available. She is also a great resource for contractors. We will continue using her for future services and we will keep on recommending her!

Home Design was tasked with building a custom TV unit for my Living Room. The project quickly expanded to a complete re-design of both Living and Dining Rooms, as the two spaces are adjoining.
The result is a high-quality custom unit that fits perfectly in a very constrained space, and a cozy functional design for both rooms. Home Design has unparallel knowledge of design materials as well as unique innovative ideas, that fit both practical needs and aesthetic preferences.
Mariana selected the overall color scheme, worked with me to design the built-in unit, and purchased all decor and accessories. She managed many trades required to build the unit, do the necessary electrical work, and install the drapery. Throughout the project Mariana was always a pleasure to work, diplomatic with the trades, and organized to follow through on the smallest details.
I highly recommend Home Design and Mariana's work.

We've enlisted Mariana to manage a re-design of the family room. The project included design of a 20' wide floor to ceiling custom-built wall unit and a  fireplace mantle. In addition to generating innovative yet functional design ideas, Mariana effectively coordinated several trades (demolition, carpenter, electrical, tiling) which saved us a lot of time and effort. What we liked best about Mariana is her passion about design ideas combined with incredible drive to make things happen! Throughout the project, she remained very responsive to our many questions/suggestions/ideas and was able to incorporate many of those into her vision. The final product turned out to be nothing short of spectacular and we could not have chosen a better designer for the job!

When we decided to sell our house, my wife suggested that we stage it. I was both skeptical of this idea and dreadful of the associated expenses. After all, Toronto is a hot real estate market and our area was in high demand. And I was definitely not ready to spend on something I was not sure we needed at the first place. My wife was adamant about this, and (many people will understand me) I gave in. Mariana was strongly recommended to us by one our friends, and from the first meeting with her we realized that Mariana was the person for the job. She was not even a minute late for our meeting. She attentively listened to us, and having understood our intentions and concerns, took a 10 minute walk through our 3-bedroom bungalow. At the end of the house tour, she started to list her suggestions on staging. Contrary to my fears, most of her suggestions simply involved rearrangement of the existing furniture and house accessories. We did need to buy a few items, but Mariana volunteered to purchase them for us, so that we did not spend any time on it. Then she tallied the budget and when I heard the figure I was shocked: it was far less than what I had expected. The first meeting only took an hour, at the end of which we had the staging plan and budget defined, and we really liked it. The next day, Mariana stopped by again and brought a few alternatives for those decoration items that she had suggested to buy. Together, we selected the ones that best fitted our interior. Mariana took on the hustle of returning the ones that we did not end up needing. She stopped by again the same day with a helper to move the furniture around the house, and….WOW, we could not believe the transformation. When a photographer took the pictures of the interior for MLS posting, we sent some of them to our family and friends. We received nothing but a very positive feedback. However, the main testament to the result was the selling price for our house. We sold it above the expected price, the highest sold house price in the area. When we were signing the purchase and sale agreement with the buyer, he said he had fallen in love with the house as soon as he had entered. And when he started listing the house element he liked the most, they were exactly the elements that Mariana had suggested to accentuate. Thank you, Mariana!

Initially, the scope of work Home Design did for me was limited to selecting the paint shades for three bedrooms. She saved me time and money by bringing in samples and coordinating colors with other features of the house. Not only did Mariana do an outstanding job that added depth and character to every room but she also recommended an amazing paint company (she has a very professional and dependable network of tradesmen and suppliers) and took her time to teach me how colors, lights and furniture should fit together. I was so impressed with Mariana's knowledge and professionalism that I later hired her to assist me with many other tasks such as providing advice on basement renovations, layout, accessorizing all the rooms (including shopping for accessories, lighting, drapery), organizing solutions. Her work was spectacular- beautiful, efficient and creative. In her friendly and unassuming manner she convinced me to move beyond my comfort zone to achieve a more modern but yet comfortable and cozy look for my house, which I absolutely love! Everyone who visits me is impressed by the transformation of my home and I get tons of compliments. Thank you so much, Mariana, I am recommending you to all my friends and acquaintances!

Our only regret is in not engaging Home Design sooner as it would have saved us considerable money and headaches! Mariana was redoing our bedroom on a limited budget and with time constraints and the results are spectacular! Everyone who has seen is simply awed, especially once they find out how much it cost us. Thorough, quick, responsive and highly efficient, Mariana possesses an innate passion for her work that transcends everything she does while being practical, thoughtful and very pleasant to deal with. It is a pure pleasure to work with her and to observe how seemingly disperse pieces are quickly coming together to create a beautiful and functional space. We will definitely be using Home Design services for all of our future projects and can not say enough to recommend Mariana Aksmanov!

Mariana was asked to choose colors and paint for the house. Though people seem to think that this is a simple project, the fact is that it is not. Coordinating colors is quite difficult. I could not have done it without Mariana's knowledge, expertise and advise. She took into consideration my likes and dislikes. To top it all she helped us save a considerate amount of money by helping us find the right painter. I will not hesitate to use Mariana again in the future and I would definitely recommend her to my colleagues, friends and relatives.

Hedva W.
Toronto

Home Design helped us redecorate our living room and our master bedroom.
We were thoroughly impressed with Mariana's fabulous sense of style,
with her ability to work within a budget and with her relentless pursuit
of perfection. Throughout the project, Mariana adapted to our changing
preferences and requirements, while staying true to her overall vision.
Whether choosing a crucial piece or attending to the smallest detail,
Mariana gave 110% and came through with flying colours. In retrospect,
Mariana delivered her vision on time and on budget and we have always felt
like we were the only client. We couldn't have picked a better designer!