Nancy and Barry from BC

Kitchen renos can be a headache. Fortunately, Mike Flammia and his Sonoma team held the cure. An older 50's house was in dire need of a complete kitchen makeover. We pooled our idea with Mike's and the result worked out superbly. We even threw a few curveballs at him during the project; i.e. last-minute changes. He took on and overcame those challenges. And it's not just Mike. Every single one of his trades people (tilesetters, painter, electrical team, and Mike's sidekick Tony) were professional, cooperative and a breeze to work with. From start to finish, Mike was reliable. Always on time. We never felt we had to take a backseat to another project. Before the project began, we were out-of-town and had to communicate via phone. Nothing was lost in the translation. We never felt any resistance or pressure from Mike. Same with the financial side of the deal. We trusted Mike. He trusted us. Some projects may be painful. Not this one. With Mike, it was nothing but a smooth-running, cooperative process. A suddenly beautiful kitchen was the result. We were fortunate to select Mike and his firm and we would heartily recommend him.

Our aim was to re-do our son's kitchen in Pickering. But we live in Vancouver. So we already imagined we could be in for some logistical headaches. Luckily, we hired BML Kitchens. This father-and-son team offered us the best of both worlds. They don't work for Ikea yet they do nothing but install Ikea cabinets. It meant we were able to buy good but reasonably-priced cabinets. We found that Bohdan and Leo's approach was quite the opposite of Ikea's. We avoided any assemble-it-yourself nightmare. They're very fussy, very detail-oriented. They know what they're doing, being familiar with the entire Ikea product line. Even better, they were great communicators. That was a big help. While we were in Vancouver placing the order, Bohdan even designed and created our actual Ikea shopping-list. Once we arrived in Pickering and the job began, if anything unexpected came up, they pointed out our options and gently offered their suggestions. Even after the job was wrapped up and their bill was paid, we called them back and asked them to make a minor change. They did it on the weekend with no grumbling whatsoever. What a pleasure it is to see craftsmen who still take pride in their work. Now, when our son shows-off his new kitchen, people are surprised at the beautiful workmanship. After that, they're bowled over when they're told how little it cost! Hiring Bohdan and Leo was the best decision that we made.

We chose a granite countertop that was available at many places all over the GTA, many much closer to us in Pickering. But our cabinet installer recommended that we see Amir at Raad. Thank goodness we took his advice. The cabinets were from Ikea and it was helpful that Amir was totally familiar with their products. Also, we had to leave town before the normal cutting time that's allowed. We asked Amir if he could accommodate our schedule. He bent over backwards to make it happen! He made all the measurements himself and before we left, his team returned to install what has become the showpiece of the kitchen. Although there's no end to the number of places turning out countertops, we now understand why Raad has been singled out and why Amir comes so highly recommended.