Designstrom

Linnea and Martin designed a dream kitchen for us. We've been using it for over two months now and we still can't believe all the thoughtful touches that they conjured in their design. We felt very well taken care of - from our first consultation all the way to the end of construction. One piece of advice to people about to undergo a reno with Designström: I strongly recommend that you work with the contractors and fabricators that Linnea and Martin recommend. There's a communication shorthand between these teams that really made things move smoothly. I'm convinced that the main reason we met our delivery deadline on time and on budget was due to the strength of those relationships. It goes without saying that I'd love to work with Linnea and Martin again!

Working with Linnea is a dream come true for me & my entire crew. We work alongside many designers but few are as thorough, thoughtful, caring & fun to work with as Linnea. Linnea is attentive to her clients wishes, taking everything they ask for in to account in her designs. Her designs are well thought out, well drawn & sourced before construction begins to ensure a smooth construction process. When problems arise, she is quick to make a decision. She is a fantastic communicator & keeps on top of all details of the project the whole way through. Her drawings & renderings are fantastic. They are a great guide for her clients to know what they are getting & an amazing tool for our crew to work off of. There are never any questions, all details are assigned, all dimensions are shown. I would & do recommend Linnea to anyone looking for someone who is passionate, creative & fun to work with. I look forward to many more projects working alongside such a great designer.

I don’t know what kismet brought me to Linnea Lions but there certainly was divine intervention. Having thought about a kitchen renovation for years I knew it’s ALL about the design - because if that’s not right no matter what you put in it you are not maximizing potential. From my first look at Linnea’s website it was clear that I need look no further. Every one of her kitchens had wonderful functionality and style and the fact that her website itemized the costs for services made it easy to work within a budget. After chatting on the phone and then meeting, without hesitation I hired Linnea. She listened to my wish list and came back with a beautiful design that worked in all the elements I was seeking. The rendering she gave me was so perfectly in sync with my vision, I used it while choosing finishes. All through the process, Linnea was a wonderful sounding board. If I emailed Linnea 3 questions…I got back 3 answers…all timely and all thorough. There are so many details that need to be worked out…and Linnea was a consummate professional I could rely on. She designed a beautiful kitchen for me and so now when someone asks “How’s the new kitchen?” I happily reply “Perfect!”

Working with Linnea was a fantastic experience. She was a professional from start to finish and delivered every milestone on time. Her design work is impeccable and she created a kitchen beyond what we ever could have done without her. She also worked closely with our contractor to ensure her design was properly executed. I can't recommend Linnea highly enough -- I enjoyed all our interactions and was beyond impressed with her design capabilities.

Linnea was wonderful to work with! She was an integral person in our kitchen/dining room Reno. She really listened to what we wanted. She looked at pictures we had collected of styles we liked and took those styles and merged them with a functional design. I really liked that she presented us with elevated design plans, as it helped me visualize what the space would look like when it was completed. Over the course of the reno Linnea was available and many times went out of her way to help guide us in choosing finishings or clarify details of the plans. We are very happy with the end result of the project and give credit to Linnea for creating a design that works beautifully for our family.

Linnea was a pleasure to work with. Super organized and efficient, she kept our project under control and on track, which was really important as we are a busy family with small kids. I trusted her aesthetic judgement (and her Scandinavian sensibility!) and in the end we are really happy with the new kitchen she helped us create. She had a good working relationship with our contractor which was great, as this was our first time undertaking any kind of big renovation.

Linnea is an amazing kitchen designer. She understood from the beginning what I had envisioned and she allowed me to contribute my design thoughts. She was organized, efficient and held my hand during the whole process. Renovations are very stressful and time consuming. I could not have done it without her.

Linnea was one of the great finds for our kitchen reno. She really listened to why we didn’t like our current space and what we wanted to achieve with the project. Linnea tried to incorporate our entire wish list into her design and when it wasn’t working, she wasn’t afraid to come to us and let us know why. She then took the extra time and effort to provide us with a complete design revamp that we fell in love with immediately. We really appreciated her honesty, her enthusiasm and her design instincts. Linnea’s plans were thorough and timely and she was always quick to get back to us whenever we had any questions. I would not hesitate to recommend Linnea or to use her again if I had another kitchen!

We were introduced to Linnea by a mutual friend and I'm so glad we were! When Linnea originally sent me her portfolio I didn't think it was going to work out as she's done some really high-end kitchens in houses much larger than ours. We met with her anyway and she assured us she can work to various budgets and sizes of houses. The design work she did is nothing short of phenomenal. As my partner is a chef, we take cooking and function very seriously, but still wanted a beautiful kitchen, and Linnea delivered. The space is functional, beautiful, and includes many thoughtful details and finishes we would not have thought of, and it all adds up to a very functional space. Linnea was respectful of our budget and timing and had the right attitude throughout the entire process. It took a few different designs before we settled upon one, but she was patient and continued working hard to get us the kitchen we dreamed of. Linnea's fees were very reasonable, and in retrospect I think it would have been irresponsible NOT to to use her as a kitchen designer. One suggestion I might have is to enlist Linnea's services for weekly (or so) site visits to ensure the execution maintains the purity of the design. We are thrilled with our kitchen but there were a few details that were overlooked by the builder that we didn't notice, but Linnea would have. Also, Linnea offers the option of a 3D walk through for a small additional cost, and I'd definitely recommend that you do it. We wholeheartedly recommend Linnea, and if ever we have occasion to do another kitchen, Linnea will will be our designer again.

I connected with Linnea through a friend, who strongly recommended her years of experience and thought that we'd be a good fit together in designing a new kitchen for my new home, a 100-something Toronto Victorian. This was the second kitchen in recent years for my partner and I. As I described to her, I'd "been down every aisle in the grocery store" and that we knew what we wanted but what we needed was a professional to create a kitchen layout for the space, prior to us getting quotes from contractors. She was very happy to work within our well-scoped design needs, and was conscious of our design budget and timelines. Linnea brings all of the qualities that I was looking for in a designer; the hard design skills including design drafting (of course) but also the measured practicality that only the top designers have in executing a functional design tailored to fit the room as well as the our family's needs. She proved to be a wonderful sounding-board for all of our ideas and helped us to vet the bad from the good, the trend from the timeless. We strongly benefited from the countless recommendations that shaped our kitchen into a beautiful, stylist and liveable space. We loved her ongoing enthusiasm for our project and her authenticity. On one occasion in the midst of our reno (which included more than the kitchen) we required some design-guidance to select paint colours for the whole of our home on very short-notice, and Linnea made herself available to us. This reliability is what helped to make this renovation much less stressful. The design process was only positive and we really loved working with her (and would do so again). Linnea helped us to bring our vision to fruition and to turn a house into our home. We would highly recommend her to all of our friends!

Linnea is passionate about what she does. She designed and oversaw the installation of two completly different kitchens, a city and a cottage, four years ago. She understood our needs and wishes and implemented them without trying to sell us anything we did not need at the same time steering us in the correct direction. Both kitchens turned out amazing, we love spending time in them, we are so happy that we hired Linnea.