As we embarked on our basement remodel, we were fortunate enough to win some of Annie’s time through an elementary school raffle (she was very generous to donate her hours). Never having used a designer, we didn’t know exactly what to expect, but she has far exceeded any expectations that we did have. Our first challenge came with wanting to cram about 7 different functional areas into a relatively small basement space. We worked through some layouts on our own beforehand, but were never completely satisfied with any of them. When Annie came into the picture, she immediately made a few modifications that made complete sense and opened up all common areas nicely while creating private spaces where needed. Then, when we began to talk through finishes, my husbands’ and my different aesthetic preferences came into play. We are not polar opposites, but have some varied ideas as to what the perfect basement looks and feels like. After sending Annie some inspiration photos, she compiled a portfolio that perfectly combined our tastes. In addition to giving general design ideas, she provided very specific suggestions of flooring/tile brands and colors, paint, furniture, etc, as well as local places where we can buy these items for reasonable prices. We both walked away from our portfolio meeting with her extremely energized. Our last renovation was stressful and anxiety provoking, and Annie has made this one fun by taking out the most challenging parts for us. While we “won” our first hours, we definitely plan to add on more, and to use Annie for all of our future remodel projects (and there will be more).