Kitchen & Bath World Review

We have just reached completion on our 2nd renovation project with KBW. Last year, our master bathroom. Most recently, our kitchen. Sara designed both spaces, coming up with ideas that exceeded expectations in what each area could be turned into for functionality and use of space – all while being absolutely gorgeous. Each instance, Sara kept us well informed and provided updated quotes and timeframes along the way. The remodels themselves were both lead by Chad, accompanied by Matt, and we cannot speak highly enough of them both. Though our house is not that old, there were certainly unexpected challenges that rose and were always dealt with immediately by our team, ensuring everything was addressed with the utmost attention and craftmanship before continuing on with the complete transformation of each room. No detail was missed, and our kitchen was completed WEEKS ahead of the initially expected timeframe. We could not be happier and are so thankful to KBW for creating these dream spaces for us.
-Keith, Maria & Charlee

Every phase of our kitchen remodel was a wonderful experience. It started with visiting the Kitchen & Bath World showroom. Seeing their design ideas first hand was the first indication that we were making the right choice. Sara is incredibly patient, insightful and creative. She came up with a beautiful design and then worked with us to allow us to customize to our unique tastes. When it came time for the remodel, her team was prompt, respectful and extremely skilled (shout out to Eddie, Joe Jr and Paul!). We asked so…many…questions…and yet they never made us feel like we were interrupting their work. Instead, they included us in the process to ensure we were getting our dream kitchen. Living in a 100 year old house, we ran into some roadblocks. Sara and her team worked with us to mitigate the issues in a timely fashion to keep the project on schedule. We are so thankful to Kitchen & Bath World for the amazing work they did. We absolutely love every aspect of our new kitchen and could not recommend them more!

This was our first major home project. We were intimidated by finding private contractors, so we chose KBW bc their workers are employed by KBW. The design phase was flawless. We found it smooth and the mock-ups looked great. Now to our concerns.

We were shocked at the lack of communication.
– KBW provided an initial quote for the project in Feb., however we knew that additional costs were added (like flooring). KBW did not provide a final cost of the project until the first day of work.
– KBW never provided a project schedule, and payments were based on project timeline. KBW did not notify us ahead of time when a payment would be expected. A rep from KBW would show up, unannounced, and ask for a check for an amount that was not disclosed to us until arrival. One day we were out at breakfast and received a call that the person collecting payments was at our house. When collecting thousands of dollars, a head ups is basic courtesy.

KBW poorly managed their workers and resources, resulting in the project taking twice as long.
– KBW measured the floor incorrectly, causing a 5 day delay. However, KBW did comp this cost.
– We paid KBW a $10,000 deposit in Feb. KBW said this was so that they could begin ordering materials for the project. Our project started in Nov. The counter tops were ordered 2 weeks before the start date, and the shipment was delayed, which added a week to the project.
– We planned a trip where we would be gone 3 days. We specifically planned this trip to get out of the house while they were working on the kitchen. KBW told us that 2 workers would be there all 3 days. However, only 1 worker showed up for 1 day. KBW never informed us that the workers weren’t there, and we only found out when we asked the worker directly.

The initial craftsmanship on some aspects of the kitchen was poor. Had we not spoken up about our concerns, there would be many minor flaws with the kitchen. The pictures attached are showcase some of the concerns below.

1. Flooring – We went with a wood floor to match our current floor. We had to have them replace 4 boards because they were raised an unacceptable amount. The replaced floor boards look better but they now squeak when stepped on. You can feel the board move up and down.

2. Tile – We got a tile backsplash installed and the craftsmanship again was poor. We had KBW come back out to remove a few tiles and install new tile correctly. The person who had to reinstall the tile was swearing to himself in the kitchen during fix which made us feel uncomfortable for the few hours he was in our house. He muttered to himself, “I hate my F***ing life”. This was said multiple times.

3. Touch up paint – KBW had forgotten to touch up the paint on a small section in between our window and cabinets. Mistakes happen, but when asked to come back out to fix it, the person did not try to make it look professional. Paint was smeared over the cabinets, and the wrong color touch up paint was used on our windowsill. KBW said he didn’t have the right paint on him, but he is the one who painted it originally. He should have went back to the warehouse and got the right paint then.

4. They had to patch the ceiling near the original ceiling light. The picture attached is their first attempt. When asked to fix it they said that patch work cannot “eliminate the divide.” I had to bring this up multiple times before they finally decided to patch it.

There were plenty of other small issues we had throughout the build. KBW would benefit greatly by having someone check the quality of their employees work. It should not be up to the customer to raise basic concerns on bad craftsmanship.

In conclusion, we want it to be known we do love our kitchen and the final product does look great. That being said, you MUST advocate for yourself throughout the entire project or you will get taken advantage of. If you do not, they will put in the least amount of effort to get the job done and then show up unannounced to collect their payment. There is no one checking their work but you.