What I liked about dealing with Belinda was her respect for budget, her frienliness and extremely quick thinking when small issues arose during kitchen and bathrooms construction and renovation. She did not object at all when I wanted to make my own choices for materials and was willing to help when I needed her advice. She has an incredible ability to envision a renovation and quickly execute ideas. The design of my current kitchen and 2 bathrooms is a complete success. I will most certainly not hesitate to use her services again.

Belinda designed my entire 2 bedroom + den, 1161 sq ft condo. I also sourced all my furniture through her. She made the most of my space and I am very pleased. The colours we chose for painting the condo (separate cost -- job done by Milworks) were fabulous! The accent wall, which is painted Bonaparte Red, really pops! It has garnered numerous compliments. The red contrasts very nicely with the Creamy White of the rest of the living/dining area. I was initially nervous about deciding to have my new condo designed. I was unsure whether all our design decisions regarding layout, paint, and furniture would work out. But the end result has been awesome. The best design decision I ever made, however, was choosing Belinda Albo.

Belinda came to our condo for a site visit, and then with her help we were able to furnish our apartment within budget and ended up with a sophisticated and stylish design that was the whole point anyway. Thanks Belinda!

A very good designer, from the big picture down to the last detail. You may start as Belinda's client but you end up as Belinda's friend, and you feel like you've getting your very talented friend to help out. She buys you things that you weren't looking for, because she thinks "this lamp would be perfect" - and guess what? It is. Belinda more than pays for herself by the discounts she passes on, but she's never pushy. The only agenda is making your place the best it can be. She will dissuade you from buying something that she thinks is not good value. Best of all, she's a great tie breaker when you and your spouse disagree.

It is a pleasure to work with Belinda. Belinda is enthusiastic, helpful, and she was easily able to read my taste. In designing my kitchen, Belinda factored into the planning practical considerations, which was critical to me as we spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. Most importantly, Belinda prevented me from making mistakes, which in the end, can be far more costly than the cost of her service.

An consummate professional. Creative, subtle, inspiring, elegant, cost-effective. Surpassed our every expectation!! Sourced superb products of high quality. Used superior craftsmen and finish-carpenters. Addressed all concerns as they arose to our complete satisfaction. We LOVE our home and have Belinda to thank!

I was referred to Belinda about four years ago by a friend who had used her for a complete basement renovation. I had tried two other decorators previously but just didn't click with either of them. I did not have a bad experience with either of them - I just never felt completely comfortable working with them. With Belinda, though, I have been completely comfortable from the time of our first meeting. She turned up on the first night to do a consultation. After asking me some questions about what I was trying to accomplish and looking at some things I had torn out of magazines to give her sense for styles that I liked, Belinda got right to work. She rolled up her sleeves and moved my furniture around to let me to see the improvements she could envision, she drew out new floor plans for me including sketches of all the new furniture she was recommending and she included the source and pricing for that furniture. All this in less than a couple of hours! A couple weeks later Belinda met me at a trade-only showroom to pick my furniture pieces and the associated upholstery fabrics. This was also accomplished in record timing - she quickly narrowed down the choices for me and I left comfortable that I would not regret the choices that I made. She later sent carpet suppliers to my home with samples that she had preselected to work with my furniture. This was also a huge time saver. Belinda passed on her pricing directly from the carpet supplier and the furniture manufacturer without mark ups. I enjoyed the work on my main floor so much that I subsequently used Belinda for three other jobs. She redesigned the fireplace in my family room - taking it from a dated, brick embarrassment to a sleek, slate-faced wonder that incorporates a new flat panel TV and associated video hardware. Shortly after that job I brought her back to completely renovate two of my bathrooms. This summer we worked together again to update my bedroom. I have had a lot of fun working with Belinda and I really like what she has helped me accomplish in my home. I am almost disappointed to be running out of rooms to work on.

KN, I am absolutely shocked to hear of your experience with Belinda, and with no disrespect to you, I must firstly remind readers that there are always two sides to a story. Secondly I hope that after sharing my personal experience may the readers, and potential clients see Belinda again as her other client do, as a 10! In May of 2008 my husband and I were referred to Design Studio by our son's pediatrician, who is a former client of Belinda's. Our Pediatrician was so enthusiastic to spread her name, that he logged onto his computer during our appointment to show us her portfolio. I was very excited to find a designer that was so highly recommended, but I was still a little apprehensive seeing that our former designers consultation fee cost us $820.00 for two hours (talk about price gouging). When I called Belinda I was in the parking lot of BB Bargoons, I called her because I was tired of the endless running around, as well as the uncertainty in the decorating decisions, so I decided to hire a professional to finish the job. During our conversation I was immediately pleased when I learned that Belinda's consultation fee was a fraction of our other designer, as well Belinda saved me 20% immediately on the BB Bargoons fabric I needing to purchase that day. As of June our family has purchased numerous furniture pieces through Belinda, all the pieces that were purchased where done through the direct wholesaler at a fraction of the retail price. For example on a couple: Our Sons bed retails for 1795.00 American excluding taxed, and Belinda was able to get it custom made with designer fabric for 1638 taxes included. Our carpet wholesaled at 1999.00 and we got it for 20% less. So again to the readers looking into Belinda, this is one side to the story and in my personal experience I've had no such instances of "price gouging or inconsistencies", all the prices I've paid have been fair, and all that has been purchased I have agreed to because they are consistent with those of market value. I also want to add that a couple of people that I know who used Belinda (however have not wrote a response), and they to are very pleased with her work. Thank you Belinda, our home is beautiful!

I hired Belinda to help me transform a windowless, 12'x10' closet into a home office/overflow guest room. Belinda took all the measurements, sketched up a floor plan and suggested places to get the furniture. She worked within my very tight budget and I am very pleased with the results.

Trying to work with Belinda and her husband Tyrone (general contractor) was an exercise in patience and continued frustration. It’s stressful and costly enough undergoing renovations of any kind, but to have to deal with price gouging was unfair. The initial design work was fine but when it came time to material pricing and their mark up, there was inconsistency. Here is an example; they stated in an e-mail to me “We will pass on our costs to you for hardware used in building….” I paid the quoted hardware costs and then later asked for it for my records. They told me they didn’t have the bill, they received the price from the carpenter. I later acquired the bill from the carpenter, who confirmed the price on the bill was the one given to Tyrone. It turns out Belinda and Tyrone marketed the item up over 140%. No wonder they didn’t want me to see the bill. Looking through the Homestars website there are many interior designers to choose from, unless you have an unlimited budget I wouldn’t choose Design Studio.

Company Response:

Anyone in business knows that every once in a while you can't please everyone. Some clients will see fault in everything, and as a professional, you can feel there is an underlying intention not to pay for products and services. There are two sides to this story, and my firm did everything we reasonably could to compensate KN for his concerns. The work we did complete in this 1 bedroom and den condo was very good and I was surprised by all the minor issues. My current clients who know me, understand, and I know future clients will be able to transparently see these accusations as not reflective of how we conduct our business. We do appreciate feedback though, and we will work hard to ensure our clients come away knowing they have received the value and experience Design Studio brings to each project. Sincerely, Belinda Albo and Tyrone Mcfadden