Be careful when you consider hiring Michelle and her team at Lucid Interior Design. More specifically, if you do choose to employ her, be sure to document every point, and do not expect her to manage the project.
I hired Michelle to renovate a rental property which I own. She was hired to design and manage the project, controlling the contractors, trades and budgets. On initial engagement she confidently stated that the project would be achieved in three months, holding to an agreed $165k budget.
The project took 15 months and not including the extensions I agreed to along the way; the budget went over by approximately 35k. At the end of the project I withheld final fees asking for explanation and discussion around the mismanagement of the assignment, as I felt that her company was not due the claimed final expenses. At this point, she discontinued all contact with me. Two years and two weeks later, I was contacted by a Collections Agency demanding payment, with failure to comply to result in a reporting to the credit bureaus, damaging my financial reputation.
This all said; Michelle is a very good designer. I remain immensely satisfied with the quality of her work, the use of space and the finishes. I am disappointed with her failure to run a project, which not only cost unexpected hard dollars in the overrun, but the significant loss of income with the unit being off-market for 8 months longer than promised; and perhaps most of all, her choice to employ a tactic to force payment instead of being responsible for her failures in the management of the project.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $200,000.00