Expressions Kitchen Design and Cabinet Sales

The Fraers
Sudbury, MA:

October, 2003

In the early months of 2003 my husband and I began thinking about renovating our kitchen, which meant beginning the extremely confusing and bewildering process of figuring out how one gets from the dream to the reality while knowing next to nothing about how to proceed and working full time. To say we felt overwhelmed is an understatement.

We started with the standard places (Home Depot and Expo) and moved on to the very high-end kitchen design studios. What we learned was, a) we were right to think this was confusing and b) if you need someone to truly hold your hand through the process you better be prepared to spend a whole lot of money! The Home Depot/Expo type places just didn’t offer enough personalized help (try going in on a Saturday to talk to a consultant) and the high-end places, while overflowing with help and expertise seemed terribly over priced to us.

Enter Althea Clark, Rebecca Putnam and Expressions. This was obviously a high-end studio, but they were also, well, nice! We instantly liked and trusted them both. It was obvious they knew what they were doing but were not the least bit intimidating and gave us the feeling that they could help us have a beautiful new kitchen whether we spent a fortune or a more modest amount. More importantly, we felt that they would still be there to offer support and guidance after the cabinets were ordered. We were right on all counts.

I can’t say enough about the commitment to the customer at Expressions. Althea and Rebecca walked us through the process, remained cheerful through our months of indecision, and, even though I know they answered the same questions over and over for us (it really is a confusing process) I never once felt that they were impatient with us. They were even gracious enough to help with decisions that had nothing to do with their business. Something we found remarkable.

The Wellborn Forrest cabinets we selected are both beautiful and functional. Althea and Rebecca’s guidance helped us maximize the space we had to work with. The upper corner cabinet and the lazy-susan type below it give us so much more storage space. I think, though, that our favorites are a narrow little cabinet for trays in that awkward space between the stove and dishwasher, and the use of drawers for our pots and pans rather than traditional cabinets. Both of these designs are things we would never have thought of on our own.

We also can’t say enough about our contractor, Dave Cebulla. When we decided to go with Expressions they explained that while they did not do installations themselves, they would be happy to provide us with a list of contractors they knew and trusted. We hit the jackpot when we selected Dave. He is very skilled and is also quite creative. We truly believe that the work he did for us is comparable to work he would do in his own home. He does not cut corners, and can easily see how to alter things to improve on the final result. Maybe best of all, Dave is unfailingly calm! Renovation is stressful under the best of circumstances. For Dave nothing is a problem that can’t be worked out. You definitely feel he’s on your side and wants you to be happy with the end result. Sadly, these are not qualities you find in every contractor. Dave was, as they say, ‘a find’!

We are thrilled with our beautiful new kitchen and recommend Expressions unequivocally. Althea and Rebecca made a stressful and confusing ordeal into a manageable and ultimately very satisfying project, which has truly increased the enjoyment of our home as well as its value.

Sincerely,

Cam and Joe Fraer
Sudbury, Massachusetts