Dunbar And Ross Kitchen Studio No Longer In Business

they designed my new kitchen. they gave me 4 different layouts with different price points and helped me choose the best.my entire main floor was retiled in one beautiful tile.my powder room was redone using a pedistal sink and matching toilet with the same tile as the kitchen,hall and laundry room.my upstairs esuite and dressing area was done in marble and slate .the shower is huge and wonderful to use. GREAT RESULTS

They started strong but finished weak. David's self-proclaimed attention to detail was lacking - it was clear once we rejected a couple of his ideas (we also accepted some good ones) he lost interest. For example, we asked repeatedly for specific deesign solutions for telephone placement, platter storage, recycle and garbage storage. He ignored these requests. He gave our contractor a hard time about some dimensions saying "look at the diagram". I finally had to call him to say "there are no dimensions on the diagram" (and he admitted I was right). Followup on problems was horrendous - it very much seemed that once they had the money we couldn't even get a phone call returned. They said the installer they sent us was their best but he caused much of the problem (and they would never take responsibility for a problem without an argument). For what we paid I expected much better. ($130K was the total project cost - D&B's bill was part of this).

We purchased a kitchen from Norma priced at $50,000. A few months ago we required warranty service from Dunbar & Ross as parts of the kitchen began falling apart. When we called Norma for support she was very cold, crude, and uninterested. She ordered the parts we needed but said that they will only give us the part and installation is up to us because their installer is too busy. When the part finally arrived, it did not fit. We tried calling Norma who did not return our calls. At one point an employee of Dunbar & Ross actually hung up on us. All of this hassle is absolutely unacceptable. We will NEVER AGAIN recommend Dunbar & Ross to anybody after being treated this way. To this date, our problem remains unresolved and no one, including the manufacturer has returned our numerous phone calls.

Dunbar & Ross renovated our kitchen in March 2007. First, David came up with a brilliant design idea that involved the creation of a peninsula and the closing off of a window that only overlooked our neighbors' garbage pails. He also came up with two decorating schemes (so we wouldn't be totally overwhelmed by choice) and asked us to trust him as far as colors, knobs, tiles, etc., and guess what? The result is absolutely wonderful and suitable to our taste and living arrangement, which both Norma and David sensitively understood. Norma has answered all our post-reno questions in a timely manner, and the arrangement for her skilled craftsmen and workers was always on time and on schedule. I know this is a big struggle (the finishing up of projects) but one from which we didn't suffer (not even for a day). Nor were we encouraged to do more renovation work (open up space between the dining room and kitchen) (when we caught the reno bug) than was originally necessary and agreed upon. We think Dunbar & Ross are first-rate consummate professionals. Norma is famous for her color sense as well, and she also picked our house paint colors as an additional bonus! Hats off to a great company.

A good company gets the work done on budget, on time and as promised. But a great company handles the glitches that come along, quickly and responsibly without making it the clients problem. Dunbar and Ross is a great company. David designed our stunning kitchen which faces the street in a downtown Toronto neighbourhood. Norma made it happen with her exceptional scheduling abilities and superior trades people. David listened to our needs and gently guided us towards an innovative, functional kitchen design which required opening up our front entrance hall. The results are spectacular. We sit in the living room and can't believe that this is our house. David and Norma kept to our budget. The scheduling of the trades people was spot on and each and every trades person used by this company is highly skilled, helpful and friendly. They also work clean. Norma stayed on top of every installation and immediately corrected small problems that occurred, always in our favour. For example, when too many slate tiles were delivered, Norma took the extra boxes back and credited us for the extra material. We were impressed with the honesty, integrity and good will shown by David and Norma every step of the way. Aside from this, David and Norma are wonderful people who are fun to work with. We recommend Dunbar and Ross for your kitchen renovations without a single reservation. They are THE BEST.

My fabulous new kitchen was just completed by Dunbar and Ross. David and Norma designed and renovated a kitchen for me in a previous house and, as before, this project was on time, on budget and handled expertly and professionally. They helped me though my many indecisions and uncertainties to achieve a truly beautiful end result. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone considering undertaking the challenge of getting a new kitchen.

Postscript:
Non-existant aftercare - Dunbar and Ross knew the soap dispenser did not
operate properly from the day of installation, but did nothing. They have
not returned my phone calls and have been totally umcommunicative.
Consquently, I would no longer recommend them. The ratings for this review have been downgraded from the original posting

I have had Dunbar and Ross renovate or build five bathrooms and 2 kitchens. Needless to say, I am a totally satisfied customer. There were no glitches from the initial consultation to the finished product. I was provided with great design concepts, good workmanship and quality, excellent trades (some of whom vaccuumed daily before leaving),and on budget and on time projects. The professionalism and quality of service exhibited by everyone who designed and worked on these projects was exemplary. The finished products have generated rave reviews. I totally recommend Dunbar and Ross to anyone considering building/renovating a kitchen or bathroom.

Dunbar and Ross has just finished my kitchen renovation (on time and on budget!!) and my experience dealing with Norma and David and all their subcontractors has been excellent. Compared to two other major renos in other parts of my house, with other contractors, I found Dunbar and Ross professional, easy to deal with and easy to reach during the reno. All the subtrades showed up when they were supposed to, did a professional job and were personable and friendly. Only 2 minor glitches arose during the whole job and they were delt with and corrected immediately. David's design has opened up and modernized my kitchen while still reflecting the 1920's style of my home. I am highly recommending Dunbar and Ross to all my friends.

As a result of my experience with Dunbar & Ross, I cannot recommend their services. My partner and I didn't have a horrible time with them, but given the scope of the job and its price tag, I expected much more professionalism. In one particularly frustrating instance where the same error occurred twice, the proprietor never apologized for the multi-week delay and in fact, made it clear that our requests to get the right materials were inconveniencing her. Also, they failed to provide the project plan we requested and would "surprise" us with dates. The tradespeople they used for both the electrical and flooring were "OK" we've since had some truly excellent people in to work on other major renos and the contrast was noticeable.