Kitchen Designers Plus No Longer In Business

Our kitchen was completed and we were reasonably happy with the project. We were very pleased with the design created by Kelly, she listened carefully to our needs and met those well. We are also satisfied with the cabinets and counter tops. The project was finished almost on time and within the budget we had agreed to. There were adjustments that had to be made and Kelly ensured that we were satisfied. It was fortunate for us that we were available to oversee the work and ensure that it met our expectations.
After going through this we learned an important lesson that we would like to pass on to other people who may be doing renovations. It is important for the homeowner to protect themselves by holding back 10% of the contract price for 45 days after the job is substantially performed. This will partially protect the home owner from claims by any subcontractors. I suggest you keep all payment receipts, photograph the process and keep a public record of progress.

I am shocked to see the recent reviews for Kitchen Designers Plus in Oakville given that they stopped paying their contractors at the end of November 2012 and are now out of business.

We too had arranged and paid for a kitchen renovation with KDP and were left to our own devices near the end of our project as they had not paid the contractor.

Interestingly enough their Ford Drive location is now fully operational again, albeit with a new sign with a different company name but with all of the same fixtures and display kitchens etc. and being operated by John Anthony V., so other than the name everything is exactly the same but without satisfying any of their previous customers. I am astounded that this can happen!

Their old website automatically flips you over to the new company which is using the same photos with the previous testimonials as well, but now the testimonials have been meticulously amended to show the new name!

I was prompted to submit this review because numerous new reviews for this company have appeared here dated long after Kitchen Designers Plus stopped paying their contractors. I thought that at least one of the numerous unhappy customers who were left without completed kitchens should be represented in the KDP review column on this website.

Doug M
Oakville, On

We went with Kitchen Designers Plus after meeting Rebecca Domres in the Oakville store. Rebecca and John came to house and suggested some very innovative ideas for our reno. We considered other companies, but selected KD Plus because they produced the best kitchen design. Our project was a complete replacement of the kitchen, including; floor, countertops, appliances, pot lights and cabinets. Rebecca did a great job working with us throughout our project to ensure we got what we wanted and quickly dealt with any issues as they arose. She provided excellent recommendations for the selection of materials, hardware and colours. They worked well with our other suppliers and coordinated their efforts on our behalf. The work finished on time and on budget and we are very happy with the results.

Our Kitchen was designed and installed by KDP in March of 2009.
Cabinets were ordered late, therefore there was one month delay in installation. We were compensated with a small monetary amount for the delay, during that time our designer fell ill and was temporarily hospitalized and no one else was sent to oversee the job. Kitchen tile installer (Tony) was very unprofessional and rude but we were assured he was great for the job and will do it right, but right from the begining we had problems with chipped tiles installed for which we were blamed by Tony, and later on we had big chunks of grout falling out, the tile installer blamed us for this also, therefore we requested not to have him back to fix this issue…it took KDP 9 months to send someone else and fix the grout problems. 2 weeks after our kitchen was installed we noticed cracks and paint chipping on the cabinet doors (painted MDF which was recommended by our designer Uli because we did not want to deal with joint lines that was common with wood doors) we were told by our designer that cracks and lines were unusual and to keep an eye on it and call them if it gets worse, we contacted John (KDP owner) a year later and told him what the problem was and he kept promising to send somebody in to investigate, that did not happen until we sent numerous emails, made numerous calls and registered letter, which he had to sign to receive and completely ignored (he never contacted us). We called him one more time after that and he simply said "I thought your kitchen issues were resolved" . They were not! Finally going on the 3. year since our kitchen was installed someone from cabinet manufacturer was sent to inspect the doors which were buckling wherever there was moisture, and paint chipping where the joint lines are, he told us that he can only warrant ONE door, (we were not happy with this as we have 5 year warranty on our kitchen and expected this to be fixed completely as all doors had this problem) at the end he said he has to talk to John and that he (John) will get back to us…no one from KDP ever came to see our kitchen nor did they ever contact us after that. We expected KDP to stand behind the product they sell as we were promised excellent quality of cabinets. Our problem is still unresolved and we gave up hope that It ever will be.

I've been using homestars to determine my contractors of choice for all of the work required to my new (older) house. All of my experiences have been good. KDP was no exception - in fact it may have been the best of my contractor experiences. Dealing with John was really easy. He ensured the timeline was kept as best as possible even when a wrench or two were thrown into the plan. There were no budget surprises. The product quality and workmanship level are impeccable. We are thoroughly pleased with the finished product.

Over the years, my husband and I have moved often and bought and sold many homes. Each time we moved into a new home, we had intentions of renovating our kitchen, but it never happened. This time we actually did it and we couldn't be happier with K. D. Plus. Of course we got other designs and quotations from competitors. However, John from K. D. Plus was able to not only meet our expectations, but surpass them, both design-wise as well as cost-wise. Indeed, we had heard many kitchen renovation horror-stories from our friends, family and colleagues and didn't undertake this big project lightly. Not only were we excited with the modern design and projected cost of our new kitchen, the project finished on-time and on-budget. John was always accessible, whether by phone, text or email. We couldn't be happier with our very modern and ergonomically-designed new kitchen. Many thanks to John and his awesome team of trades.

We selected KDP because of the excellent vision for our kitchen and main bathroom as designed by Rebekah Domres. We considered 3 different designs and hers was the best. She was able to understand our families' needs and preferrences to create a design that best matched these needs.
BUT with 2 weeks remaining before our renovation was to be complete, we could no longer get in contact with the Mississauga location of KDP. The office would not return any of our calls and the contractors refused to come and complete their work. We later learned from our designer, who had just been informed, that the company was "restructuring" and she wasn't sure if they would be able to complete the work they had been contracted and paid to do. We also received telephone calls from contractors asking to be paid directly for work completed as they had not been paid by KDP. We have paid for the majority of the supplies and contract work but now have to pay again for the final supplies and have hired a new contractor to complete our renovations. In effect, we have to pay twice for much of the work. We are most dissappointed that KDP was not professional enough to contact us directly to explain the situation. We have given a rating of 0 because of KDP's unprofessional behaviour. If we could, we would give Rebekah a 10+ for her design!

We couldn’t be happier with our new kitchen and are very glad we had Kelly and Kitchen Designers Plus make our vision a reality. Our kitchen was in desperate need of renovation with an old drop ceiling, two layers of vinyl flooring and cabinets that could not be restored. We came to KDP with high expectations as we wanted to fit many ideas into a limited space and had an aggressive timeline due to a second child on the way. Not far along in the planning process we realized our space would be maximized by knocking a wall down and adding built in shelves in the adjoining room. KDP was up to the challenge and delivered everything we wanted, on time and on budget. Kelly really brought our vision to life with her designs and was an excellent project leader through every detail of the renovation. She was especially helpful with the many decisions regarding cabinets, counter top, hardware, and appliances and even went as far as give us guidance on paint colours and furniture options. Paul and the construction team were very professional and treated our house as if it was their own. All our questions and concerns were addressed promptly and professionally. The result is just amazing, we love our new kitchen and continue to get compliments from everyone who has seen the before and after. Thank you Kelly, Paul and the rest of the Kitchen Designer Plus team. The kitchen is really the heart of the home and our new space has changed the way we live for the better.