A&D in Toronto

I bought Dream Stars king size/ box spring set. The mattress was 4" Tandelay latex over 6" of natural soy foam with a 1" wool quilted top and a stylish natural cover. Dream Stars has a wide range of options at very affordable prices; they are made right here in Toronto and delivery is next to immediate. I highly, highly recommend this company. (I bought through Sleep Masters but Ton Furniture is equally competitive for Dream Star products.)

Sleep Masters is a terrific new company. They work with the Toronto mattress company Dream Stars Bedding. The staff is friendly and well-informed, outlining a range of options. Their prices are easily the best for quality foam mattresses. (In our case we bought king size set; the mattress was 4" Tandelay latex over 6" of natural soy foam with a 1" wool quilted top and a stylish natural cover.) A mix-up with the height of our box spring, was immediately and happily corrected. The delivery team was equally friendly and prompt. I highly, highly recommend this company.

Sentinel Designs is a terrific company and the owner, Mauro Marchese, is an excellent worker. Mauro was always on time and on budget. He provided and installed over twenty doors and worked with us on the design of our (Shaker-style) custom frames, baseboards and crown moldings. He was thoughtful and courteous, cleaned up at the end of each day's work, and took obvious pride in his art and craft. So many of our friends who are thinking of having work done have commented on the quality of our frames and moldings We would go with Mauro and Sentinel Designs again in a flash.

We hired Copacetic to do our kitchen cupboards and cabinetry as well as new vanities for both bathrooms. The work was superb. It was done on time and for the quoted amount. A real benefit was being able to see the kitchen set up in Copacetic's workshop prior to installation. A second benefit was the time and care taken with the installation; five days of absolutely precise quality workmanship. As well, Ian and Louie arranged generous discounts for us with the company that did the quartz countertops. And finally, when there was an extremely minor problem (one cupboard handle off by 1/16"), Ian had it fixed immediately, no questions asked. I highly, highly recommend this company. (And did I mention how pleasant everyone was to deal with?)

We have enormous sympathy for the individual who gave this company a 0 rating. We were undertaking a $200,000 plus condo reno. But with a week to the start date, the company still hadn’t provided us with a promised contract. When we pressed, we were told to pay a $5,000 retainer and the contract would follow on our agreed terms. Our backs against a time wall, we paid it. The contract that we then received was a joke, containing none of the points we had negotiated. Unbelievably, it actually required US to pay for the company’s insurance! There was no penalty for late completion, nor was the company obliged to guarantee its quotes, although we were to be penalized for any lateness even if we were not responsible. We were also expected us to pay the company’s lawyer for drafting the contract. Naturally we refused. The "retainer" was never returned. In the end, our project was a dream. The trades we scouted were fantastic, and although we went high-end we came in tens of thousands under what Lakeshore had estimated at the low end. Our relationship with this company had us awake at nights; we lost $5,000 but we count ourselves lucky.

Tender touch took great with our furniture. They were friendly, courteous, and careful. I would strongly recommend that you double check that the receptionist wrote down your address correctly. Luckily, I called in early and it had been taken down incorrectly. This could have been a big glitch. But the actual movers were perfection and otherwise the company would have rated a 10+.

Frank and his team, Mitchell and Alex, were a joy to work with. Very easy going, personable and friendly, while at the same time prompt and efficient. They managed to navigate around a difficult elevator situation (small, limited hours). They were also totally flexible about adding elements to go, and cleaned up after themselves each day. If all trades were as excellent as The Demo Boys renovations would be a breeze. Highly, highly, highly recommended.