For many, a home renovation can be a daunting task. Between saving enough money for the project, picking out the design and materials, and the demolition and reconstruction, it is a lengthy and exhausting process that is oftentimes made excruciatingly painful and un-enjoyable through unsatisfactory service and products. Whether projects that were supposed to take weeks turn into months, managers are unreachable or the wrong products are ordered, inevitably, something typically always goes wrong.
However, Dilworth’s Custom Design is doing just the opposite.
Based out of Phoenixville, this family-run custom design group is changing the way homeowners experience renovations, from beginning to end.
“They know everything there is to know,” says Beth Douglass, a resident of Worcester Township in Montgomery County, who, along with her husband Dorney, recently had their kitchen and laundry and powder rooms renovated and modernized by Dilworth’s. After first seeing the extensive and impressive Dilworth’s exhibit at the Valley Forge Convention Center Home Show two years ago and having a series of preliminary meetings, the Douglasses began the seven-month renovation. From the beginning they had high expectations for the work Dilworth’s would do.
“After we met them at the home show they followed up and invited us to an open house and they reached out; they stood out among the vendors in that regard,” explains Beth. Dorney agrees, adding, “You knew you could trust them based on the fact that they had a very strong customer [reference] list and when you interact with them during the sales process, they know everything and they can guide you the right way. They really had that sense of trust.”
From the preliminary steps of the process, where the Douglasses toured Dilworth’s 3,000-square-foot showroom and custom workshop and constructed one-dimensional and three-dimensional personalized blueprint renderings for their new space, the company went that extra mile to make sure its clients were not only getting the style and details they wanted but that there was functionality as well.
At its showroom, Dilworth’s offers clients the experience of actually seeing how different cabinets and counters and accessories look in a kitchen or bathroom setting, allowing them to visualize the possibilities for their own new room. From there, customers decide on what it is they want and begin the designing process. Many customers are also surprised to see right into the carpentry shop from the showroom floor, as Dilworth carpenters construct the projects on site.
“You sit at a computer and [Dilworth’s CFO Dave Dilworth] has a rendering of your kitchen and basically he lays out the entire vision of the kitchen and you tweak and modify it the way you want it to be visually,” says Beth. “He really focused on, ‘Is this going to be functional for your lifestyle?’”
Through the seven months—September to March—it took to complete the remodel, there was not one moment that Dilworth’s left the Douglasses with work unfinished or questions unanswered. The trio had two-hour meetings every Friday throughout the process, including the short five and half weeks it took to complete the renovation, start to finish—completing the project a week earlier than expected—to ensure that their wants and needs were being met. “In considering our lifestyle and interests,” Beth explains, “[Dilworth] was able to direct us most appropriately to the right choices.”
Dilworth understands the importance of this part of the business as well. “We try and help them find what they’re looking for,” he says. “We look at it as if we’re going to live in that space and want to make it the best functional space and aesthetically very pleasing.”
Knowing just how strenuous this process can be, Beth was glad to have the expertise of Dilworth’s there guiding her along. “Just picking out the granite stone, we were there three times with them to be sure every step of the way we were satisfied. It helped the process that they were very patient with us and weren’t high pressure.”
Additionally, instead of having outsourced subcontractors and builders coming in and out of the home, Dilworth’s does all the work—design, construction, delivery and installation—and coordinates with appliance and special-parts delivery so there is nothing for the homeowners to worry about.
“You don’t have a lot of people hopping in and out of your house, and it’s comfortable to work with them,” says Dorney. “They handle the process end to end and there aren’t a lot of other people in the process; it’s the reason they’re able to deliver on time.”
Even when an issue does arise (as it inevitably will) such as a mis-measured cabinet, the issue is taken care of before it can become a problem. “Anything we found that needed to be adjusted they were out to fix it and it was painless and they treated it like it was their own home,” explains Dorney.
When the construction is in progress, the crew even makes sure that they are keeping the space clean and livable for homeowners. “They were very clean and just did a really nice job in the house while they were here. It’s sort of the heart of your home, but they did their best to keep everything clean and dust-free as they went through,” says Dorney. The company even sends a cleaning crew out at the completion of the project to detail the space to leave it “looking as nice as it did the first day we started,” says Dilworth.
And, they always follow up the project with a client walk-through with Dilworth’s CEO Daniel Dilworth, guaranteeing that everything is to the customer’s satisfaction.
Between its “award-winning design, expert carpentry and professional installation,” and its impeccable customer service and satisfaction, Dilworth’s is raising the bar for the remodel and renovation experience—and its clients are the proof.
“We wouldn’t have gotten [this result] if we weren’t with a custom company,” says Beth. “We don’t have any regrets.”
Dilworth’s Custom Designs
175 North Whitehorse Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460
Phone: 610-917-9119
Web: www. dilworthscustomdesign.com
