Zuhause Interiors - Full Service Interior Design Specialist — Local services in Sewickley

Her transparent pricing is NOT honest

She should spend more time learning about design than learning what to say to charge more for design. She brags about these biz development classes what she doesn't say is that they are sales coaching not design theory.

She has a very slick and polished presentation but it designed to pacify you while she slips hidden fees in on you.

She had told me she would give me a quote and was very proud to say that all I would pay. We got off the phone and I was excited to work with her. I thought let me call back and clarify that that she isn't going to try and make more money by marking up the furniture she recommends(conflict of interest anyone??). Especially when she hides this fact

I asked her about it. She said she was going to to do exactly that. I said why didn't you say that on the first call. You were so proud of your completely transparent pricing. Her exact response and I kid you not --- "Because you didn't ask". WOW! really I have to know everything to ask to know you aren't hiding anything. Omission is as big of a crime as commission.

WARNING: If instead of answering a tough question if anyone you are dealing with ever says this to you RUN!! "...well then this might not be a good fit". They are using a bullying slimy sales tactic called a negative reverse. I repeat RUN!! It is design to put the customer on the defensive and make them back down from a legitimate question that the slimy salesperson doesn't want to answer.

When I wouldn't back down becuase at this point massive red flags were waving all over the place. She tries to give me a scripted response that was as ridiculous as it was slimy. TRICK #2 to be aware. If you ask a legitimate question that they want to dodge. They can't say it's stupid so they imply your stupid by telling you a story about a colleague who asked that same question and it was discussed with a group of designer who inevitable all agreed it was stupid question. In my case she said I was just on a coaching call with a bunch of designers and "so and so" was asked just that, question, we all were shocked how little people understand about our industry. The trick here is that I'm not saying your question is dumb but a whole group designer thinks it is. And nobody that knew anything would ask it. It works well to make you feel dumb and she doesn't have to answer.

At this point I was done. But I pressed the issue further about why she wasn't upfront. This is when the ridiculousness really started. She said she was just like a big furniture store with ALL THE COST associated with running a real retail business and so she has the right to charge high retail prices. First she doesn't have retail storefront rent, utilities, employees, benefits, insurance I could go on and on. Second she collects your money to pay for the furniture before it's ordered. Retail businesses are holding millions in inventory that they need to turn over to pay their lines of credit used to purchase the inventory. She double down insisting she was a retail business. This is when it got to ridiculous for me so I ended the call and dodged the bullet of working with her.

AVOID HER AT ALL COST. She is more interest in what to say to get inside your wallet than the inside...

Juliane, owner of Avenue Interiors, has played a key role in helping my husband and me make our new house a home. She is extremely hands on, not just making suggesting but handling measurements and coming up with creative solutions on the go that I didn't even know I needed but now can't live without - such as a closet transforming shoe rack. She works incredibly efficiently and everyone she has recommended to complete work in our home has been excellent. My husband says she is worth every penny! Juliane goes above and beyond in every aspect of her work, guiding me in my shopping, helping me locate sales, coordinating colors and nudging me out of my comfort zone when needed. She has been tremendously helpful as we choose which projects are worth taking on and which are not, because they won't add value or significantly change the look of a room. In the middle of our living space is a fire place that Juliane transformed, making the center of our home warm, beautiful and welcoming. We will continue to work exclusively with Juliane as we refurbish our home. Every room has been made better by Avenue Interiors and she makes what can be a daunting and expensive process so much more pleasant and manageable, every...

Juliane is fantastic. She designed complete renovations of our first floor full bathroom and our basement, and she redesigned our home office. The bathroom included moving walls and plumbing, and adding a new tiled floor, tiled shower and tiled wainscoting. The basement was transformed from an open, unusable dark space to a bright, functional living area with a new full bathroom, mud room, TV lounge area, dry bar, exercise space, workshop room, and closet space. Her design also helped transform a makeshift pandemic home office into a professional and calming work and reading space. We are so happy with the results and glad we worked with a designer to help us achieve the changes we wanted to make in our home. Juliane is friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and professional. She has a real knack for getting to know her clients and letting their style, needs, and budget drive her work and deliver great results. We’d happily work with Avenue Interiors on...