Clients Letter

We chose the interior design company, Howard Design Group, based on its reputation, but more important, for what we knew, from personal experience and references, was the professionalism and at the same time the great verve of its leader. This individual, and the assistant who was essentially the project manager, worked with us and the architect, and eventually the builder, over a period of 3-4 years. Our aim was to take as much time as we needed to plan, to choose every detail, and then to have the house built in an 18 month or less time frame so that it would be ready when we were ready to retire from the University of Hawaii School of Medicine on a given date.

The design company agreed to work within our time frame. Beginning with a photo and measuring survey of our Honolulu home, documenting every piece of furniture, decorative and art object we owned, these two designers assessed our personal preferences for color and style. They worked with the architect (they had never worked together before and their offices were located on different islands) from early in the project, contributing much valuable input and detail. Incidentally, the teamwork between architect and designers was so effective, and they enjoyed working together so much that they are continuing to work together on new projects.

During the early stages, the designers made various small adjustments in the plans, as did the architect, to meet our needs. But it is a testament to them that once our decisions were made with their expert selection of choices for us to make and their unfailing good humor as we moved steadily toward the goal, the actual building went very smoothly and the house was completed on time and less than 1% over original budget!

Our move interisland was done in two parts requiring logistical skill (and flexibility) on everyone's part. The designers ordered everything needed for the first increment, then for the second, and finally some items had to be shipped directly from the manufacturers. All this was organized by the designers. When the second delivery arrived, they arrived the very next day to help us install the pictures and other objects. Even furniture was moved by the 4 of us over a two day period. When they left, it really looked like a home. It is a joy to see our old things, some refurbished and reupholstered, finding new homes in a new, very different house but in different rooms and for different uses and mixing with a few new pieces as well. The first Christmas in the house, our grown children arrived from far away and really felt at home with the familiar, while at the same time excited by the new.

To sum this all up, it was truly a delight to work with these designers. The expected stress of designing and building a home was mitigated to a great degree by their professionalism, their adherence to schedule and the expectation that we would have a large part in the project because that's what we wanted. Their unfailing good humor and flexibility was an enormous boon. They were able to identify our differing preferences in style which they called a spectrum between "rustic and refined" and to bridge the gap, negotiating compromises at various points along the spectrum. To cap it all off, we all had a wonderful time in the process!

HOWARD DESIGN GROUP