"Designward took away 95% of the stress of building
our new home. Bonnie designed an exquisite home for us. Bonnie
and Don's knowledge and experience in the islands and the design
industry enabled them to hire the best team of people to work
on our project.
The weekly meetings they held with the builder and the communication
with us via phone, email and digital photographs helped us
stay up to date and involved with the progress of the construction
from 1500 miles away. We felt completely comfortable putting
our full trust in them as they treated our house project as
if it were their own.
Their passion and excitement was constant throughout each
stage of our project. It began while working at the site to
find the best location for the home and continued through to
the final details prior to our move in.
In addition to providing us with an exceptionally well designed
home, they have been invaluable in helping us select our furniture
and window coverings which compliment and enhance the design
and feel of our home.
As we write this we have been working with Designward for
a little over a year and have only rave reviews about their
superb and professional way of doing business. Thank you Bonnie
and Don, you've made our dream home come true."
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"Instrumental to the successful completion of my home was
the exceptional design services provided by Bonnie and Don Ward
through their Designward firm. From the beginning, the Wards
presented imaginative and thoughtful suggestions of their own
as well as entertaining and implementing a diversity of ideas
from my perspective. This interaction resulted in a much more
innovative and personalized house. The Wards have an ability
and a willingness unusual in design firms to make one feel as
if one were their only client: they are generous with their
time and with their research and are always responsive to new
ideas. Finally, my relationship with Designward is now in its
thirteenth year, and I continue to be impressed with the quality,
the expertise, and the creativity of the Ward's services."
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"When we decided to build our dream house on San Juan Island,
we quickly realized we needed professional help, not only with
the interior design, but the whole project. Since this was our
first experience building a house and we were living in Los
Angeles at the time, we needed someone locally to oversee the
construction as well as guide us through each phase of the building
process. Soon after meeting Bonnie Ward of Designward and viewing
other homes she had designed and decorated, we knew we had found
someone with whom we could work in designing our home. We were
very fortunate that Bonnie was there for us. She kept the new
experience of building our own house from becoming too overwhelming.
She saw right away that we wanted our house to be unique and
that our building site presented lighting problems from lack
of sun. She met both of these challenges by designing ceiling-high
windows on each end of the house as well as adding eleven skylights
to bring in as much overhead light as possible.
Bonnie was present during all the critical phases of the construction
and was responsible for making some key changes that saved us
both time and money.
Everyone who has seen our house raves over the designer kitchen
that Bonnie created. Bonnie has a special talent of quickly
transforming a design idea into a professional drawing, which
made it easy for us to see exactly how the finished design would
look.
If we decide to build another house in the future, Bonnie Ward
would be one of the first people we would call. She makes building
a house worthwhile."
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"We have found Bonnie to be a very talented designer. There
are four things we look for and found with Bonnie:"
Design talent.
"She has the ability to see the big picture and to come
up with the right balance of furnishings, fabrics and accents.
She can do this on any scale be it one room, a whole home redecorating
project or a from-scratch new home design working with the architect.
She has done all of these for us very successfully."
Knowledge and relationships with people in the business.
"She knows the people in the Seattle Design Center well
and has very good relations with them. She is able to get them
to work for her to accomplish the needs of the project. She
know the shops and boutiques that carry the items needed to
make a house a home."
Space design and planning.
"She is a master at space design from sketches to computer
aided design. She has the ability to come up with solutions
to difficult problems. Her design aids are most helpful in putting
yourself in the room. She has a sense of style that brings the
project to life."
Relations with contractors and workmen.
"We have completed several projects with Bonnie and
in each case she is most professional in her work. She gets
the most from her contractors without being over bearing. She
is patient yet firm with great follow up and execution.
Overall working with Bonnie is a wonderfully fun experience
and we are pleased to recommend her as an interior designer
for anyone contemplating redecorating."
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"We are two of Designward's many happy and satisfied customers.
Having retired to Orcas Island, we built a new home here four
years ago and contacted Bonnie Ward for help and advice in doing
the interior design work of selecting color schemes, floor coverings,
furniture, window covering, cabinets and all the other decisions
that go into putting a new home together. We are now in, enjoying
it immensely and truly appreciating the value of getting a real
professional involved in the process.
Bonnie has a wonderful sensitivity to the tastes and preferences
of her clients and doesn't come to the project with pre-conceived
ideas of how your home should look. Couples don't always know
or know how to put together the look or feel they both want..or
can agree on. Bonnie is extremely creative, gave us lots of
options and helped us put together our home interior that we
both love.
We couldn't list all the great ideas Bonnie and Don thought
of, we implemented and now take for granted and enjoy on a daily
basis. They both have impeccable taste and will go locate the
pieces you have selected and find subcontractors and craftsmen
to make it and or install it.
Since Bonnie does architectural design, she is superb in assisting
with floor plans, traffic plans and the myriad details that
can make or break your interior living experience.
Since much of our home was being constructed while we absent,
Don also assisted us in supervising construction and budget
matters.
Bonnie and Don bring a truckload of experience to their clients
including insights into how to reach your construction or decorating
goals in this local island environment. They are both very professional
and fun to work with and we highly recommend them."
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"Bonnie is a genius with colors and finishes. Our new kitchen
is a dream to cook in! Bonnie has a great working relationship
with the local crafts people. She helped us get the finest quality
workmanship for our remodel."
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"Bonnie Ward saved my sanity and my marriage. I started
out thinking that, all I needed was a couple of chairs upholstered,
and ended with a complete redo including the best kitchen and
pantry a cook could want. She helped us realize our dream with
style, economically. She is a great facilitator! And guess what..my
husband and I are still married!!!"
"When we bought our Orcas home
we knew changes were needed to its decor. Prior remodels lacked
continuity; some changes were beautiful, many were dismal.
Before discovering Designward we worked with a few designer-decorators
with varying results ranging from lackluster to disastrously
expensive disappointments. We now had new furniture, purchased
or designed, but still nothing seemed to flow. We turned to
Designward for help.
Our first project was to upgrade the guest suite; the bath’s
harvest gold tile and brown wallpaper had to go. Bonnie suggested
that the area reflect the Japanese influence of the house.
She promptly came back with drawings, plans, and recommendations
for a builder, tile setter and cabinetmakers. They converted
the ugly dark bath into a bright, beautiful, award winning
space (1998 Bath of the Year/Seattle Homes & Lifestyles)
that functioned perfectly and appeared much larger. She also
created a lovely bedroom by adding a few new pieces to the
existing furniture and choosing fabrics and colors that totally
transformed the space. We were so very pleased that we moved
into the guest room and went on to redecorate the master suite,
three more baths, the studio, office, and even the courtyard.
Bonnie worked well with both of us. She is a good listener,
very diplomatic, flexible, and understanding. She brings to
her work not only creativity but the education and experience
to give the client what they really want and need, even if
they are not aware of it when they begin the process.
When we bought a 60 year old ranch house in California we
planned to use a local designer for the total renovation. After
consulting several people it was quickly apparent to us how
spoiled we had become by Bonnie’s professionalism and
creativity. We found ourselves saying “It is too bad
that Bonnie isn’t here.” We knew that Designward
could do the job but they were working on a large project and
wouldn’t be available to work with us onsite for several
months. Unable to wait, we called Bonnie for advice. She agreed
to look at our preliminary drawings and give us her suggestions.
Using our photographs and drawings, (several telephone calls
and e-mails later), she produced a computerized walkthrough
and plans for our new home. The renovation included major interior
and exterior changes; the interior was basically gutted. She
designed an amazing kitchen and another beautiful bath. We
were given a handsome entry, a wrap around porch and a bright
new sun room. By eliminating a dark central hall we gained
closets, a pantry and bookcases. The final bonus was that despite
our move from a large open Northwest contemporary home to a
1440 square foot vintage farmhouse the furniture, accessories
and fabrics that Bonnie had chosen for the Orcas house work
wonderfully in the new ranch setting that she designed.
Another fine service that Bonnie rendered was to consult on a home that we
were interested in buying. She did a preliminary design and cost estimate which
we used to determine that the time and cost would be more than we were willing
to invest.
Over the past eight years we have been extremely happy with
Designward’s services. The results of their efforts have
been beautiful and functional and working with them has been
a pleasure.
Don and Bonnie visited the ranch recently and saw for themselves
the results of their efforts made from 1500 miles away. We
plan to enjoy our home for years to come, but if we ever have
another home anywhere we know who will design and decorate
it."
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