Andra Birkerts Design

Andra and her team helped us furnish our entire four bedroom house in Lexington, MA. We had a wonderful experience and love our new furniture! We are super busy people, and they were very professional and took care of all the details. I would definitely work with them again in the future.

We have had the pleasure of working with Andra and her team members on several projects in our home over multiple years, including: outdoor and two full floors of indoor painting; patio furniture; furnishings for two guest bedroom; laundry room redesign; master bedroom redesign, and most recently, redesign of our home office. We have always enjoyed the process and are always completely thrilled with the results. Everything looks great and is comfortable and functional. Andra has a spectacular eye for color, and is also very skilled at sourcing new items to blend with our existing pieces. Andra has relationships with excellent craftsmen from finish woodworkers to upholsterers to painters, all of whom are as conscientious and pleasant to work with as she is. Andra is a gem and we look forward to working with her on future projects.

I hired Andra B. D. largely due to the reviews I read on Houzz, therefore its only fitting that I now post my review on my experience with them here. Background and what worked - The project was for a master bedroom to be redesigned in terms of furniture and soft furnishings only. It was completed largely on time with most of the delays only due to furniture delivery from overseas. About roughly 15% (of value) of the furniture recommended by the firm actually met the aesthetic and practical requirements of the room. What did not work - I felt the design work lacked creativity and fell short in practical as well as aesthetic considerations. It also was an unpleasant surprise that most of the initial budget for design, development and implementation was used up in the design stage itself given the quantity and quality of output. In their initial presentation I was shown two largely similar design themes of one monochromatic look. Since this was my first time using an interior design firm, I trusted them that the subtleties would lie in say - luxurious texture or use of unique materials to justify the hiring of an experienced designer. Maybe there would be an aha! down the line. Practical considerations were communicated to them such as its a bedroom therefore the curtain treatments should block the light, the bed should be solidly made etc. Aesthetic considerations were also communicated such as use nicer finishes, furniture should have something special in terms of design etc. Otherwise why hire somebody ?! Their actual design picks were pedestrian and fell short of expectations. Consequently I ended up doing the bulk of the research as well as visiting local showrooms to find the right furniture (roughly 70% of value). Some other smaller pieces of furniture that I did leave to them to decide and purchase I am currently looking to donate (15% of value). Returning does not seem to be an easy option through them. The curtains installed made the room look like a hospital room. They let in all the early morning light that we get in the Northeast making sleep difficult. An odd episode with additional window darkening draperies proved that they were not an option as they did not work with the customized draperies already installed. Now - I have just replaced them all at additional expense. Unfortunately truthful feedback and questions on invoice amounts led to a breakdown in communication early on. I am very disappointed with their work and am now correcting their design mistakes as I don't want to have to live in one.

The Andra Birkerts Design team is amazing. At the Brookline Community Foundation, we needed a consultation on design and furniture to spruce up our offices. We couldn't be more pleased with how quickly and beautifully our offices were tranformed into professional and yet lovely interior spaces. The team worked with us not only to transform our offices but also the building we own and many of our tenants have been grateful for the new look. I give the team our highest recommendation.

I have been selling high end furnishings and lighting in Boston to Andra Birkerts Design for 14 years. We have worked on many projects with various budgets. I am impressed by how consistently and imaginatively they create seamless interiors that reflect the individual nature of each client. Their knowledge for clients needs, budget and lead-times gave them the ability to meet all their deadlines. I would highly recommend working with the ABD team on any residential project.

I've now completed two projects with Andra Birkerts and her team. The designer I worked with most was Avery though Andra was also involved and the beauty of this team was that they had different strengths and perspectives. They transformed my bedroom from a boring white room to a colorful room that now has such character that I'm trying to figure out how to move it with us when we eventually move. The colors chosen through out the house still make me smile as I walk through. Their organized presentations made it so easy to make decisions. Most importantly, they got to know me and listened to what I wanted instead of just forcing their opinion on me. One of the reasons I originally chose them is they are fabulous at transforming spaces to making them very useful with built ins and they succeeded with that at both this project as well as a project out of state. One last note, This was all done in a very timely fashion and they managed to stay within my budget AND they always responded to any of my needs or questions immediately.

We loved working with Andra Birkerts, Courtney Driver and colleagues from ABD. They designed gorgeous interiors for our seaside home. They started with us at the very beginning of our gut renovation project, working to understand what our aspirations were for the home and getting a feel for the space themselves. Over the course of a year, they communicated extremely well with the architect and builder to create a sensibility for the home, ensuring that each space was beautifully formed and functional. ABD then translated this sensibility effectively into stunning finishes and furnishings. We couldn't be more thrilled with the finished product, and we have continued to work with ABD on other projects.

We are young, first time home-buyers who bought a newly renovated house and had almost no furniture to bring with us. Oh yes, we also had a new baby, only a few weeks until move-in, and a small budget. The Andra Birkerts team took on our challenge with energy, imagination, and great sensitivity to our particular needs. We were shown really imaginative solutions to our many needs- living room, dining room, entry, stair runner, family room, and master bedroom. The ABD Team gently but persistently pushed and pulled us outside of our comfort zone and came up with wonderfully interesting ideas that fit our needs and our style. We live on a busy street and needed a lot of window treatments to provide privacy and to make the house cozy. ABD solutions were innovative, beautiful, and economical. Several windows used “off the shelf” products with custom additions sewn on to add color and texture at a very reasonable cost. The color plan was especially interesting – fun, warm, and unexpected. In terms of budget, we purchased a few expensive pieces and filled in with great values from retailers like West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Target. In short, we can recommend ABD enthusiastically- they perfectly understood our project and our needs and delivered on time and on budget. They can clearly go upscale or work on a tight budget, but what they excel at is imaginative and comfortable solutions.

As the owner of Casa Design, located in Boston’s South End, a smaller boutique-style design showroom, featuring many limited editions, I have had the opportunity to work with Andra Birkerts Design for many years. ABD is what I consider our ideal client: imaginative, smart, and super design savvy. The ABD team is always looking to give their clients a perfect solution, never trite or easy, they strive to find new, interesting, and chic pieces that are individually fit to each project. I have really enjoyed working with Andra, Avery, and the whole team. They are open minded and informed, always willing to consider the new and the beautiful. In short, I imagine that ABD is as great to work with for clients as they are for suppliers!

I've had the opportunity to work with many people in my life - both professionally and personally - and have never been more impressed with or enjoyed anyone as much as Andra. From the minute she became part of our house renovation, she made a meaningful difference in every piece of project. Her insights and ideas were always extraordinary and pushed the proverbial envelope while being completely practical and relevant. She always managed to capture what I was thinking while pushing everyone to a place we wanted to be but didn't even knew existed. Beyond her incredible design and creative talent, she's just a terrific person and amazing collaborator. I adore her personality and truly admire everything about her. Everyone on the project - general contractor, kitchen designers and cabinet makers, architect, painters and others - all shared my positive view of her ideas, personality and involvement. Finally, our house was tricky - 1928 with loads of interesting things about it but equally challenging constraints as well. She capitalized on the best of it and just made it better than it ever was, more amazing than anyone else could have created. Best of all is the reaction people have when they walk into our house. We usually get the same set of oooohhh and aaahhhh kind of comments - "I've never seen anything so warm, unique, beautiful, comfortable. I just want to hang out here because it's fun to look at, functions in such a great way, and just feels so cozy." That's exactly what I wanted to achieve and never could have ended up where we did without her. Frankly, I miss working with her on a regularly basis and can't wait until we can start Phase 2 of our project.

My fourth major project with Andra Birkerts Design was a complete reinvention of our double living room in our 1894 Victorian house. The round contours, mixed use (Sunday Times reading, holiday entertaining, occasional bill paying/household organizing, frequent traffic and use by our grand children) along with a commitment to being comfortable and stylish simultaneously, posed particular challenges. Andra and her team met them all, with imagination, flair, enough whimsy and tremendous utility, to create a warm and beautiful space that has enveloped our family. The colors are marvelous, built in bookcases and desk against the curve of the room are graceful and elegant, and the hiding places for toys and games are terrific. The project came in on time and on budget from start to finish. Two years later, we could not be more delighted. The good natured team is fantastic to work with. I recommend ABD without reservation! I can't wait to work with them again!