Reviews
"We used Abeles & Associates to renovate our kitchen, relocate our mudroom, add a vestibule and a two-story Great Room to a basic center entry colonial in Lexington 20 years ago. That project came out so well, that it turned an ordinary house into a spectacular house that was as functional as it was beautiful.
Twenty years later we purchased a home 55 miles north. It needed a thorough renovation. We called Abeles and Associates before we even told our family!! Lisa Abeles and her team have worked together since we did our first house. They are incredibly easy to talk to, they listen, they are very conscious about costs and they watch over every detail at every phase of the project. Being in the business of interior design myself I am careful who I work with. I couldn’t recommend Abeles & Associates more highly."
-Abby Welling Forstall
Embellishments Interior Design and Decor
“My husband and I decided to renovate our kitchen and in the process create easier access between the kitchen and into our family room. After contacting an architect who had helped us with an earlier renovation, it seemed the only way to get what we wanted was to add on to the footprint. We were interviewing builders and cabinet makers when our architect pulled out of the project. Fortunately, the cabinet maker we liked recommended Lisa and her team! We connected with Lisa immediately as she respected the history and aesthetics of our home, built in 1903. Lisa recommended we go back to the drawing board and consider some ideas that would eliminate the need to extend the footprint. Despite my husband’s initial reticence, he is in total agreement that it was the best advice! While we needed to remove a four-story chimney that vented our heating system, doing so opened up space on all four floors, including an increase to the footprint of my master closet, and most importantly increased light and space on the main floor. Lisa worked with us from beginning to end on this project, making sure we captured light with the size and placement of windows, the paint color on the cabinets and walls, the choice of countertop, backsplash tile and even the hardware. Lisa tended to every detail in order to capture and reflect beautiful light. She also designed the kitchen to be incredibly functional with a specific place for every dish, pot, and utensil. I love to cook and now I have my dream kitchen with the most incredible banquette that will allow guests to relax and enjoy the space with us when we entertain. Without reservation, we recommend Lisa and her team!”
— Ellen and Peter Quirk, Needham, MA
“It started with an OMG! our walls are disintegrating! and it has ended with OMG! our space is amazing! And that is largely because you took the time initially to come over and give me some advice as I was in a panic and then walk us through what could have been a daunting process. You brought in the best contractor we have ever worked with who subsequently introduced us and our house to amazing subcontractors that realized the vision we all have some part in. We are in the "new" sun room every day. We read, eat, work, nap, and simply sit. The full beauty of this room has yet to unfold as we hit each new season with our enhanced view to the world. Sometimes I think it it the only room I would need, just roll in a bed."
— Joan, Wellesley
“We call Lisa and her staff Melissa and Kevin, the "A team". The name extends to her contractors and subcontractors as well. The end to end service provided by this team is extraordinary. Starting with the care taken to understand what we were looking for, our vision, tastes, goals. The design work is fabulous and was executed to our vision beautifully. This is a highly collaborative process, or it can be that you are out of the country, as we were for 6 weeks, and all moved along smoothly with no worries on our part.
Lisa makes every phase easy from picking out the materials, where she narrows a huge number of choices down to a well culled and manageable number of vendors. She also passed her discount status with vendors along to us for all of our purchases (I loved "shopping day"). Unlike most architects, Lisa is present at every stage of the project, with regular site visits and updates as to the next phase. Her strong interior design sensibility makes it easy to execute that phase as well, i.e. no need to pull in an interior decorator for paint colors. Lisa has a very unusual ability to visualize space in the abstract, as a result our house flows beautifully from one room/space to the other.
We enjoyed our first project with this team so much that we went on to do a second project. All is meticulously tracked and at the end of the project you receive a binder with information on every aspect of the project.
We can't more highly recommend their work!
— Cindy Buzby
"Lisa was recommended by a friend and when we approached her we thought we needed an addition but instead we were able to work with the space we had and feel that our house has been transformed. She was able to leverage the functionality of the house for our family of six and every day we enjoy our beautiful new spaces.
Lisa gave us guidance with every decision including fixtures, lighting, cabinets, tile and paint. She came with me to every vendor appointment, had great relationships with them, and could not have been more hands on. She never waivered in her goal to ensure that we were happy with every decision - both large and small. She was in touch constantly and on top of every detail from start to finish. Her level of professionalism is unmatched. She introduced us to a builder who was highly skilled, honest and good value and worked closely with him throughout. Our experience with Lisa was fantastic."
— Sheila C. , Wellesley, MA
“One of Lisa’s major strengths is her ability to listen and understand the needs and desires of her clients. She sees the project through start to finish, and her exquisite attention to detail really pulls the project together. She was able to help us prioritize aspects of the project to work within our budget. We also benefited tremendously from her experience throughout the selection process of choosing a contractor, as well as purchasing appliances, finishes and fixtures. She provided excellent guidance based on quality, price and the aesthetics, and with her guidance we are certain we saved a tremendous amount of time and stress.”
-Linda & Jeremy J., Newton, MA