For many years I lived in an unspectacular, late fifties colonial style house; most rooms had either no woodwork or very plain woodwork, and low ceilings. Apart from an easily identifiable early seventies kitchen, Formica with oak trim, the rage at the time, there was nothing that would set my house apart from other similar houses built in the early fifties. Well, Jim Summers changed all that. Needless to say, Jim couldn't raise the ceilings (at least not on my budget), but he patiently worked with me to give me a new home with character and charm.

Jim installed a beautiful new kitchen opening up to the dining room. Now, instead of two small claustrophobic spaces, I have one spacious bright airy room. He installed new windows and a French door in the dining room.

I ordered new insulated drapes for the French door to keep out winter drafts. The doors were installed so well, however, there are no drafts and I never close the drapes. He built a new first floor powder room (too nice to be called a half bath), and a beautiful new fireplace mantle in my living room which he designed to match the new woodwork and doorframes that I had selected. He removed the birch, hollow core doors throughout the house and replaced them with raised six-panel doors which dramatically changed the feel of the house.

Working with Jim was a pleasure. He is patient, extremely helpful, and very reliable. The work he did at my house is beautiful. Other contractors who followed him in (air-conditioning and burglar alarm) and my neighbor architect all remarked on the high quality of his work. I recommended him to friends who were also very pleased with his work and three of them asked him back for second jobs.

And soon, Jim will be starting a new deck at my house!

Elaine K., Jamaica Plain, MA