Meadowlark Design+Build

Ken Olson

2023-05

Our experience with Meadowlark was excellent from our very first contact with them about our project all the way through design, construction, and follow-up. We chose Meadowlark for our complete kitchen remodel because of the high-quality work we saw at their home remodeling tour houses and because of their friendly, attentive, and professional staff. Our biggest reservation about Meadowlark was that most of the showcase projects on social media have a more contemporary style than our wishes. It was not a problem. The design team listened to our needs and absorbed our inspirational photos (thanks Adele) to create wonderful design options which lead to a collaborative process and … a great kitchen with additional changes to most rooms of the main floor. The original estimates for the project cost and timeline were almost spot-on! As with any custom project there were unforeseen problems which were all rectified quickly. One of their vendors even drove across three states during the night to deliver a key missing cabinet panel. We highly recommend Meadowlark and will use them again for future projects.Services: Design, Remodeling, Kitchen design

Cate Zatkoff

2023-05

We did an entire kitchen renovation with Meadowlark and they were fantastic to work with. Their work and professionalism was top notch and even two years later, we are still so happy with how our project turned out. Highly recommend them if you are looking to do any sort of renovation and are looking for a design + build team to work with.

Joni Friedkin

2020-05

We hired Meadowlark to take on our huge master bathroom renovation and we're so happy that we did. Hiring a company we trusted to take on the project was important because our bathroom is on the third floor of our home in a historic building on a busy street without private parking in the middle of downtown Ann Arbor...so a bit complicated. I can't speak highly enough about the team. We came with a clear vision of what we wanted and our designers Amy and Melissa were perfect for us because they understood our style and were able to help us design the bathroom of our dreams. We also appreciated their honesty when we were stuck in making some decisions. During the design process, they were also great with those details that one would never even think about. Amy and Melissa were fun to work with -- our personalities completely meshed. We also enjoyed working with Tony, our project manager. He was always accessible when we needed to communicate with him and he made sure his crew doing the work was respectful of our space. He coordinated our project so that most of the time we didn't even see the crew in our space because they used our fire escape connected to the bathroom. He made sure our living space was protected from damage the few times they couldn't get the larger items up the fire escape. As with any major project, nothing can be perfect from start to finish and when we had a couple minor hiccups, Tony found a solution immediately. I highly recommend Meadowlark because they are client focused and have a high integrity to complete projects that far exceed the client's expectations.

Ann Arbor Hardwoods LLC

2024-03

We are a subcontractor for Meadowlark doing hardwood flooring. We get the unique opportunity to work with multiple designers and project managers from this company. We have had a great experience across-the-board communications been good they do great work and they have happy customers.

Kelly Widman

2021-05

Meadowlark thoughtfully planned and executed our project from start to finish. They care about quality from finishes to craftsmanship. Their designers and trades were great listeners able to turn our vision into reality. We now have a beautiful new space for our family. We will work with them again!

Geoff Maturen

2023-05

We were extremely happy with Meadowlark Design+Build. Our project involved turning an exterior porch into an interior living space. Everyone involved in the project -- from the management at Meadowlark, to the project managers assigned to our job, to the individual contractors -- was always professional, courteous and responsive. Nearly each stage of the project was done on time or ahead of time. When there were delays -- caused by supply chain issues or difficulties with scheduling subcontractors -- the project managers always communicated proactively and clearly about the cause of the delay and when we could expect progress. Meadowlark also did an excellent job mitigating the impact construction has on a household. They always cleaned up at the end of the day and were careful to work around our schedules when work would be noisy or otherwise disturbing. Meadowlark is more expensive than other contractors we got bids from but their emphasis on design, quality building and customer service makes it worth the extra money. We will definitely use Meadowlark for any future home renovation or construction.Services: Install flooring, Home renovations, TV mounting, Paint indoors, Project management, Custom home design, Interior finishing, Exterior painting, Exterior finishing, Interior design, Drywall installation, Home blueprint design creation, Flooring

Neil Clennan

2020-05

Meadowlark was not our cheapest option, but they turned out to be the best and well worth the money. Everything about the process was clearly communicated, and the project came in under budget and ahead of schedule. The process included not only planning and construction, but designing right from the beginning.Our project was mostly an exterior facelift. All of our windows (except the basement) were replaced, the siding on the front of the house was replaced, and the front porch was rebuilt. The trim around the roof was replaced along with all of the soffits, and some exterior lighting was replaced.Working with the designers was a real pleasure. They listened well to our needs and hopes, and presented us with options that matched (and inspired new ideas) without overwhelming us with too many options. There was one error in the initial design, but when it was discovered, they took full responsibility and made it right without passing the additional costs on to us. They keep their promises, and that’s important to me.The trades people were some of the best. I thought some of the contractors I spoke with before were good, but these people saw important details the others had missed or misinterpreted, and explained things so clearly. The project manager was so attentive and communicated so well, with daily email updates and answering all of my questions. He even answered questions I hadn’t asked because I was publishing a blog about the project and he was following it.They went the extra mile and then some. They even gave us a gift of a bench for the front porch. It was not part of the project, but they saw a picture I had mocked up showing how I might use the new porch.I would recommend Meadowlark to anyone willing to pay a bit more to avoid the problems of most contractors, and who want to work in a fun collaboration with real designers.

Elizabeth Stumbo

2022-05

Working with the Meadowlark team was a great experience. From the get go we felt important and listened to. The designers were intuitive, helpful and creative. The construction crew members were careful, pleasant and kept us informed of the process and the progress. We love what they built for us, and would definitely use them again.

Susan Brown

2022-05

We did a major renovation with Meadowlark and we were very pleased with both the process and outcome. We thought the design process was outstanding. They really listened to us and that is why we got just what we wanted and needed! We thought that Meadowlark was expensive but we knew the costs up front and then could make a cost benefit decision. I don’t mean to sugarcoat the process. There were problems particularly with getting supplies during the Pandemic but we felt Meadowlark did all they could do to minimize those delays and worked with us to problem solve. We would definitely use them again. We found that all of the Meadowlark employees that we had contact with we personable and tactful! They also worked well with our neighbors which was a concern of ours. We highly recommend Meadowlark!

Sarah Hamming

2020-05

We enlisted Meadowlark to build a custom home for us in Ann Arbor and we had a truly fantastic experience working with them from start to finish. Meadowlark was with us every step of the way including assessing potential property sites for building suitability and helping us interview potential architects and designers. We really appreciated Meadowlark’s collaborative approach and consequently, everyone on our building team from construction management, to the crews, to the design team, was always on the same page with us. Everything about our project felt very organized from the get go. Meadowlark even helped us to complete much of the design work on the house remotely, before we even moved to Ann Arbor. Therefore, once construction did begin, everything proceeded very smoothly with minimal delays or hiccups. Communication was always a priority and our project manager updated us continuously about progress on the house. In addition, we had complete transparency about costs so there were no big surprises or misunderstandings along the way. Everyone we came in contact with at Meadowlark was so kind, considerate and completely professional. Even now that we are settled in, the Meadowlark team still checks in with us showing what a personal approach they take with their clients. Since many members of the Meadowlark team are also living and working in Ann Arbor like we are, we know they care a great deal about the work that the company name is attached to and it definitely shows in the quality of the finished product. We are thrilled with how our house turned out and with the whole building process.

Jean McPhail

2021-05

Having heard many accolades of the fine work of Meadowlark, my husband and I decided to choose Meadowlark for the redesign and expansion of our deck. We couldn't have been more pleased. To begin, we were inspired in our design consultations with Melissa, followed by our recognition of the highly skilled and responsive carpentry work of Randi and Michael, and ending with our appreciation of the everyday email updates from Rob coupled with his oversight of the entire deck renovation. Unlike so many renovations, the care and responsiveness of all the people involved made this project our pleasure. With the work completed, we love our deck, and appreciate Meadowlark Design+Build for their excellent work.

Jeff Ceccacci

2021-05

We loved our 85 year-old house, but it needed major improvements in functionality, infrastructure, windows and space usability. It was a huge undertaking and we wanted it to be professionally managed—having one point of contact from start to finish. We interviewed several design/build firms and selected Meadowlark based on a great connection with all of their people we met, examples of their past work, and their total commitment to customer satisfaction. We absolutely made the right decision partnering with Meadowlark.Our designers Melissa and Katie took the time to understand our goals, vision and personalities--enabling them to present designs/materials/finishes/fixtures that saved us time while keeping the home’s character intact. They proactively tried to uncover potential surprises prior to construction beginning—coming to the house several times to examine certain areas to better design and prepare for any obstacles.Our project manager Tony was very knowledgeable and thorough. He provided daily progress updates and held review/decision meetings to keep on schedule. He ensured that the execution and quality of the work was top notch, even if it required re-doing some things. We did have some issues with incorrect materials, measurements, and quality (mistakes happen). In every case, Meadowlark acknowledged the issue, offered real solutions, not excuses, and just made things right. This peace of mind greatly reduced the stress of a major remodel. We added to and modified the scope a bit during construction. These changes were well planned and the project was still completed on time and within expected budget.It is satisfying to know that our collaborative efforts resulted in a beautiful, functional, comfortable home that we love spending time in. We moved back into our house one month before the Covid-19 lockdown and our family of five have been enjoying it 24/7 since then. We couldn’t imagine making that statement about our house prior to the remodel.We highly recommend Meadowlark. They are experts at what they do. They minimize the stress of going through a highly complex process. They value client feedback and actively work to improve their processes. They provide great quality and craftsmanship. Remodeling is a costly proposition. Meadowlark offers a premium service and product, and their pricing reflects that. We consider the investment we made with Meadowlark to be an exceptional value.Lastly, the people at Meadowlark are truly outstanding to work with. They want their clients to be completely satisfied and have fun throughout the process. Mission Accomplished! I think we still owe the team a happy hour in our new kitchen/dining room once we are out of Covid times!!

Richard B

2021-05

You can expect high-level project coordination and execution from Meadowlark Design+Build. You can also expect them to listen to their clients, remember issues and follow up to completion. These behaviors might sound standard for any worthy building contractor, but many clients underestimate the multiple layers of complexity in a large project that can lead to disappointing results if experienced professionals are not running the show. I was especially impressed with the on-site project coordinator, who always carefully addressed my concerns. Meadowlark is probably the first address to visit if you have a project in the Ann Arbor area for which you want a top outcome with no excuses.

Chelsea Suttmann

2020-05

Our family has completed two remodel projects with Meadowlark. The team of designers is creative, thoughtful, and helpful. We've truly appreciated all of the details they have considered on our behalf. Tony, our project manager is incredibly diligent, hard working, and follows up to ensure that everything is handled properly. he treats your project like a project in his own home and ensures the highest quality. He's a pleasure to work with and always available to discuss questions. This is a wonderful team and one that goes the extra mile to ensure that your project will be a success.

Tanya Olenik

2018-05

Thank you Meadowlark for giving us our dream kitchen. Converting this electric cooktop to our new gas one. From the the gas line, the cabinet, the granite work and the install you took care of it all. I can not say enough good things about our experience! Truly amazing results.

Curtis Hall

2021-05

I had the great pleasure of working with Meadowlark Builders on a project. They were informed and clear with their proposals and assessments. The direct interactions we had with their team left us feeling confident moving forward at each step. Going with Meadowlark is the best decision you could make.

Matthew Reed

2020-05

Meadowlark did a terrific job with our home renovation. Their planning team was great to work with and the execution was first-rate. Coordination and timing was very important to us and Meadowlark kept us informed and worked to our schedule. We were particularly happy with the recommendations we got from Melissa on our interior color scheme. She suggested a palette of colors that look great together, a clean modern look that still works with the style of our house.

Liliana Borcea

2020-05

We built our dream home with Meadowlark and they did a fabulous job. The design/architect team lead by Melissa was easy and fun to work with, Doug was so helpful in introducing us to a new way of building (with durisol which we are so glad we did) and to energy efficient solutions. The building process supervised by Al was almost stress free and the result is the house that WE WANTED. What is really great is that even now, years after we moved in, we can still reach out to Meadowlark and ask for their advice on the tiny things that are involved in the maintenance.Honestly, we were really stressed before beginning to build. But in the end it was a great experience and we know this is because we worked with Meadowlark.

Ray Sutton

2021-05

We love Meadowlark! They just finished our second project and we are delighted. Can't wait to start the next project. It is a real pleasure working with everybody there. The design team listens carefully to our wants, needs and preferences. They are patient and offer alternatives until we are satisfied with the design. The project management team ensures that the project execution fulfills the project goals and they care about our comfort as we live through the construction. COVID delayed the completion but we have always felt safe with their handling of the situation. Meadowlark cares about their clients. Thank you Meadowlark.

Dustin Fichter

2018-05

Meadowlark and especially Melissa Kennedy has been great. We recently moved into the area and knew we eventually wanted to remodel out house, but needed to save up. Melissa came out and looked at the house and gave us a very rough ballpark estimate different phases of our remodel would take. When ready we will be going back to Meadowlark for more detailed plans and a more concrete budget.Also they have been very open about suggesting trust worthy contractors to fix some of the small items that come with buying an older home. It is such a relief to have someone who has a trustworthy recommendation to come work on the house.

Kate Delaney

2020-05

We had such a fantastic experience with Meadowlark. The design experiences was super fun, everything was done right, and they even finished our enormous project two weeks ahead of schedule. The teamwork of our designer, architect and project manager was seamless. We can't say enough good things about this local company. Keep up the great work, Meadowlarkians!

Kimberley Vnuk-Kronick

2020-05

Our family has completed 2 large remodel projects with Meadowlark and been thrilled with the results. One was the redesign and remodel of an existing basement space (which had to be excavated to be a legal height for egress!) and the other was a new build 3 season attached porch and fantastic patio area. Both presented a set of unique challenges as our home is almost 100 years old. Both finished spaces have transformed the way we use and fully enjoy our house and we could not be happier. The team at Meadowlark was great to work with from design through finish construction. Their willingness to embrace and implement "green" ideas, their unique "outside the box" approaches to challenges and their availability throughout the process makes the whole undertaking feel so manageable. The design team listens to specific needs and brainstorms unique ways to implement them. The construction side was awesome. The work site was clean every day and the work impeccable. We loved all the trades that contributed to our project. Our project manager regularly visited the site and was always accessible if we had any questions. They will likely not be the lowest bit your receive for the work you want to complete but we would not hesitate to recommend them for your project, whatever it is!!!

Peggy Brennan

2020-05

Meadowlark worked with us to deconstruct an aging home, save some of the materials, and build a new, highly energy-efficient home on the site. We very much enjoyed working with the team of professionals and their sub-contractors. The new home is beautiful and so comfortable to live in. There isn’t a week that goes by that we don’t receive positive comments about the home from neighbors. Tony Roperti, our project manager, went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure everything was done according to plan. He was a pleasure to work with. Meadowlark also has on staff a ‘closer,’ someone who continues to work with us to finish small details after the construction is finished. We have recommended Meadowlark to family, friends and neighbors, and will continue to do so. If you want it done right, this is the company to call.

Ashley Day

2021-05

Despite the unfortunate timing of the COVID-19 outbreak toward the beginning of construction we had a wonderful experience with Meadowlark. The design team was attentive and helpful through the whole process and the construction team and trades people were respectful of our space and went above and beyond when they encountered previous construction faults. We are looking forward to working with them again on future projects.

Nancy Johnson

2020-05

Meadowlark changed my life. Well, actually, their team did the long-awaited renovation work on my townhouse condo. I was supported by a knowledgeable, personable, responsive and ADA-supportive group which included an architect, a squad of designers, a project manager, and Meadowlark and contracted trades along the way. And a introduction to a banker who helped with both the construction loan and the standard mortgage. Meadowlark worked with my budget, understand my Aging-in-Place priorities, respected my property, worked within our condo HOA rules, and created an updated, energy-efficient, makes-me-smile-every-day home. Thank you!

Pat Rinvelt

2018-05

We have worked with Meadowlark Builders on three major addition/renovation projects. Everyone on the team is very professional, their work is high quality, and they worked with us to keep to the budget and schedule. I especially liked how they kept us updated on the progress throughout the project, so I always knew what to expect and when to expect it. I highly recommend Meadowlark Builders.

Aaron Thatcher

2021-05

We built a custom home with Meadowlark 2018-2019. We changed the design process and started with plans that we liked and modified them- the team was very flexible to work with and made excellent improvements. The building process was fun and selections was efficient and easy. They accommodated our busy work schedules throughout the process.

Julia Claire Blough

2021-05

We worked with Meadowlark to design a major addition to our 1941 house. Jen was a joy to work with and really took the time to understand what we needed. The plans she drew up were beautiful and creative. Unfortunately we had to put the project on hold, but based on the initial planning steps I would definitely recommend them.

Hilary Cohen

2024-03

Meadowlark was the contractor for an addition to my 1929 Burns Park home, adding a second story bathroom with a large walk-in shower, and reorganizing and expanding space for guests, storage, and access. In addition, the first floor screen porch was rebuilt to bear the weight of the second story expansion. The success of the project was due to a number of great attributes of the company.1) They were really committed to producing a seamless match to the existing house, inside and out, something that was extremely important to me. You can't believe how hard and beautifully they and all their very skilled artisans worked on every detail - the plaster walls, the oak floors, the banister for the stairs - so that everything would match the period details of the original part of the house. Another example, all the doors from the house are original to 1929 so they even had a new door built that matched the others perfectly. The exterior roof line of the project also has that same integrity - so that the house appears to have always had the current silhouette. I want to make sure to mention the contributions of my architect, Connie Brown, of Rizzolo Brown Studio.2) Meadowlark has a very high standard of craftsmanship across the board, for their own staff, and for the subcontracting trades they work with. It was really a joy to see the level of pride people took in their work and their level of skill. The new spaces are beautifully conceived and finished.3) Their process for developing projects turned out to be a really good one, though at first I thought it involved a lot of meetings. But all that early planning saved a lot of trouble later on, especially because of the pandemic and the supply chain issues that arose. These guys are really experienced and I felt like in my case all their experience made for a good decision making process. Connie Brown, the architect, attended most of the design meetings which were held with Meadowlark's Melissa Filter, interior designer, and Rachael McClain, cabinet designer. This team was creative, inventive, patient, included me as an equal collaborator, and was willing to go back to the drawing board as many times as it took to get the best solution.4) That kind of attitude was also apparent once ground was broken. Jason Albring was the project manager and he did a lovely job of keeping things on a steady keel, always keeping me in the loop, and making sure that every detail was attended to and revisited when necessary. I want to emphasize that there was inventiveness at every stage of the project. That really delighted me, whether it was one of the trim carpenters, Randy, gracefully building the floor molding around an air register, or Connie and Rachel figuring out how to create a built-in bookcase where no space seemed to exist for one.I'm so glad I chose Meadowlark for this project. The outcome exceeded my expectations both in terms of the craftsmanship and the inventiveness of the design. And I thoroughly enjoyed the process. If I have another construction project, I will go back to Meadowlark in a heartbeat.

Amy Sankaran

2019-05

I have used several contractors over the years, but this was by far the smoothest home construction project I've ever been through. We needed someone who could re-imagine our kitchen space because we were stuck with the footprint. And the designers more than exceeded our expectations, coming up with the perfect (in retrospect) plan for the space. Then the build was well-run, full of great communication, and on-time, which was key since we were deprived of our kitchen, and we wanted it to be the shortest possible time. In sum, I would definitely use Meadowlark again!