Our House Design+Build

Jan 2026

The entire Our House team is amazing, I knew it was going to be a good fit from the initial consultation. Steve knows what he knows (and what he doesn't stating he'll get back to you - which he actually does), knows he's got a strong team behind him (he's collected the best of best from years in the business and he'll tell you so - but he's not saying it in a way that comes across rude or a hard sell, he's just stating a fact) and everything supports that! After living in our house for 10 years I knew the kitchen could be better, I just didn't know how. I made it clear to Steve that I would need the options and associated cost laid out so we could make an informed decision, we knew the scope creep possibilities could be endless! Steve assigned us to Amy (the visionary and Alex whisperer) and Alex (the engineer, pro CAD user bringing Amy's visions to life) and from there we were off to the races. We ended up taking down a wall and removing the chimney, which led to moving heating, electrical, and some plumbing to the upper floors; we removed two windows and a set of French doors, replaced by one big window and a single door to the back deck. A BIG project, estimated to take 4-6 months, and they came in right at the 5 month mark! Another key selling point is they are familiar with and took care of the entire permitting process - which for anyone who lives in Somerville knows, is no easy task in our city. It was an explicit criteria I had as we were seeking bids. Reid was our project manager, he was on site almost every day and absolutely amazing in terms of addressing any questions. Pat was our safety officer, but also a PM of sorts - he made sure there was limited dust, and overall everything went smoothly because of his attention to detail. When there was a mishap with the dumpster and our relatively new paved driveway, Pat declared, "No dumpster!", they removed trash manually every evening and fixed the pavers at the end of the project. Kevin is a MASTER carpenter, super kind, smart, and generous with his time. When he asked me how I wanted the crown molding in a weird doorway alcove, I told him I had no idea! He walked me thru the options, was patient with all my questions, and shared his opinion what would look best. It's gorgeous. The best example, is we saved our unique door and window trim to incorporate into the new window & door. No one believes me when I say the new kitchen window trim is actually comprised of 6-8 pieces of trim! It's beautiful and a masterpiece! (Also Kevin and team listen to great music and would be awesome karaoke partners!) Brian (plumber), Wayne (HVAC), Joe (electrician) - also amazing. Answered all of my questions, their teams are very courteous and clean - no one entered the house without introducing themselves. And a shout out to Paige, the designer, who saved us countless hours by narrowing down options! We are in love with our countertops. But the biggest compliment comes from friends and family when they see the outcome - they all day the same thing (aside from its amazingly beautiful) it looks like it was meant to be! Thanks to Paige we were able to update & make our kitchen more function, without losing the period feel of the house which is now more open concept. Communication is key, and aside from the workmanship and skill of Steve and the entire Our House team, the fact that they listen and work WITH you is what makes them stand out. As other reviewers have stated, you get what you pay for. This was not the lowest bid, but what we got in terms of process management and importantly the END RESULT was well worth it. We are saving up for our next Our House project!!

Nov 2024

We absolutely love working with Our House! If you like contractors that communicate well -- and listen well! -- you'll love them too. We've now hired them for several projects around our house: a bathroom renovation, a new retaining wall, a new basement foundation, a new set of stairs, and a huge attic renovation project including two giant new dormers installed. We've hired other contractors before for other projects in our fixer-upper, but once we found Our House, we've only worked with them since. OH is really good about doing what they say they'll do when they say they'll do it (while notifying you of any changes), and they're super responsive via email. It's clear that they take pride in the quality of their work, too. When we had an issue with water in the basement almost a full year after the foundation was poured, we emailed them about it and they were out the next day to see what they could do to fix it. Through all the work they've done for us, our project manager and architect were amazing about checking in with us every step of the way to make sure everything was exactly the way we wanted it. Furthermore, when you have lots of construction projects going on in the house you're living in, you don't realize up front just how dusty everything is going to be. It's impossible to contain ALL the dust, but man, do they do a really good job of trying to keep your living space clean. They contain the area they're working on behind a plastic zip wall, and more days than not, they vacuum/sweep the areas they had to track through your house so that they're keeping the mess behind the curtain. We also have two cats that we weren't willing to rehome while construction was going on, and OH put up extra zip walls to help us confine them to the first floor while they worked on the attic so the cats wouldn't get out or get in the way! OH may not be the lowest bidder for your project, but you definitely get what you pay for. They're honest, timely, and professional, and each and every time they've completed a project for us, the result is beautiful. I can't recommend them highly enough!