TESTIMONIALS FROM MY NICE CLIENTS

June 2020 - I've worked with Cat at Room4Refinement many times over the last few years. She is always able to find the perfect balance of design and function, while still allowing my personality to show through.

Most recently, Cat helped me out using video conferencing (to ensure appropriate social distancing) and redesign my basement after extensive water damage. Now the walkout basement with an office and family room are the favorite rooms in the house. Perfect timing, since I continue to social distance and work from home. Video conference consulting worked seamlessly and I can't thank Cat and Room4Refinement enough. It's the finishing touches that make all the difference.

August 2018 - Just a quick note to thank Cat at Room4Refinement for her expertise with a recent renovation project. We knew what we wanted however wasn’t sure where to start, how to go about it and if the choices we were making were the right ones. Cat was our compass and now that the work is behind us (bathroom renovation, paint updates, front entry/entertainment center updates) we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results. Cat’s recommended contractor and his team were honest, trustworthy, tidy and on time and budget. Even when Cat had other commitments (personally) she had time for our questions. We’re looking foward to upcoming projects with Cat and would highly recommend her services! Thank you again for everything! If you need professional guidance with your next decor or renovation project, don’t miss the opportunity to connect with Cat!
Coralie & Brent Werth - Calgary, AB

2018 - We found Cat’s website on the recommendation of a friend who had hired her for a consult for design advice. After seeing photos of her work there, I was drawn to her fresh and beautiful designs, so I sent her an email, and she set up a meeting at our home. When she arrived, Cat took the time to really listen to us to find out what we were hoping to achieve with renovations, and to clarify our priorities, and from there we started to plan. Cat suggested a fresh new paint colour, upgrading some interior doors and cabinet door hardware, changing kitchen backsplash and fireplace surround tiling, and new lighting in a few key areas. Cat also helped us with sourcing furniture, fabrics for curtains and pillows, and cool wallpaper choices. She pays attention to every detail, even including picking new toilets that would not look out of place in our new, more modern space. For each of these decisions, Cat narrowed it down to several great options, and we found this helpful, as the choices available are overwhelming. The quality of the furniture that Cat recommends is very important to her, and we now have beautiful Canadian-made furniture that she found for us. Cat was mindful of our budget, and she always provided options within our price range. When it came time for her tradespeople to do the work in our home, we were impressed by the high quality of their work, and the reliability and efficiency of Cat’s team. Now that the renovations are complete, we are so happy with how everything turned out. Our home is fresh, bright, organized and full of fun details. We never would have been able to do this without Cat. Thanks, Cat!
Candice B - Calgary, AB

2016 & 2017-  We highly recommend Cat. Cat is exceptional to work with. Our project was to restore a 65 year old, 650 sqft knockdown guest house at our farm. Her professionalism, attention to detail, relationship with trades and great sense of humor made this project a lot of fun. She listens to ideas, is very creative and organized. Our next project is restoration of a 75 year old farm home. Cat has started working on this project as well. 
Jack Langdon - Calgary, AB

January 2017- We worked with Marie Kanwischer and Cat Hackman to renovate our 1970’s four-split in Ranchlands (see the Ranchlands photos on her Houzz site). We were looking for help to bring our house into the modern times: make it durable and functional for our family of four (plus dog), but also make it feel comfortable and calm to come home to at the end of the day. The project involved a complete gut of the main floor (living room and kitchen), and reno of the top floor (3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms). From that start, we were so happy to work with Cat. She provided such great advice, helping us navigate the endless rows of flooring, tile, countertop and paint chips, and was able to synthesize the random “ooh, I like that!” ideas into a cohesive design that is better than I could have imagined. She frequently saved us from making some very costly errors with her honest and direct feedback. We loved working with her and Marie and can’t wait to save enough pennies to tear about the remaining two floors of the house!
Tara Barnett - Calgary, AB

December 2016- My experience with Cat was wonderful and I would not hesitate to hire her again. Cat's advice was invaluable in making the best decisions, preventing costly errors. She very tactfully guided me to the right choices, resulting in an updated main floor - kitchen, dining and living room - that we are very happy with.
Deb Rae - Calgary, AB

January 2015 - "There is always the danger of hiring the wrong person when you hire a designer. Will she take the time to get to know you, to understand your design sense, your needs and desires? And when you luck in and get that person, someone who truly cares, it makes the journey so much more enjoyable. Cat Hackman is a lovely person with an innate sense of style and a caring soul. She became my go to person and always did more than I expected. Being an out of town client made the process more difficult but she did everything to overcome that. Suppliers respected her and the trades never let her down. I highly recommend Cat, for her abilities as a designer and her sensibilities as a person."
Sandra Scott - Vulcan, AB

2015 - I hired Cat when we moved in our new house in Calgary. Cat first decorated our house with the decorations we already had. She literally walked up and down the stairs carrying everything with her to decorate our house. She hanged pictures and paintings and placed books and decorations on the shelves. In the process, she always ask me if I liked it and she would change it if I didn't. She did this in a short period of time since she has a lot of experience with decoration (and must say great taste). Annie Larrivee - Calgary, AB

May 2014 - Cat worked with Marie Kanwischer (general contractor) to produce a beautiful design that ended up being exactly what we wanted. Cat and Marie must have listened very carefully and must have been very observant when we first met because right from the beginning the proposed design was lovely. Cat was very respectful of our time constraints and having a very good feel for what we wanted, showed us things that she believed we would like and most of the time she was right. She was also very good at navigating the differences that inevitably arise between husband and wife with respect to details. I am very glad that she worked with us to achieve a magnificent result and would recommend her anytime. I believe her fees were very reasonable for the service.
Jean Munn - Calgary, AB

August 2013 - My husband and I worked with Cat to completely redesign our kitchen space and redo our nearby laundry room. Cat was able to convey a vision of a completely recreated space that became our cherished contemporary kitchen. Cat was instrumental in the selection of cabinetry, finishes, countertops, flooring, windows, lighting and all else that went into creating this luxurious kitchen and laundry room. We loved working with Cat because she has a superb ability to envision 'what could be' based on our needs and consult with us about what we could and should do and should not do. Cat is also a pleasure to work with, always upbeat, positive and truly listens prior to making recommendations.
Joan Taras - Calgary, AB

February 2013 - I hired Cat to refresh my home and add some pizazz and bring some new ideas for me to work with. Initially I thought that we needed new furniture as our living room seemed awkward with the way it was designed and perhaps a new coat of paint to spruce up our main floor. Cat came over for a two hour assessment and suggested we move some pieces of furniture and pictures around as a start. WOW what a difference! Instead of new furniture which would have cost thousands of dollars, we adjusted where the TV was situated, lowered and moved some of our paintings to more suitable walls and our house looked different without purchasing anything. Cat suggested that perhaps new light fixtures would add the wow factor that I was looking for. She was right! I ordered some beautiful fixtures for the front entrance, dining room and kitchen island and new lamps for the bedroom and living room. She "balanced" our bedroom by adjusting the area rug and added some curtains to frame the window. We did paint our main floor too - a lighter fresher color. Cat also went shopping with me to help me pick out new bedding, lamps, toss cushions and a few other items to spruce up our home. I saaved money on the items as she applied her discount which was another perk. She helped us get in touch with an excellent painter, electrician etc. We are so happy with our beautiful home, it definitely has the wow factor now. Her consult exceeded my expectations and she was so helpful and pleasant to work with. What seemed like a daunting project to me turned out to be fun and it was exciting to see the transformation. I can't wait to tackel the basement with her next year.
Vanessa Reay - Calgary, AB

April 2012 - After moving into our new home, we quickly realized we had many different pieces that did not work together in the new space. Cat was able to make use of existing pieces, while bringing in new ideas to create a cohesive look for the entire house. She was able to create a vision and communicate that vision with us. Cat worked with our lifestyle and budget to create a style unique to our family. 
Most important to us was Cat’s demeanor. She is personable, considerate of our time and very patient. We initially hired Cat to decorate a few rooms; we have now used her for every room in our home and are very pleased with the end result.
Aneta Zuczek - Calgary, AB

November 2011 - We desperately needed help with our home decor and looked for a Calgary interior designer. Cat totally transformed our living room to a space we just love now.  In our first meeting, Cat had a plan within 45 minutes that utilized many of our own furnishings. She brought us ideas and met us at the lighting shop or the carpet dealers to help direct our choices and arranged contractors to paint and install fixtures. She is delightful to work with and has a wonderful sense of what will bring a room together. Having utilized designer services in the past, we can also say that Cat respected our budget constraints. We have whole heartedly recommended Cat to our friends and will definitely give her a call when our next project presents itself!
Maureen Sullivan and Duane Sharman - Calgary, AB

June 2011 - Cat has provided me with design advice and inspiration for many years but the strongest testament to her expertise lies within the walls of our current home. This year Cat was instrumental in overseeing our extensive home renovation project and we're thrilled with the results. Her outstanding taste in all elements of home décor, from paint colours to fabric and furniture, is evident in all areas of our home. She injected new life into a 38-year-old suburban home. We've received numerous compliments  from visitors and guests (including the furnace repairman who told us the place looks like a showhome). Most importantly, the four of us feel a renewed sense of pride and excitement about our revitalized home. We've even cancelled our summer vacation plans in B.C. to stay home and enjoy our surroundings. Words cannot express the extent of my gratitude to this talented designer. Thanks Cat! You're the best.
Belinda de Wolde - Calgary, AB

February 2011 - Wow! what a fabulous job Room4refinement did for us. We purchased an older condo that was actually three units combined. The transformation is amazing. During the process, I struggled as I'm not able to see blueprints. She had three dimensional drawings done up so I could visualize not only the layout of the structure, but also adding colour and furniture to get a better feel. There were times when I disagreed with her thoughts, which is normal, but I always felt comfortable discussing this with her and never did she make me feel like i had no taste. She was diligent about using furniture and pieces I already had instead of buying everything new, which for obvious reasons was appreciated. Her attention to detail and her ability to see beyond the empty spaces was remarkable. She took me outside of what I thought was my comfort zone and did so in a way to ensure I absolutely loved the results. Today, I can honestly say that without her, the construction would never have been completed. My contractor got 95 percent done and then left my project to go onto his new one. It was Cat who managed to get the subs in and get the work done. Even during the main part of the construction, it was Cat, not the contractor, who spent each day at the site ensuring the subs were being managed. The amazing thing about this is that she did not charge me for all of these hours. She knew I was already paying the contractor and even though he was not doing his job, she did not feel it was right for me to pay twice. I have a ton of respect and admiration for the work she did and the way she valued our home. I will highly recommend her firm to others and will most certainly use her again.
Connie Ruben - Calgary, AB

“Cat is one smart and savvy designer! Her expert guidance was instrumental to the success of my interior re-redocorating project. The design tips and tricks she taught me provided dramatic results, yet simple and cost-effective. I would never start another design project without Cat on my side.”
Barb Cameron - Calgary, AB

“I love my living and dining room since Cat helped me decorate, rearrange; so much so that I notice the changes each time I walk into the room and feel the tranquility when relaxing on the couch. Not only do I value Cat’s ideas and suggestions for improvement, but she brought an energy and excitement to the project – excitement that motivated my husband and me to make the changes she suggested. I highly recommend her skills to family and friends and look forward to her helping me with the rest of my house.”
Michelle Ambrose - Calgary, AB

"I love my bedroom and living room. Cat introduced me to a new fresh style of decorating and she also made sure my rooms reflected my personality. I can’t tell enough people about what an amazing experience it was to have Cat come into my home and work her magic. Not only is it impressive to see her work, but the outcome is one that is a daily reminder of how great it is to have a space you love. I don't want to leave my home - I feel very tranquil and at peace here now."
Yasmeen Irani - Calgary, AB

"Moving from a much larger home in another province to an inner-city semi in Calgary proved to be challenging and needless to say, very cluttering. Cat gently helped me to de-clutter, re-arrange, and organize our house room-by-room, nook-by-nook, and even shelf-by-shelf. Now our furniture and treasures look neat, fresh, having a prominent place to be appreciated. For me this was a sentimental undertaking, but with Cat's skills, vision, thoughtfulness, and sense of humour, the house was transformed into our peaceful home. My husband and I are stimulated to continue the process even further...perhaps even to tackle his home office next!"
Lynne Escobar - Calgary, AB