Himsben Design Studio, LLC

Finding a capable custom rooftop design and build company in Chicago wasn't easy to us. After researching several places, we were actually referred to HDS by another design studio! And we are so happy they did. To begin, HDS came over to our space, interviewed us about our wishlist, and came back to us with several proposals for our custom space. The presentations were well articulated with great supporting visuals and style references. We definitely pushed HDS on what we could accomplish within our (very small) budget, and they came up with incredibly intelligent compromises that we were very happy with. The construction process also went exceptionally well. The team was able to fit us in earlier than originally anticipated, finished the construction earlier than estimated, and came in without any unexpected overages. Having heard nightmares from friends and family about any of these three areas, we were shocked to see HDS achieve all of the above. The team worked long hours, but remained super friendly and did not disturb the other condo-owners in our building at all. At the end, the rooftop ended up looking better than we imagined. Above all, HDS listens. In both the design and build phases, they heard us and came to us with creative solutions at every turn. If we had to do this all over again, we would have done it in exactly the same way with HDS.

Ben Himschoot & the HDS team were fantastic to work with. My husband and I enjoyed the entire process from start to finish for our backyard project. Right away we choose Ben because of his personalized approach, and you'll realize this later but he definitely manages your wish list within your budget to get the most out while not having to sacrifice quality. Our project required a little bit of everything as we had a big fixer-upper with issues to address including flooding, a ginormous tree stump, concrete excavation, implementing adequate drainage, installing a gas fire pit and pavers. Ben's team was able to stick to the timeline and budget as best they could (no one knew the concrete was one-foot deep!) and we are so happy we made this investment especially since we spend the majority of the quarantine out there now! I couldn't recommend anyone better for who's ever thinking about doing some work around the house even for the "easy" projects. Ben has your interests and personality top of mind the entire time and pays so much attention to the details that matter to you most. We've loved working with him so much that we're continuing into this summer to work on the yard and our house some more.