transFORM

Awful. Here’s a lawyer’s letter we sent (to which they have not responded) —
Dear [XXX]:
We represent [YYY]. I write in follow up to [YYY]‘s multiple emails to you concerning the installation of custom closets, most recently on September 27, 2015, to which you have not responded.
[YYY] contracted with transFORM for the installation of custom cabinetry in their bedroom, using low-​chemical products. They chose transFORM over other companies with lower bids specifically because of transFORM’s stated commitment to using non-​toxic materials. The use of non-​toxic materials was critical because [YYY] have young children at home.
Still, on April 11, 2014, your company incorrectly installed closet materials were not treated with the low-​VOC finish that [YYY] had specifically requested. Recognizing the error, [ZZZ] from your company had the closets disassembled, refinished and reinstalled.
However, despite assurances that the previous lacquer would be removed entirely prior to reinstallation, a chemical smell persisted in the newly-​installed closet.
[YYY] have now expended a tremendous amount of effort and money attempting to fix your company’s errors. On May 11, 2014, they bought an air purifier, to no avail. On February 2, 2015, they hired an indoor air quality company to run tests in the closet. The tests revealed that the VOCs in the closet were above normal, thereby demonstrating that [YYY] had not received the low-​chemical products for which they had contracted. In April 2015, at your recommendation, [YYY] heated the closet — twice — but still, the smell persists. This is unacceptable. As a result of your errors, more than two years after the initial installation of the closet, [YYY] are still forced to keep their young children away from their bedroom, and to store their clothes outside of the closet they commissioned.
On September 27, 2015, [YYY] wrote to you requesting that you remove the installed closet materials and issue a full refund, in accordance with transFORM’s full warranty for faulty materials and installation. Nearly 8 months later, you have yet to respond to [YYY]‘s e-​mail, or to remove the closet and issue a refund.
By this letter, [YYY] demand that you immediately remove the closet materials from their home and refund to them all moneys paid to transFORM. Absent your agreement to do so by June 1, 2016, we will commence an action seeking not only the moneys paid to transFORM, but also the additional sums already expended by [YYY] on their efforts to remediate following your errors, and any additional costs to remove the closet materials following your failure to do so, and to secure a replacement closet. The removal of the closets and the refund can be coordinated through me, or directly with [YYY].

I came through here for the annual party at 200 Lex and really wasn’t disappointed in how well put together everything was. I really liked the dress in the front window and the various art pieces and sculptures were great to look at. The sheaths for the televisions behind the mini moving walls were very nicely polished and well put together and the pieces all seemed as though they would go very well for general homes.
I did see that there were a bunch of empty pizza boxes, so I must have missed all the foodie fun for the guests
:0 Man, I guess I’ll have to catch it next time! =P

Really wished that we had gone with California Closets. We had our closets installed over 2 months ago and we are still waiting for them to come back another time to fix all their mistakes caused by sloppy work (mismeasuring the closets, sloppy tear out job, damage to our new floors, etc.).
All in all, this process has been a huge headache and I fully regret not going with California Closets who provides a consistent experience and know closets through and through.

Julia, at Transform, has designed several projects for me over the past few years. The latest one was the most ambitious – a full wall closet/​storage unit and a co-​ordinating home office.
Julia’s a pleasure to work with – a very talented (and patient) designer. She put a lot of time into the project, really listened to my needs and thought through every ergonomic and spatial detail.
She was good natured from start to finish, in spite of changes that were made along the way.
The installation also went quite smoothly. If there was a glitch or problem, Transform bent over backwards to quickly correct it. Every person connected with the company – from Julia to the closet installers to the factory manager to the showroom personnel was friendly, professional and easy to work with.
And Transform apparently guarantees their work forever.
I definitely recommend the company. (The only improvement I’d suggest is a better hardware selection.) Although they weren’t inexpensive, I appreciate their work every day – it’s really improved life in a NY apartment.

These guys just built and installed 2 rooms full of cabinetry, bookshelves and a desk unit. From our first meeting, they were friendly, full of good suggestions, worked with me and my needs for space and installed on exactly the date they said they would. The materials are solid, they had the colors I needed for the space, the installers were precise, on-​time and personable. I could not have had a better experience. Oh and the price was right. I got one estimate from a custom carpenter for twice the price and half the job. I would highly recommend fransFORM for all your space needs.

I was optimistic about Transform, but so far the experience has been poor. I visited the showroom on Lexington to evaluate the product. I came away impressed by the quality so followed up with the woman I met to begin the design phase. We are gut renovating an apartment and building a large walk-​in closet so I emailed the floorplans to her. Weeks passed without communication and I followed up several times by email before she re-​engaged with me. I asked to work over email to make things more convenient, but they insisted on another visit. I reluctantly agreed and met with them again in the showroom, having the same conversation in person that could have been done via telephone or email. The designer promised a first draft sketch of a closet design in two weeks, but wouldn’t email the design and asked that I return to the showroom a third time to review the design. A few days before the meeting, I received an email from someone at Transform saying the designer left the company and they lost the floorplan and asked if I could resend it. I am hoping they turn it around and I can update this review, but I’m not optimistic. Asking the client to visit the showroom for each design review is incredibly inconvenient and unnecessary and makes me dislike working with this team.

We had the worst experience with TransForm. We have had many closets constructed in our homes with other companies and always had a great outcome. This was a very upsetting experience.
We had major communication issues with our designer. When the installers came to put in our closet it was totally different then what we expected and what we discussed with him originally. We spoke to the management on the day of installation to try and explain our confusion and after a terrible conversation we were basically threatened and told that this is what we agreed to and we must pay or they will take us to court. We were told and I quote «we never lose a case».
I called to speak to one of the owners (not the one who answers these reviews). He was the most condescending, rude man I have ever dealt with in business. He did not care at all when we tried to explain our confusion or how we felt, he only cared about his money and he made that crystal clear. I was visibly upset on the phone with him and he could care less. I have never seen such a lack of customer service or caring for your customers, in any retail experience I have ever had.
The only saving grace were the installers who all did a great job and were very nice. The finished product is very nice as well.
I certainly will continue to use California Closets going forward and I never should have tried any other company.

I had an A-​OK experience with transFORM. I read all the reviews beforehand, so I entered the transaction prepared. Our designer Ruth was very professional and on top of things, and we are 95% happy with the work.
My biggest complaint is the timing. From our first visit to the showroom until everything was final was three months (and it’s still not perfect). We met with our designer on 8/​12, and visited the showroom on ⁸⁄₁₅. The soonest they could get us in for installation was ⁹⁄₁₂ (which is faster than usual they said).
The installation went smoothly and the guys were really nice. However, there were a few mistakes: the bags for our wire baskets were missing, the lights for the vanity didn’t work, they installed the tie hook in silver instead of brass, and the belt hook was missing.
I informed our designer immediately, but the next available time they could finish the work was ¹⁰⁄₁₄ — over a month after the first install date.
So on ¹⁰⁄₁₄ they came again. They were able to fix almost everything, except they brought the same lights which still did not work. They said they’d come back. And they did, on the next available time, over a month later (¹¹⁄₁₇). Unfortunately the third pair of lights did not fit the place where the existing lights were. They had to remove the existing lights, leaving holes in the vanity. They put the new, new lights overhead which casts an unflattering shadow because of the position.
At this point, I’m just going to fix it myself and buy new lights. They are very nice about it, but just too slow. I’m so exhausted from all the back and forth.
PROS:
— Definitely the most reasonable option for custom closets
— Lots of options, and the show room is fun to see
CONS:
— Takes a long time for them to fix their mistakes
Some advice if you work with transFORM: Make sure you have EVERY little detail in writing before signing and paying the deposit. And be patient and ready for lots of back and forth!

After getting quotes from 5 different companies, I picked Janie and TransFORM because of her amazing customer service, attention to detail, the quality of build and the material, the customized nature of the work, and Janie’s open and communicative style. She even helped to reschedule my appointment when a hiccup occurred on my end. She was extremely easy to get in contact with and always followed up. Janie really made the difference with my experience and I’m extremely happy with the end result.

While the quality of their merchandise is first rate, I was extremely unhappy with the number of visits needed to complete a job that should have been done at one time. The «designer», Mark who handled my account, kept making mistakes, communicating poorly and overlooking items that needed to be ordered for the installation. Keyboard desks didn’t get ordered with the original products and I had to wait additional weeks for this installation. I must say that they guys who came back for the installation were prompt and efficient. Then, as this is an office, there weren’t enough file rails ordered and then they weren’t installed correctly. In the end, while the product is really outstanding, the level of frustration is also above and beyond my expectations. I am still waiting for their designer to come back and see the finished product which he promised to do… this is a month later!

I sadly would never recommend Transforms again. I had worked with the company 7 years ago and they designed a fantastic home office for us that we love and still use. Our experience then was wonderful so we obviously went back to them when we decided to put in a large walk in closet in our home. We used the same designer but this time our experience was far from our original experience.
During the planning of the project it was difficult to schedule with our designer who was admittedly over her head with projects. When our closet was installed I was shocked to see that it was not what I envisioned or thought that I paid for. I understood that it was have a wood like overlay over the entire front but when it arrived the wood finish was on the drawers only and the support walls and shelves were all completely white. (as a side note California Closets is more expensive but does provide color and 3D images before you purchase so this problem never would have happened if I had chosen them). When the men came to install they were sloppy and left things scattered all through my buildings hallway and left saw dust and pencil marks when they left. The installation took two days and was so sloppy. I was left with damaged shelves, holes in my walls, awkward gaps between walls, and wobbly units.
One positive note is that when I contacted my designer she came the next day and was able to put in a work order to replace most of the damage. However, the front wood panels were going to be to difficult to change at that point. I was terribly saddened by this. The $ 7000 closet that I had dreamed of just did not show up and there was no fix for it (except to uninstall and reinstall the entire unit and risk damage all of which I would need to pay for).
I called and emailed several times over the next 2 weeks to make sure that the repairs were going to be properly handled. I did not get a return call. I finally called my designers manager who promised me who would pass on specifics to the installation team. When they arrived they had none of the information. I was then not getting return phone calls from the manager etc. I
I could go on for another 3 paragraphs. There is a big lack of communication between the client, and the designer, and the installation team. The company just isn’t what it was 7 years ago.

Thrilled with the entire process and love my multi-​purpose closet. Hagit, the designer was able to include all of my needs in her design from shoes to a litter box space. The installers showed up on time and cleaned up before they left. All parts of the process went smoothly and the final project just what I wanted!

Very happy with the work they’ve done in my walk-​in closet. Our designer, Kristy, worked with us to maximize efficiency of our space. We were willing to spend a good amount, but she didn’t push expensive products on us. Instead, she suggested products that were more suitable to our needs. She also gave us helpful tips on space saving.
Installation was very quick. It took them less than 2.5 hours. And the finished product is something my girlfriend always shows off when she has her friends over.

We decided to purchase our main clothing closet from Transform after looking at several seemingly similar, yet more familiar brands (e.g., California Closets) because we wanted to support a local business. While we are pleased with the overall quality and design of our closet, we were extremely disappointed with the installation process.
First, workmen had to return to our apartment to re-​install clearly uneven shelves and a clearly scuffed and then repainted hamper pullout. After their second visit, an ironing board that Transform had installed fell from the shelf the first time we opened it; the ironing board had only been supported with two small screws and no washers. With our clothes sitting in boxes for nearly a month, the scheduler called to delay the third visit because of an «emergency» with another project.
We emailed the head of operations to ask if he believed the amount paid was commensurate with the service provided. He offered an apology, but never addressed our question.
Ultimately, after a full gut renovation of our apartment and working with many different vendors, our experience with Transform clearly stands out as the most negative one. I would urge anyone to think twice before spending the money, time and energy working with Transform.

I am on the fence with transFORM, and I highly suggest you read The Sliding Door Company reviews as well, if you are going to work with both of them. Here’s the ultimate problem: you’re dealing with three individual companies if you work with the Manhattan transFORM location. You have transFORM, who does the interior of the closet; you have The Sliding Door Company, who provides the doors; and you have Highline Design, who is the contracting company that works with The Sliding Door Company, but is a separate entity to them.
Ultimately, the only company I worked with was transFORM. They did an okay job on my closet, but it was disrupted because the original designer quit prior to finishing my design. She’d spend several hours with me & many emails, getting it just perfect. Her boss (Rozallia) took over, and the end result is a nice looking closet that is close to what I wanted, but not perfect (and not what the original designer had come up with). The thing that upset me is she had mentioned if anything was off, to let her know, and she’d swing by. I did let her know, but she canceled last minute, and never replied to my request that she reschedule. I am not completely disappointed, but after living with the closet for a while (since last September), I would have changed a lot of things to make it far more functional than it is now.
Related to these issues is the fact that I still don’t have closet doors. I freaked out because not only were the doors expensive, but Highline wanted to do a lot of extra things like point the wall, etc. and there were many extra fees added. I panicked because there are lots of disclaimers about the doors being the wrong size. Also, I mentioned I wanted to match the bathroom door, but the contractors didn’t take measurements with the new floor saddle. They told me to remeasure it myself! So instead of risking expensive custom doors coming in the wrong size, I opted to hire a general contractor to put in doors next week, which will cost significantly less. The bad part is, once Highline measures your apartment, you are out the $ 100 deposit/​measurement fee.
To sum up, I would rate transForm about a 2.5, so I am rounding down since it’s a decent looking closet. Just make sure if you do work with them, that you either a) hire a contractor & don’t work with The Sliding Door Company; or b) Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into & that you could end up out $ 100.

I read up on Transform on Unilocal was very excited about all the great reviews. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite meet up to my expectations, maybe because I had read and seen all the 5 stars on Unilocal.
We moved to LIC and wanted to have 3 closets installed. Called, set up the appt, no problem. We were assigned Margaret. I had to work the day she came over to see our closet spaces, but my wife was home to guide her through what we wanted. My wife showed Margaret the closets, and explained a little bit of our vision. But, as my wife tells me, she mentioned that we wanted to get custom closets but we did have a budget. The word ‘budget’ must have stuck in Margaret’s head, because as my wife was explaining what we wanted, Margaret made a face and said, «Yeahhhhh, maybe instead of that… you could do this instead…» and proceeded to change up the whole closet. I’ll give her a pass on this, because maybe what my wife was asking was too expensive. No numbers were talked about at this point. Margaret did explain that the biggest cost is the drawers, which cost $ 100 per drawer. So my wife scaled back on some of the drawers and just gave my closet 1 drawer, and her closet I think 4 drawers and one with a lock. For the baby’s room, our closet is more of a trapezoid, and not a straight rectangle, and Margaret said that their closet is a rectangle, so we’ll lose some space on the side. My wife was a little surprised, seeing as how we are ordering custom made closets, can’t they cut to a trapezoid?. Here comes the first annoyance. The appointment is over and Margaret leaves. Later, she calls to confirm the 2^nd appt and she asks, «So, when do you think you can have all the shelves, rods, and cleats out of the closets?» Huh? You mean Transform doesn’t remove those when they come over? I think I knew this, having read the reviews, but my wife didn’t. But the annoying part is that Margaret didn’t mention this in the first visit. I mean, really? She should have stated up front, «By the way, you need to remove the shelves, rods, and cleats, then plaster and paint before we come to install.» They can do this, but they charge extra. Fine, I knew about it but my wife didn’t, but she was surprised that Margaret waited to mention it. For the 2^nd appt, Margaret comes over to finalize the drawings. I am there this time. She shows us some nice grid paper, with the closets. Everything looks clean, the lines are all straight, the grid paper makes it easy to see the closet. We see the baby’s room closet will be a rectangle, and we’ll lose some space, fine. I end up knocking out all the shelves, rods, cleats, and spackling and painting myself over a weekend. Now here’s the 2^nd annoying thing. When they come over and install, I’m at work. I text my wife, «How does it look?» She texts back, «Eh, they look ok. But don’t get your hopes up.» I come home and look at them, and she says, «Did you know there was going to be a gap on each side of the closet?» I look, and sure enough, there is a half inch to three quarters inch gap on the left and right side of each closet. Huh? The material is all pressboard, with laminate, and they do custom cut each part of the closet, but they just stuck it in the closet on the floor and pushed up to the back of the closet. Because of the crown molding at the base of the floor, this causes the closet to lose space on the left and right side of each closet. My wife made a great point, «It looks like I went to Ikea, ordered some closets, and pushed it into our closet and we lost some space on each side.» That’s ok too, but we paid $ 800 per closet, so $ 2400 for custom fit closets that if you look carefully, don’t quite seem so custom. Grr. The third and last annoying point, is that they were not hung on the wall. My last closet from another designer was hung on the wall. In other words, they could have avoided the lost space by hanging the whole closet on the back wall, and then the floor crown molding is a moot point, and they could have made the right and left side flush with the wall.
I emailed Transform, complaining about the above 3 points. The great part, and the reason why I bumped it up to 3 stars, is that I got prompt service back. Rozallia called me and we talked through all the issues. Point 1 about waiting to the last minute to mention the removal of existing parts, I said it was just a communication issue, they need to communicate that right away. Point 2, she apologized for, and said it was communication also. Point 3, she asked, «Well, we actually can do wall hung closets. Didn’t Margaret mention it?» No! Wow. Had we known about it, we would have gone that route instead! But, Rozallia offered to give us 1 more drawer for free, so I accepted and we are generally satisfied with the closets. Knowing what we know now, I will be sure to ask a LOT of questions in the future.

We had a wonderful experience with Rona, working on a custom closet for a walk-​in closet in our Manhattan condo. Rona came, measured the closet, asked how we used it most often and offered some suggestions. A few days later, we met to discuss a design she had sketched out on paper, made some edits, and scheduled an install date. The installers dealt with my superintendant in the background and got all insurance in order to have a seamless install day. On the day of install, 2 installers came with all of the materials and were done installing the closet within 2 hours. They were courteous and thoroughly cleaned up. Our closet is stunning and all of our guests want to know who did it for us! Bravo transForm.

We were thrilled with the work by TransFORM to better utilize the space in our Laundry Room in our home in Riverdale New York.
For over 14 years (!), we lived with shelving that was uneven, too deep to fully utilize, and ugly with non-​load bearing poles in the middle of the space!
Finally, we brought in TransFORM to redo the area. They created a balanced space with several pull out drawers, a pull out hamper and shelving for everything we had before… and room to spare!
They also created a storage area where it had just been unused before (above the washer/​dryer). The doors kept everything looking neat and clean.
I loved the follow up and responsiveness of the team. They met all my expectations and delivered on budget and on-​time! I couldn’t have asked for more and would recommend them to anyone.

Transform has done multiple projects for us and they’ve all come out perfect. They are true professionals. The best thing is that their designers suggest ideas that enhance your vision. Well worth the price!
Update (4÷9÷13): Transform just fixed up my garage building three great pieces for storage and easy access. Another great experience!

TransFORM provides free design consultation, custom cut-​to-​order closets, and bundled installation, all at a reasonable price. Having had two of my closets recently updated with TransFORM solutions, I would highly recommend them to others looking for the same.
I was at the Sliding Door Co. office next door, as my initial plan was to only replace my bi-​fold doors with sliding alternatives (I was going to do the closet interiors myself). I stopped into the TransFORM office and, impressed with their samples on the floor, I asked for a free design consultation.
Enter Grazyna, an extremely talented designer for TransFORM, with over 20 years of experience. She visited my apartment three separate times, providing updated sketches based on my feedback. She insisted on the repeat visits until I was COMPLETELY satisfied with the closets. Grazyna had some great ideas for storing my oversize skis and my Dyson vacuum without sacrificing valuable storage space.
After signing off on her sketches, I arranged for a reasonably-​priced «teat-​out» where they remove all the existing shelving and doors. If you can, I suggest you spackle and paint yourself, as TransFORM wanted over $ 500 for my two closets for that leg of the project. I scheduled the aforementioned tear-​out and the new shelving installation a week apart to allow time to do the spackle/​paint, which itself is easy to do, but there’s a lot of down-​time, waiting for the coats to dry. A week later, they came in to install the new closets. Two installers came and worked perfectly in tandem, finishing the job to perfection within three hours.
I’d be remiss to not compliment the office staff — Greg, who called prior to both tear-​out and installation to confirm, and Angel, supervisor to the installation crews. Angel was quick to send his guys back to my apartment twice when I noticed some uneven areas that needed to be better concealed. Since I have plaster walls and my floor was off-​level by almost ½ inch, this was no fault of the installers, but again, Angel was insistent on getting me the right additional parts to better conceal some small gaps where the closet system met my existing bamboo flooring. Rosalia was extremely helpful in the 5^th avenue showroom and was happy to review the initial design sketches Grazyna provided me, offering some other ideas/​opinions.
Overall, from start to finish, I feel the staff were very professional, and above all, the product speaks for itself. My system was pretty simple in the whole scheme of things (pictures:
and
) but it came out just the way I wanted, at a reasonable price. I would recommend to others looking for a better-​quality step up from an Elfa, ClosetMaid, or FreedomRail system.