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► I wanted to thank you again for helping me select paint colors for my home. You took the time to consider each room and how the rooms work together. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and desire to have the house look great. Your professionalism and passion for your job are evident.

We couldn't be more pleased with the furniture arrangement and placement of accessories throughout our home. You are so talented at what you do.

Jeanna Velechko / Glen Ridge, NJ

► Please consider this to be a letter of recommendation for the professional interior decorating services of Jeffrey Kracht. My husband and I first became aware of Jeff when he did decorating work for both my parents and my sister. Because we were so impressed by the final appearance of the rooms Jeff did in these two houses, we decided to use his services for our own living room, dining room, upstairs and downstairs hallways, and young daughter’s bedroom. Jeff spent many hours with us and showed extreme patience as we selected fabrics, rugs, wallpaper, paint colors, floor coverings, and accessory items. While respecting our budget, Jeff was able to come up with a look that reflected our personal tastes and personalities, while also making sure that we selected patterns and colors that we would be able to live with and not quickly tire of. Jeff also completely rearranged the furniture in our living room and came up with an arrangement that was attractive as well as being much more functional than what we had had before. 

   Several years after these rooms were decorated, we called on Jeff again to provide window treatments and custom seat cushions for our completely renovated kitchen. Jeff supported our choice of a wallpaper pattern which was not of a design one would normally expect to find in a kitchen. He alleviated our concern by emphasizing that because it was our kitchen, it should be a pattern that made us happy and that we shouldn’t worry about what other people would think. As it turned out, we have received many compliments on the paper (it is a musical motif) and we very much enjoy the time we spend in the kitchen looking at it.

   Most recently, Jeff has helped us redo our den, master bedroom, and our now teenaged daughter’s bedroom. He gave us the confidence to try some less traditional (yellow and burgundy, green and purple) color combinations and we were delighted with the results. He also made suggestions about using different colors to distinguish the ceilings and woodwork - something that never would have occurred to us on our own. 

   Throughout all the projects we have worked on with Jeff, he has also been extremely reliable - always being on time for appointments and always getting back to us with information within a very short period of time. Having dealt with other contractors, I have come to realize that this is a trait far less common than I would I have expected, so Jeff is all the more appreciated because his word is always backed up by action.

   I will be happy to speak with anyone who would like to hear more about our positive experiences working with Jeffrey Kracht.

Dale Spindel / Cranford, NJ

► Thank you for helping me create a lovely home for my family. As I look back on the ten years that we have known each other, I remember what kind of shape my house was in before we met. It needed help, and I didn’t know where to start! 

   I had never worked with a designer before, and I was a little nervous. Would you listen to my ideas or impose your own? What would you think of my taste, and the pieces that I wanted to keep? Would your suggestions be beyond my budget? 

   Happily, I can report that all of my fears were unfounded. We have always worked as a team, melding my ideas and dreams for my home with your artistic eye and design suggestions. We have done projects both large and small, and have worked in stages when necessary. 

   We started small, with window treatments for the kitchen and family room. I was so happy with those choices that we moved on to the living room. If you recall, there was not one thing I wanted to keep in that room. It was a blank slate. All I knew was how I wanted to use the room. After listening to my ideas, you put together several possible floor plans. I picked the one I liked best, and the rest was easy. Over a period of several years, we ordered couches and chairs, window treatments and carpeting. I consulted with you on everything from the color of the walls to the placement of accessories. And in the end, it looked exactly like the drawings you did at the start! 

   I also appreciate how adaptable you are, especially in our most recent project, when we remade the queen-sized quilt from 1999 into the king-sized bed linens of 2005. I was very happy that we were able to reuse those fabrics I love by adding some new things to tie everything together. 

   I know that, as design questions come up in the future, I will be calling on you again.

Laura Berton Grau / North Caldwell, NJ

► I have offered to write an unsolicited letter of recommendation for Jeffrey Kracht of JK Interiors. My husband and I have worked with Jeff for seven months through a grueling reconstruction project which included the addition of a kitchen on the back of our home and the transformation of an attic into a master bedroom suite. This was our dream - a concept we developed for twenty years. We would settle for nothing less than our “Tuscan Kitchen.” It not only had to look that way, but it had to “feel” that way. 

   I was hesitant to search for the services of a professional designer. I thought it would not be something my budget could bear, considering the costs of the renovations; and I was worried about someone coming into my home, scouring and telling me that “everything must go,” making my husband and me feel like we collected “stuff” over the years instead of pieces that reflected our life together. 

   As an executive in a FORTUNE 500 company, I treasure control and settle for nothing less than what I ask for or agree to; my husband has been referred to on more than one occasion (affectionately, of course) as “detail compulsive.” Not an easy pair for a stranger to deal with. Bottom line, Jeff was the best business relationship we had during the entire process. He is not only talented but a great business partner. He has the gift and ability to share your vision. How does he do this? It’s really quite simple. He listens. He’s talented. Period. He’s a professional and wants to give his customers “exactly” what they want. He’s fun. He gets as enthusiastic about your project as you are. He does not take offense if you do not agree with him. His contacts in the business are a wonderful testament to his grace, judgment and personality. His business associate, Charlotte Sullivan, was the artist we used to “create” our kitchen ceiling and walls. I insist on the word create. She transformed my yellow paint into a Tuscan fresco using a combination of colors (picking up every color in my kitchen), plaster, glazes and subtle stencils that reference the arches and curves of the window, door opening, light fixture and cabinets. 

   The “WOW” effect? That doesn’t begin to do it or him justice. Not even close. The minute ANYONE walks into my kitchen their first words are “Oh My GOD, I feel like I’m in Italy.” So, you tell me. Is Jeff terrific?

Donna M. Telesca / Hackensack, NJ