Urban Studio

Doing a second story addition has been a dream of mine since I purchased my 1-bedroom bungalow. When I was finally able to take on this enormous task on my own, I stared the hunt or a contractor to support my vision, this proved to be difficult. After an extensive search and 4+ contractors I ended up choosing Urban Studio Inc.
They presented me with a detailed, documented proposal for scope of work, and an option for a milestone payment schedule. This along with their attention to detail and willingness to work with my vision and budget sealed the deal.
Prior to and all the way through the renovation process, Joseph was in constant communication, he sent text messages, pictures, recommendations and overall updates, which made me feel engaged and part of the process. Although things took longer than anticipated, challenge, issue and concerns that arose was dealt with and resolved in a professional manner with quality results.

My thanks and appreciation to the Urban Studio team and to Joseph in particular! I am HAPPY with the quality of work, respectful interaction and the personal attention I felt. I recommend Urban Studio if you are thinking of large renovation.

Urban studio has renovated several homes in my neighbourhood in the past few years and came highly recommended by our nieghbours. My experience with them couldn’t have been any better. The built process itself was very transparent with no surprises. Joseph was always available to answer all of our questions and would always make himself available to meet with us. From the first meeting we felt we could trust him something that we didnt feel with any other companies as it's very rare in reno industry! Joseph is very knowledgeable and capable, also great at explaining the options and helping us with decision making. The end result is fantastic and that's due to Joseph's attention to details. We love our new house and highly recommend Urban Studio.

I have been burned before by contractors. Shoddy workmanship, disappearing for weeks, watching YouTube videos for hours while supposedly on the job. You name it. But, Joseph and team were an absolute dream! They were super professional, responsive, creative, efficient (very quick!!), willing to work over time and go the extra mile. Joseph treats you like family and is authentic as they come. Truly, truly could not be happier having worked with them. I will definitely be seeking them out again in the future. Cannot recommend Urban Studio Inc. enough.

We were thinking about the idea of an addition to our Leslieville home for over a year... after a lot of online research we reached out to those companies that had experience dealing with large renovation project.
We then started to meet with them and saw many different proposals, I must say Urban Studio stood out from the very beginning. Their approach was very different than all the others to begin with! Unlike others they were responsive and within the same week we had Joseph visiting our home while waited for several weeks for most of the companies, and some never even bother getting back to us! while few asked between $500 to $1000 for the site visit!

Joseph was amazing, his knowledge and the information he passed on to us on the very first meeting was very helpful and made us feel we can trust his professional opinion about different aspects of our project. He provided us with an estimate which comparing to others the detail that was provided was outstanding! Definitely not the most expensive estimate we received neither the cheapest but their pricing was reasonable and made sense. We also liked that the scope of work was tied to milestone payment plan and that’s why we finally felt comfortable to undertake this massive project!

After waiting 6 months, the permits were released and we started moving out our furnitures to a storage unit, my family and I moved out of our home for a little over 8 months. Within this time Urban Studio built two storey addition at the back of our home and gutted the entire house. Considering our 100+ years old home our project was not an easy task Urban Studio ran into some obstacles, However we always experienced professionalism with Joseph, he rectified any and all hiccups that came up during our renovation. All of his team members were respectful and pleasant to deal with. The quality of their work is indeed above the industry standards and as a result we are now enjoying our new custom kitchen and our master bedroom on the second floor which we never had! Joseph’s design inputs made our project a dream come true. Thank you for making our home look like something out of a magazine! I would not hesitate to recommend Urban Studio to our friends and family.

I would like to say Joseph Alavi and his workers were very professional and very good at there job!
Thanks m

The project was a complete redo of the kitchen and main bath in my home. Very nice people did the work to a high quality. Input from Joseph with regards to design choices were invaluable to me.

After an extensive search my wife and I confidently selected Urban Studio Design.
Their attention to detail in the proposal, along with their proposed milestone payment schedule allowing us to pay upon completion of stages assured us that we were in the hands of a trustworthy and experienced professional.

During the renovation process my wife and I decided to stay with my parents on the other end of the city so between the work and the kids we didn’t have much of time left to attend daily and check on the work, but Joseph and his team made us an active part of the transformation during this time. He sent us text message along with picture updates, with this consistent communication coming from Joseph, we were made to feel at ease with the large scope of changes happening daily at the house. We made some changes and added few things to the work along the way but Joseph and his team were flexible and always willing to rectify any last minute changes. Joseph is very easy and pleasant to deal with and his ideas and suggestions was very helpful throughout our project. He remained in constant contact with us along the entire process in which made us feel involved throughout the project. It was a stressful time for my family away from home but now that the renovation is complete and we are back in our new beautiful home we could not be happier.

Thank you again to everyone at Urban Studio for the hard work!

I want to tell you my experience with Urban Studio Design

I have to be honest, I was very nervous because I am sure we have all been there, where you look for a contractor who is trust worthy and then they turn out to be someone completely different. Leaving you high and dry!

Before Urban Studio Design, I met with several other building companies. Some did not return calls or emails, some promised an appointment and never bothered to show up or follow up. And of course there was the one who wished me luck on my project.

I was trying to connect with these companies in the summer of 2018 as my project was not until the following summer, so therefore, my enquiries did not take precedence over other jobs. No one had the time to sit down with me and listen to my plans of making my house into a “dream home”.

Then I emailed Urban Studio Design and within a few days of booking an appointment, someone was sitting down with me. Joseph, the Project Manager listened to my every detail. He was open to my ideas, gave me feedback and even allowed me to see other projects that he was working on. To me this seemed too good to be true!

But I am here to say that his transparency is real and because of him, my husband and I decided to use Urban Studio Design. Then I had the opportunity to meet Michael the architect. He took my ideas and designed the required drawings for the City Building Permits. Of course I wanted the sun, moon and stars, but Michael advised me about City Bi-laws and zoning. bringing me back down to earth and still designing something special that I was extremely happy with.

Thank you Urban Studio and Thank you Joseph and Michael for putting up with me and my million changes.

To anyone reading this, If you are looking for a dependable and trustworthy company, I would highly recommend Urban Studio Design.

I bought my condo in spring of last year, and it had been built in 2000 so it needed an upgrade. Also the kitchen was L-shaped and offered little storage so along with new floors/bathroom I had planned to knock out the L shape, built the kitchen along the wall and add in an island. I also added in a dropped ceiling so I could have pot lights and pendant lights installed in the kitchen.

What made me choose Urban Studio to begin with was the way their contract was laid out. It broke down exactly how much was allocated to each task/material so if I choose a more expensive countertop I'd pay extra, or is a less expensive one I'd receive a credit (and I ended up receive some credits and upgrading the countertop so their pricing was pretty on par). The contract was transparent - other ones I had received were cheaper only because they didn't include any material so I really had no idea how much I'd be spending overall. I stayed on budget I should add.

It was a major renovation in a small space, and I also lived there throughout which wasn't ideal. But every day the workers would make sure the place was tidy when I came home. There was one small problem with the vanity, the wrong size was installed, but before I could have a freak-out Joseph was already on the phone with the 3rd party installer getting it sorted out. He was great, making sure everything was done perfectly. The finished product is amazing - even better than I could have imagined. The plumbing/electrical work was all down well, no issues. It was a relatively easy process for me, well as 'easy' as a renovation can be!

I would highly recommend Urban Studio. There were incredibly professional, the process was very transparent and the work that was done was amazing!

We used Urban Studio last year to complete an extensive renovation and addition to our home. We had a good working relationship with Joseph and his entire team. He was very excited to do the work and we are very happy with the end result. The project did run longer than we expected and there were some delays and problems that came up. However, Joseph and his team were very professional and quick to help us resolve any issues. He also made a number of very helpful design suggestions which I am grateful for. He has a great eye for design and colour. I love all of my tiles. We continue to have a good relationship with Urban Studio as Joseph is continuing to help with some minor items in and outside of the home which we want updated, including minor paint jobs. We are happy we worked with Joseph and his team and we love our new, fresh, bright home! Renovations are not easy. They do cause stress. But, Joseph and the Urban Studio team did strive to keep us happy with the end result of the project - and we are!