Susanne has been a pleasure to work with on an extensive interior and exterior renovation of our 40+ year old house for the past 18 months. She is easy to talk to, genuinely listens -- is warm, sincere, enthusiastic and above all, honest. She states her vision / opinions clearly, is willing to think outside the box, not afraid to question costs / think of alternatives, rectify mistakes, and makes herself available to consult and provide direction when needed.
Choosing Susanne first as a designer in our project worked well. She played a critical role in choosing a contractor and being an independent advocate for us as the homeowner.Read More
Bryan Wong
Susanne has been an exceptional guide during our large scale renovations of our home. Her scope of knowledge and the ideas that she brings to the table have always excelled our expectations. It is certainly hard to find good help and leadership for building projects nowadays in the Lower Mainland; however, with Susanne, you can trust that you are in excellent hands. She has been a fundamental reason for the success of our new home!!Read More
Houzz User
Susanne at Sensitive Design transformed our outdated 20 year old condo in Vancouver into A modern looking, bright, and welcoming home. She was imaginative in her design and skillful as a project manager.Read More
Houzz User
We live in a Vancouver Special style house that was built in the 70's. In 2014 Susanne did an amazing job with the design of our renovation upstairs with the open concept which led to contemporary living with new lightings, brand new kitchen and bathroom etc. This year we hired Susanne again to design the basement renovation for an energy efficient living space and a secondary suite.
With the building non conforming challenges of the Vancouver Special house, Susanne was able to problem solve and help us from the application of variance to the approval of the variance from the City of Vancouver. It was her passion and professionalism that convince us to move forward with the project despite of the challenges. We look forward to her help in transforming our outdated basement to a functional and beautiful living space.Read More
T&L Contracting & Custom Homes
As a General Contractor on this project, I had the opportunity to work with Susanne on this new home build in North Burnaby. From the beginning, I could see that Susanne was able to clearly communicate her design intent. She was involved with site visits ,and showed high care level to execute any changes to the design from the clients. In my opinion, Susanne is very professional and shows integrity in her projects.Read More
Philippa W
We hired Susanne for a major renovation in our new home. Right from the first meeting, we were confident in her design capabilities and her proactive, creative and practical approach. She interpreted our design vision and respected our budget, bringing everything together beautifully in the final product. She was responsive to our many questions and emails, and always solutions focused. Overall, I would highly recommend Susanne and hope to work with her again in the future!Read More
Houzz User
Undertaking a new build is daunting. From my limited previous experience with a few renovations, I knew that we needed two key people in place: a solid, honest builder and a dedicated, professional designer. We are so fortunate to have found Susanne. From the first meeting we could tell that she had a lot of experience, but it was her sincerety, understanding of our vision and genuine excitement for our project that made us feel like we were making the right choice. Susanne has met or exceeded our expectations in every regard. She has fulfilled every aspect related to her contractual obligation, but moreso, has felt like a true vested partner in our project. I can say with confidence that Susanne would see through any project, good days and bad, all the way though to completion. This type of integrity can often be hard to find these days and is hard to put a price on when you have a lot on the line. In addition, she was able to find clever ways to save us money though insightful design options as well as good old-fashioned research on “best value” products and finishes. Susanne has an eye for modern design and will provide her true opinion every time but will always support our wishes and listens to our intentions and budget!! Thanks for being there every step of the way Susanne. You helped us to not only fulfill our vision but made the process a lot clearer and less stressful along the way. You”ll always have our appreciation and a lifelong referral as well.Read More
Kees van der Werff
Right from the first meeting, we were very pleased with Susanne's approach. She was listening very carefully, what we had in mind and provided us with ideas that were outside of the box. During construction she developed a good relationship with the contractor and kept a close eye to the progress and quality of the work. Her knowledge of products and contacts ended up with an end result that was above and beyond our expectations. We recommend Sensitive Design as Susanne has a wealth of information and great ideas!Read More
Cat & Ian
Susanne designed us a beautiful large scale extension/renovation which is in the final stages of completion. She is a great architect as well as interior designer. Importantly - she really cares about her clients and comes up with inventive solutions to potential road blocks. Thank you Susanne!Read More
Houzz User
Great job to fit in a fabulous suite in an existing house
Suite looks like high end condo in the endRead More
stan king
It is hard to earn 5 stars, doesn't come without hard work, reliability, sense of humour and a genuine pleasure to work with. Someone who has talent, education. and experience, Susanne designed and managed the construction of a nearly new house ( 80% of the house was rebuilt )for me at whistler. It is 8 stories above the road and complex and she did a Wonderfull job, i get daily compliments. I recommend her to anyone. i would be pleased to talk to anyone, just ask her for my ph. Stan KingRead More
Houzz User
Susanne has provided direction and coordination in making a significant change to our residence. Her familiarity with architecture, design and finishes has resulted in a project we are ready to enjoy for years to come.Read More
Houzz User
We chose to work with Susanne after admiring her work showcased on the Houzz webpage. After our first meeting with Susanne we knew that we wanted to have her design our home. Susanne exceeded our expectations throughout our 6 month house renovation. She was always pleasant, punctual and professional. Susanne was able to anticipate our needs and direct our focus. She was excellent at communicating with the trades to make sure that everything was carried out as planned. She brought a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to our project. She provided many suggestions that we hadn't thought of. We had a very strict deadline for when we needed to move back into our house and because of this we often didn't give Suzanne a lot of time to help us with decisions. She was always able to help us in a very timely manner. We absolutely love our new home and we credit a lot of that to Suzanne's talent and hard work.Read More
Houzz User
I have recently done quite an extensive renovation on my home and was very fortunate to have Susanne, of Sensitive Design as my designer.
From our first meeting until the project was finished I found Susanne a most pleasant and knowledgable person to work with. She was always punctual and well prepared for our meetings. She listened constructively to what my vision for the house was and carefully noted what furniture I was keeping (most of it) and what colours I was thinking of having. On the day we were choosing tiles for the bathrooms she arrived with a good selection of tiles, large, small, different shapes and textures and all in the colours I wanted. On the day we were choosing kitchen and bathroom sinks, faucets, shower heads etc,etc she knew exactly where to find the ones within my budget in the very large showroom. I found she always had a very positive attitude and was very respectful of my choices while at the same time she would tell me if she thought (knew!) that something else would look better. This happened when we were choosing a new sofa. The one I chose had a back that was too high and would not have worked in my living room. She was right!.
Susanne worked cooperatively with the various trades and it was obvious they respected her professionalism and knowledge and she theirs. She was very aware of my budget and would always tell me when a choice I made was over the amount budgeted.
Working with Susanne made my renovation an exciting and very interesting journey. It was a pleasure to work with someone with her skill and experience who so obviously enjoyed what she was doing. The end result is stunning while still being my home and the place where I love to entertain my friends and family, including their dogs! Thank you Susanne.Read More
Houzz User
I hired Sensitive Design to completely redesign the kitchen of my last house, including adding a laundry area and powder room.
Susanne took all the measurements, made all the drawings, designed the cabinets and coordinated fixtures, countertops, trim, colours and furniture.
I wanted a bench seat, which was custom made along with a beautiful painted white wood table that Susanne had made to fit the space.
Her design along with Shakespeare Homes construction work garnered a nomination for an award.
I hired Susanne again when I put on an addition on my new house. She did the drawings for me for a larger master bedroom with en suite, an enclosed car port and garage. Everything worked exactly as I wanted. She is great for suggesting colours as well, as she has a unique sense of style.
Susanne is incredibly knowledgeable, talented and a quite a style force! She has a great sense of how to get the most out of a space and make it beautiful!Read More
Houzz User
Susanne is true to the name she selected for her company, Sensitive Design. She is sensitive to what you want, the best design and your budget. After spending 5 years renovating our home, we are happy that someone referred Susanne to us to finish our outdoor kitchen. She came up with a simple and tasteful design which suited our home and it took only a few hours to finalize the color and materials. We referred her to someone else for a major home renovation and the job was completed in elegant style, on time and on budget. It is wonderful to finally meet someone who can do a great job and hopefully this review is helpful to you.
VancouverRead More
Houzz User
We were introduced to Susanne of Sensitive Designs by our general contractor. Right from our initial meeting I was impressed with how Susanne listened to what we we wanted and considered our style preferences and lifestyle. Our objective with the renovation was to update our home, create a more open living plan and to get more light into the home. Susanne had great, innovative ideas on how to achieve this while also giving us a timeless elegance that we will enjoy for years to come.
Susanne drew up the plans for the renovation, helped us chose all of the materials and finishes, liaised with the General contractor and the trades, and helped us choose furniture, drapes and rugs. Throughout it all, Susanne was very professional and easy to deal with.
In summary, the renovation was a success, we achieved all that we set out to (and more!) with our renovation and we are glad we hired Susanne from Sensitive Design as our designer.Read More
Houzz User
Susanne has helped us with designing the renovation of our "Vancouver Special" house built in 1978. As an architect and interior designer, she has revamped our living space. It is not only functional and practical but also warm and inviting. Her plan was an open concept, with sophisticated space solution and suited for our needs. The interior lighting was strategically placed to add an aesthetic and soothing effect to our home, She is talented in selecting and coordinating colors from various floor tiles and interior paintwork, to the exterior of the house. Most importantly, Susanne is passionate about her design work. She can transform a dream into reality. We are thoroughly enjoying our newly renovated home. Without hesitation, we highly recommend Susanne to all her future clients.
Teresa HoRead More
Tarina Palmer
In 2012, we hired Susanne Doise and Sensitive Design to help us design and plan a major renovation on our home. We liked Susanne's combined knowledge and experience in architecture and design. These skills proved invaluable on this renovation.
Because of Sensitive Design we now have the family home we dreamed of and one that will adapt to our future needs. I have recommended Sensitive Designs to friends and colleagues.Read More
Miro Sino
Outstanding designer with real European vision. Versatile and grasping to client's requests. Not afraid to work with color, actually feels quite comfortable with color and uses a lot in her works. Makes designs playful and interesting. Works to the client's best dollar value for high quality design and product. Thinks of long-term value. Tries to find local best deals. Just as competent as she is herself, Susanne knows other outstanding designers that you might need to complete your project. I have had a great experience with all of them.
Susanne provides high class design. Very social as well.Read More
Karen Ong
We started our renovation journey in the middle of the pandemic, when there was so much disarray and confusion with the building permit application due to various COVID restrictions and changes to the permit application process. Susanne, however, managed to maneuver through this and thanks to her persistence in following up, she was able to get our permit.
Susanne definitely has a creative eye and is not afraid to speak her mind and give her opinion. Our renovation project is quite a major one. Susanne's extensive knowledge of architecture and interior design made our meetings with our general contractor very productive and insightful. She worked very well with my general contractor and other trades. Like most projects, the scope of work just got bigger and bigger as walls were torn down and Susanne was able to pivot and adjust to our needs. She redesigned and repositioned our old staircase to build it to code and make it more functional (and fengshui friendly). Another important item on my wish list was to have a larger kitchen which was kind of tricky considering where the old kitchen was situated. But Susanne made it happen. She provided excellent resources and suppliers and would always remind me that we are working within a budget. She respected that I had my personal design preferences but worked with me to make things work. Susanne along with our wonderful general contractor turned our 83 year old house into an almost brand new modern farmhouse. Thanks Susanne for all your hard work and patience throughout this whole project.Read More
Houzz User
Susanne has been great. We built a custom new duplex with secondary suites on an odd shaped lot. Lots of complexity. Her architectural background has been very helpful throughout the process. We brought Susanne on early in the process and she helped us with the interior space layouts as well as exterior finishes. Her interior design drawings were clear and her recommendations for material selection were very appropriate given how picky we are. The overall outcome has been great.Read More