Our Maryland Business Reviews

Clark Construction is an eminent company that is engaged in the construction business. The company has completed thousands of construction projects, of both residential and commercial nature. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and enjoys the confidence and support of its customers and patrons. In the year 2018, the company had reported annual revenue of more than US$5 billion. The company traces its origins to the early 1900s in Washington, D.C. It was then an excavation company only. In fact, it had the only steam shovel in Washington. It was in 1923 that the company won its first construction contract for Wheatley Junior High School and has not looked back ever since.

Review of Their Work

While reviewing the impressive range of their work, the following things stand out;

Versatility:

Clark construction has made its mark in every kind of construction project. From residential towers to roads, and from waterworks to airport terminals. The company has tried its hands in literally every kind of construction project and come out successful every time. This has made them a versatile construction firm that can be hired and relied upon for any kind of construction.

Timely Execution:

Another great thing about Clark construction is that they always finish their projects on time. Timely completion is of utmost importance for a construction project. A delayed project can run in all sorts of troubles. It can even get abandoned. History is rife with examples where a construction project failed to get completed because of continuous delays. But Clark construction has the distinction of always sticking to their deadlines and meeting them with full vigor.

Budget Management:

A construction project can go awry if the budget is not properly followed. Budget management is a complex phenomenon in a big construction project. You can go over-budget to extravagant if you are not prudent with money matters. While some matters may be difficult to control, like raw material prices but with proper planning and foresight you can offset the negative fallout of many unforeseen factors. And also take control of your budget rather than the budget controlling you.

Team of Experts:

A building project, be it small or large is a result of teamwork. A group of able, dedicated, and professional experts comes together to work cohesively to complete a project. Clark Construction has the best human resources to produce the best results. They choose the right man for the right job to fully exploit their talents. The company’s employees are its assets and they give their best efforts to the company.

Transparency:

Ever since its establishment, Clark Construction has been a fair and professional company. The company has not gotten involved in any shady business practices to win contracts or curry favors. Such practices are a norm in the construction business but Clark Construction has always upheld high standards of integrity, ethics, and honesty. It has always won contracts based on merit and performance. Their unblemished past and untarnished reputation have won them great praise from everyone in the industry. So, that gives a brief overview of Clark Construction and their business. We hope you will find this review helpful and informative.

Calm Castle Home Staging and Design is one of the top home staging companies operating across Baltimore, Washington D.C and central Maryland since the year 2015. They offer different professional services including but not limited to vacant as well as occupied staging and interior design as well. Importantly, they are certified and insured. In addition, they have their own supply of classy furniture for vacant staging jobs or to fill in here and there for furnished staging.

They offer their services to clients in the Washington D.C, Howard County, Annapolis, Baltimore and the eight different surrounding counties in their 60-mile operating area. They will do a free initial phone consultation and estimate.

Staging is an Investment Not an Expense!

Calm Castle’s goal is to provide personalized and profitable service. Both from the founder’s experience and data from the National Association of Realtors statistics, proper staging will help sell a home faster and for more money. In fact, Calm Castle expects their staging to increase the selling price enough to cover the cost of the staging by several times!

Once they have committed to a job, their estimates are guaranteed. They have a variety of options to fit a range of personal budgets. They will also tell you if something doesn’t make sense or isn’t worth spending the money on.

The Founder’s Vision

The founder (Tenay Benes) a disabled veteran is an enthusiastic person whose aim not only lies in home staging and interior design but also to prove to the whole world disability is not inability. She is passionate about creating a workplace that is more flexible and understanding than the typical one. One that will accommodate full-time and part-time, disabled, students, under-employed and house-parents

Common Mistakes to Avoid According to Calm Castle

Educating their clients is one of their biggest pleasures. This is aimed at ensuring they do not make the mistake common mistakes associated with interior design and home staging.

Under or Light Home Staging

Calm Castle does not offer light home staging services in the name of cutting costs.  This is because light staging doesn’t allow for showing the function of the room; it does not demonstrate the full potential, neither does it provide the clear scale of the room. If done correctly, home staging will pay for itself several to many times over. It makes no sense to do a minimal job that doesn’t provide the benefits. That said, Calm Castle does have options for different budgets.

Over-staging

They offer this service even though it is not generally recommended. However, they recommend staging the most important rooms like the living room, kitchen, master bedroom and the dining room. They also recommend staging for weird spaces like a nook in the hallway or a basement bedroom which can need accenting or a demonstration of how the space can be used.

Mismatched Staging

This happens when the furniture inventory of a home stager doesn’t match what is needed for a particular house. A good home staging company like Calm Castle will tell you that what they have doesn’t make sense and that it might be better to rent furniture from a furniture rental company like Cort. Unfortunately, that is usually more expensive but can be the difference between a good and a bad staging job.

Virtual Staging

Virtual staging is cheaper compared to vacant spacing since it only takes a few man-hours to complete. However, the person doing it never goes to the house and can choose furnishing images to overlay on the room image that don’t match its actual function. When potential buyers see that and then go to the house, they get confused and typically don’t make an offer.

Service Price List

They offer a simple price list of their different services which can be accessed on their website but below is a brief overview.

For occupied staging, the goal is to have a budget of $0 for decoration because the idea is to use and optimize the client’s own décor and furniture. Depending on the needs, there are Staged to Sell Plans, Rehab Additions, Move-in Plans, and Staging Implementations.

They also offer services for vacant staging. This can be done by Calm Castle in what they call their White Glove Service or for a lower price a Do-It-Yourself option where you implement the plan and includes 30 days of rental for the furniture you will need from Calm Castle. For this there is an initial Consultation and Scheduling meeting fee. Then there is a fee for mileage for the White Glove service and individual fees for each room so you can pick and choose which rooms will be done.

Their interior design rates are very competitive and can be accessed on their website. They also strive to offer a personal touch. An area that they specialize in is staging / interior design for model homes.

Their customer service team is very friendly, honest and professional. We highly recommend Calm Castle.