Reviews of Foreshew Design Associates Inc. (Architect)

Kat Warwick

Fantastic firm in Port Carling! Innovative, stunning designs and a very knowledgable staff! Check them out for all your building needs in Port and surrounding areas!

anon anon

We, unfortunately, had a very unpleasant experience working with Alex Foreshew. He was hired to design a full renovation/addition to our existing building, with strict budget and timeline measures in place. Otherwise, we were going to build new or simply sell and invest the money in an already finished place. While we were assured throughout the process that the design was on time and budget, when it came time to sign construction contracts, the design was nearly 2x the set limit and was way behind schedule. Alex was quite arrogant in how he handled himself, and was nearly impossible to get a hold of/get a timely delivery. We ultimately scrapped our plans with Foreshew and moved on to other things.

Taylor Hawtin

Beyond Incredible Vision and Style. Foreshew is a very passionate and professional individual. Would recommend Foreshew Designs Associates to anyone looking to build new or Refresh a home!

muskoka cottager

Don't let the pretty pictures fool you. We had a miserable experience working with Alex, as did several other people we know. Behind closed doors FDA has a reputation for being arrogant, disrespectful, oblivious to feedback/budgets, and overall unsavory to work with. FDA was referred to us by a well-known builder in Muskoka. Trusting their experience, we signed with FDA to design our new cottage property. We provided strict budgetary, schedule, and style/must-have guidelines, as well as a sketch of our ideal plan. First and foremost, it was nearly impossible to get a timely response from Alex, nor did he meet any submission deadlines (which he was involved in setting out). When we finally got a hold of him, wondering where our drawings etc. were, he would very obviously slap something together that night and send to us. When we commented on his obvious lack of care, WE were called out for not respecting his process/vision. We have never experienced such and attitude while working with a designer before. In essence, if our needs/comments didn’t align with what Alex wanted to design at that point/what he was currently interested in, it didn’t make it to paper. The resulting design was nowhere near what we had asked for as far as functionality, layout, or style. Alex has one style he is known for—prairie modern—and if you don’t like it, too bad. It ultimately took over 18 months to see any sort of final design—8 months past our initial construction start date—and the design still wasn’t per our comments. When we confronted the builder who had referred FDA, they were not surprised by our experience and said many other clients had voiced similar concerns. They tried to justify their recommendation by saying that “well, as long as you have tons of money to spend and don’t really care to be involved in the process or care what the final design looks like, he’s fine to work with”. I wish that had been communicated prior to us signing with FDA. Alex is clearly very talented in his exterior designs and renderings, but he is limited to one specific style-- which he now replicates across the lakes—refuses to work with his clients, and has terrible management/interpersonal skills. We have since ended our working relationship with him and moved on to other, more professional designers.

Stuart Gunn

Foreshew Design did a great job at designing our New cottage on Lake Muskoka. Alex was a pleasure to deal with and he and his team did a great job. If your looking for a modern lakehouse there guys are killing it up in Muskoka. Everyone loves the design and especially the high ceilings and big glass....can't wait to start building the boathouse.....it will be a great match. Keep up the great work and continue pushing the limits with your great work!