New England Design Works

Karen Swanson's name is the one that keeps turning up. New England Design Works is her Manchester-by-the-Sea firm, and its own site describes an interiors practice built around kitchen and bath design — layouts, cabinetry, finishes — for homeowners working alongside their architects and builders. Its BBB page puts the business at 14 years, with one employee. Most of her visible work reaches the public through magazines. A 2023 Northshore Magazine feature on a Manchester-by-the-Sea renovation credited the kitchen design to the firm; in 2019, Boston Magazine profiled a Brighton kitchen she designed. An NKBA kitchen design contest listing recorded a first-place finish for her in 2020. On the homeowner side there is far less to go on. Houzz shows a 5.0 average from two ratings, with no review text behind it, alongside nine projects and a stated typical job cost of $75,000 to $150,000. Its BBB page carries an A+ grade, without accreditation. This reads as the practice to call when you want someone to shape the kitchen or bath and hand a builder a plan — and the magazine credits show that work getting built. Before booking, settle who performs the construction, how her fee sits against that $75,000-plus project range, and, given a one-person shop, what her schedule allows.