Designs By Curlee LLC

Designs By Curlee LLC operates as a carpenter out of Katy, Texas, run by the married couple Mitchell and Kari along with a small crew that includes Mandy. They build custom wooden dog kennels and crates along with farmhouse tables, benches, chairs, cabinets, doors and islands. Customers place orders for these pieces and handle payments in stages, with some driving to pick up or arranging delivery.

Reviewers describe orders for large kennels sized to fit big dogs or specific spaces like under a TV or in an office cubby. Several received sturdy, heavy items that their pets use daily, with one noting a dining table and another set of cabinets that held up after a scratch repair by the crew. Others reported deliveries with deep scratches, uneven paint, loose walls, mismatched colors and missing custom features like solid sides or dividers. Fixes happened in under 48 hours for one customer after a size issue, while multiple others waited months without resolution or received nothing at all.

Work happens on a small scale with six people total. Communication requires customers to follow up, often taking more than a day for replies, and updates on progress stay limited unless asked. Turnaround quotes range from three to eight weeks but stretch to six months or more in many cases, with delays blamed on volume. Pricing draws mixed notes, with some calling it low for the size and others finding it high for what arrived. Service covers local delivery or customer pickup, and the business has used the name Cypress Creek Mill Works in recent dealings.

Reviews total 46 on Google at a 3 rating, with frequent mentions of long waits, slow replies and quality shortfalls on some pieces alongside praise for solid builds when complete. DIRT Score 2.2 from reviews on Finds.

DIRT Score = confidence-weighted rating across verified review platforms. How is this calculated? →

“❌WOULD NOT ORDER!!!❌ I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! Not only is the kennel scratched up, the back bowing out in a section, paint coming off, the back being a COMPLETELY different shade of blue with a black line at the top, random spots of black paint, scratches deep to where you see white paint, poorly painted grey top, one kennel wall not even attached completely like the other side, but the customer service/communication is TERRIBLE. We’re human, everyone makes mistakes. We didn’t expect perfect, but we most definitely expected to get a kennel worth the amount we paid, $950. Especially after how many issues we already had. But nope. It gets delivered like this. You can see the saran wrap is left on in the pictures to show the kennel was DELIVERED this way. The corner that is scratched up, where the Saran Wrap is tore off, happened during delivery.. as you can tell it being ripped up. In every other spot messed up, the saran wrap is fully intact. After he rescheduled the delivery date 4 times, a guy finally shows up to deliver.. BY HIMSELF. Please tell me how one man is suppose to carry this 8ft kennel inside by himself? We were NEVER told someone needed to be there to help unlo”

“Wow!!!!! The kennel is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! The craftsmanship, the detail, the quality- almost feels like I ripped him off for the price point I got this for! Turn around time was reasonable, considering the finished product. What I really loved was the level of service I received. I met the owners (married couple) and they were warm, and really helped me bring my vision to life. We had a slight issue with size upon delivery, and in less that 48 hours they were back out to fix the issue and make it right. The process was easy and fast to order. I highly recommend them, while their prices are so low. I had this exact idea priced from multiple cabinetry places and all of them came back at LEAST double. What was a pleasant surprise was how calming this is for my large protective dogs. They feel more “den cozy”, and sleep a LOT more, with less tossing and turning all day. GREAT PRODUCT, GREAT PRICE, EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE!!!! Highly recommend.”

“When finally delivered, the piece of furniture was beautiful. It is well built, stout and very pretty. The delivery guy was very nice, and worked his tail off getting this monster crate into the front door. He was by himself and I ordered a 6 ft long crate. It is one heavy sucker. I take off one star for the length of time it took from the order to the time it was ready. I ordered in early September. I got the crate at Christmas. Communication was, at best, very slow and always initiated by me. Be prepared to wait and be patient. I was frustrated that the reason given for the delay was “very busy” and a backlog of orders. But still kept seeing Facebook ads circulating. You’d think if they were 3 months behind they would slow a bit on the marketing to catch up.”

“Love our new kennel! As you can see we have two big dogs and they fit in comfortably; we made the dimensions be as long as our 85" TV. We always love to support home owned businesses and this is a great one. My only suggestion would be, if you are one that likes to have a lot of communication, be prepared to initiate that. I always received a response to my inquiries but sometimes took over 24 hours to get. Outside of communication, the quality and craftsmanship is fantastic! They even included a cute little gift with it!”

“We ordered a farmhouse style table with the bench and 4 additional chairs and love it! Communication from start to finish was on point and we got it delivered in a timely fashion. They even called us after delivery to make sure we were satisfied. Great quality work and we would definitely order from them again!”

“I love my babies kennel. I only kennel at night, but I wanted something that had a lot of room. I was worried about it bouncing when my dogs moved around. They aren't moving this beautiful kennel. Very well built, great design. I'd buy again from them.”

“Mitchell and his crew built my dining room table and Yall it's hard, heavy and beautiful. I even got a scratch on it and they came and buffed and refinished it. If you haven't had something wood built here... you are missing out. To take it a step further, they rebuiltmy cabinents, doors and island. They are rustic farm house and BEAUTIFUL.”

“We were amazed at the sturdiness and quality of our beautiful dog crate. Our dogs love it. Our youngest greyhound spends a lot of her day hanging out inside her crate with the door open because it's that large and comfortable. Thank you!”

“We absolutely love our new kennel! Ready two weeks early and delivery was a breeze! The craftsmanship is perfect and the overall price/ experience was great!!”

“I have to say that the dog kennel I received, far exceeded my expectations. The quality of workmanship is great, and the attention to detail placed into making it was exceptional. I can't say enough how pleased we are as dog owners, but my pups absolutely love their new resting area. One thing that I want to communicate is that the kennel isn't cheaply made, which equates to a solid piece of furniture that weighs about 250 pounds, very solid. I drove three and a half hours to pick up this piece and it was well worth the drive and time off I took to acquire it. Exceptional quality furniture takes time to custom make, be patient and you will be very happy with your order.”

“This company is awful and they are cowards who have blocked me from their site. I have to now take legal action. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT PURCHASING FROM THIS COMPANY!!! Their products are garbage and unsafe for your pets and insanely over priced. I can’t even say one good thing about them. BE WARNED!!!!”

“We are so in love with our puppy Ace cage he have so much space for him to play and move around the material is really good and the barn doors gave it a beautiful look we just love it it gave his room a nice look Thank you guys so much”

“We ordered a custom made kennel to fit a space in our office and to clear up some space in our living area because we have 2 dogs and 2 kennels. The custom kennel fit perfect inside our cubby hole in the office. Good quality for the price. The drawers don't quite close all the way. There is a little bit of a reveal, but overall I'm happy and the dogs love it as well.”

“I have been waiting to leave a review until I receive the items I paid for, but I'm not hopeful that I will ever receive them at this point. Designs by Curlee (now Cypress Creek Mill Works) quoted me a 6 week turn around time. It has been 31 weeks as of today, April 4th. After I left my initial review, the owner, Mitchell, reached out to chastise me for leaving an "untrue" review and harming his business. He said I was scheduled for delivery that Saturday. Saturday came and went, and I still had no kennels. His wife, Kari, reached out saying he had complications from surgery and she'd be in touch the next day with an update. It has been several weeks and they have still failed to update me or reschedule the delivery. Prior to this, I had asked for my money back after the first few go arounds with them and their plethora of excuses (delivery truck broke down, overwhelmed with orders, staffing problems, changing the name of the company, changing management, etc., etc.) and was told they don't offer refunds. So it appears they just hold your money hostage for as long as they want, essentially. They certainly don't honor the turn around times quoted. Their office manager then told m”

“I have waited after receiving my kennel to post because I want to be fair. I wanted to support a small business and was excited by the photos. I ordered on August 3rd and was told 3-4 weeks. I did not received it until October 30th. There was no update or unless I reached out. I just kept being told a later date. These are hand made and they got busy. I understand but that should have been taken into consideration when they quoted the timeframe. They continued to advertise their sale so I know others will be impacted. (I ordered a hutch to go on top of the unit but that was part of the consideration when I placed the order so that should not have been the reason for the delay.) The unit is solid wood and looks great in a photo. It’s a nice way to have a space for your dogs that fits your furniture. Up close you see nicks in the wood and paint buildup on the edges. I like it but I don’t love it. I was very frustrated with the process and their lack of customer service as we waited for almost 3 months”

“Order was initiated in Oct 2023. Paid over $1200 for a dog kennel in January 2024. Early Jan. I only received 1 photo of a raw kennel and no delivery date. After multiple emails and calls no updates with this business other than excuses. I was told via email that the 1 photo I received was what was promised, and a supposed delivery date initially for middle March then pushed to end of March. Per the "contract" when half balance is paid photos and an official delivery date is provided with a 3-5 wk turnaround. When the remaining balance is paid photos of completed work is sent prior to delivery. I have NOT received anything. Very poor communication throughout the whole process. When my item was paid off the communication got worse. There is still no updates to this day.”

“I want to Share my experience with Designs by Curlee with Many others. Please Read: I ordered a Custom Kennel from Designs by Curlee back in August. I received it the Last week of January. The Delay in shipment I will solely admit was my fault. I agreed to do their payment plan with strict guidelines. They were MORE then patient with me when I would default or need to reschedule my payments. I will say the Lack of communication was a rough doing, but once I went to go pick up form their location I discovered the true reasoning behind it all. The Team of Designs by Curlee is only a small operation of 6 people. Three of the 6 Are Kari, Mitchell and Mandy in the office. When i saw how busy they are with production and that those 3 have been stepping out to help in the shop with painting and staining and assembly to try and get all the orders out i was in shock. Its not everyday you see the owners and assistant helping out the team. They were the most humble and kindest people i have met. I am in love with my piece and the craftsmanship. For all of those who are thriving off the negativity of others, understand there maybe two sides to every story and your case is different then their”

“‼TAKE YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE‼I ordered a kennel and payed my 50% deposit mid October 2023. I was given a 7 week turn around time. I started to reach out early December to see how things were going. communication was very poor had to reach out several times via email before I got a response 2 weeks after first attempt. I was sent a picture and asked to pay second half which I did on December 18th. My deliver got pushed back to March 18th which was way past original deadline of mid December. the owner has now gone silent and I have not heard from him. I have asked for pictures and haven’t received any. He also couldn’t even tell me if my kennel was complete. Take your money else where and save yourself the headache.”

“Their BBB profile says it all. I ordered a crate from this company about two years ago now. I paid a LOT of money. Their turn around time was supposed to be 6-8 weeks. I ordered in March, and I told them I wanted to pick it up in June as I was within a 3 hour drive. June arrived, and I had been given zero updates. No in progress pics, nothing. By the end of June I reached out and I was given an excuse and promised only a few more weeks. Cue silence. I reached out again at the end of July, and was given another excuse. I informed them that I would no longer be able to pick up as my husband was deploying overseas. They agreed to deliver for free, and that it would be only a little longer. Still no in progress pictures. Second week of August, I reached out AGAIN, beginning to get frustrated that I was the only one initiating contact. I was once more given an excuse. Then Silence. Finally in the second week of September I was contacted and told it was almost ready, and we arranged a delivery day. I agreed on one. The delivery day was then delayed a day. My crate finally showed up in the middle of September, and to my surprise, design changes had been made without my consent. Please kee”

“I’ll start with the good, the pups seem to like the kennel and it’s a big sturdy piece of furniture. On to the bad, it’s not what I ordered, and I’m getting nowhere trying to get a resolution. I specifically ordered a kennel with 3/4 solid sides and bars on the top 1/4 and the same for the removable divider. We went through the entire ordering process and I was very clear on what I wanted. Unfortunately I wasn’t at home for the delivery because delivery had been rescheduled twice (by them) so I didn’t see that it wasn’t what I ordered. I would have refused delivery. I notified them (Mitchell) the next morning that the kennel was missing the “custom” pieces I asked and paid for. He asked for measurements so they could fix it. I sent the measurements immediately, two weeks later I hadn’t been told when to expect a fix. I’ve had to initiate all communication to fix the issue. Eventually Mitchell set up a date and time to deliver the replacement pieces, and they no-showed. When I reached out I was ignored. On a much less important and nitpicking note the stain is pretty inconsistent with some missed spots. Overall it seems like a solid piece but it’s not “custom”. I cannot recommend an”