Hush House

I started my journey with Hush House, who I found right here on Houzz, a little over a year ago. Marcus was the perfect choice since he lived close to my area, but I think it would have worked out even if we didn't live nearby. Marcus and I worked closely together to create a beautiful design that will complement my current house, which is very Tuscan with lots of rock work, wrought Iron doors and round turret's. His knowledge and creativity were instrumental in creating this little jewel! We broke ground 2 weeks ago and watching this from the ground up is going to be incredible. My builder said it will take about a year, not because of the size but because of the design, with its circular rooms and intricate bridge connecting the new addition to our current house, which is exactly what I asked for. Working with Marcus has been fun, creative, and lots of brainstorming with such a brilliant designer. I'm so happy I choose Hush House for my project. If I were to do it again, I'd choose Marcus hands down. I have included a picture of my current house and, later, a photo of the addition when its farther along.

When I wanted to add to my house a two-story addition that was a little outside of the norm, Marcus was 100% on board in a way that other designers were not. He understood my vision and embraced it. Marcus is incredibly easy to work with. He listens, remembers and incorporates my ideas into his plans, bringing my vision to life in ways that actually make sense and are practical while still fun, unique and interesting. The brainstorming and design process for the addition was entirely enjoyable. Marcus has been able to take my half-baked ideas and create a plan that I am incredibly excited about. I can’t recommend him highly enough to anyone looking for a designer who is more than OK with outside-of-the box thinking and can take your daydreams and make them concrete.

Marcus McKenzie is one of the most talented and thorough designers I've ever met. He strives to understand the core needs, desires, and feelings of a client before initiating his work. His designs reflect the goals of the project while using his own varied skill set to elevate even the most simple aspects. I've worked with Marcus on several personal projects as well as having been fortunate enough to observe his process working with other clients, and I am consistently amazed at his ability to deliver complex, intentional architectural designs that are both conceptually tight and a joy to interact with. His work surprises, delights, and provokes thought while also being firmly grounded in the realities of building and budgeting.

I've been working with Marcus for as long as I've owned my house. Any fun or interesting idea I have in mind for a remodel or possible concept he is the first person I bring it to. He's always excited to talk about fun design ideas all while listening to my personal preferences and making them fit the space flawlessly. Marcus has designed us a stylish enclosed carport that is both functional and a eye-catching addition to the house. We're also working on some open air shelter concepts for our remote desert property out in Teringua Texas that I'm very excited to see come together. Currently, we've entrusted Marcus to design a newly constructed home for us and can't wait to see the results. All that being said, I obviously take any construction design concepts to Marcus to get his help or input. There isn't any project I wouldn't trust him with.

We were lucky enough to work with Marcus on the design of our new home last year. From the start, it was clear that Marcus was committed to listening to our ideas and delivering the home that we wanted – not what he thought we should want. Through a series of prompts and meetings, Marcus helped us expand our initial concept into a fully-realized design for our dream home. The process was smooth, but almost as importantly, it was fun; we weren’t just doing business with a contractor, we were collaborating on a work of art. Marcus understood our vision from the beginning, and having someone who “got it” was just invaluable. We hope to never have to leave our home, but if we had to, we’d work with Marcus again in a heartbeat!

Marcus was super helpful in the design process. He brought a few simple and elegant ideas that really changed how the space felt and added to its overall appeal. I wouldn't even consider starting a project without his input.

We are a GC in the Round Rock/Hutto area. We hired Marcus with Hush House to help us with a Design-Build project in Taylor. When we initially set up the appointment with our client to help with the design they initially hit it off right away. He was the perfect Design option to work with our client. I would highly recommend working with Marcus and Hush House if you want a great one-on-one experience.

I have been working with Marcus for quite some time now. We met back in 2013 and tackled a great project together here in Austin, Tx. Since then we have done a few projects and working on a couple of them now. Look at his work and give him a call!

We've worked with Marcus as the lead on two major outdoor design projects - a large outdoor, concrete patio with electrical, lighting and plant installation and a multi-level deck with electrical, lighting, steel, plumbing and plant installation. Marcus is focused on design that benefits the user without delivering excess. He is easy-to-work-with and focused on a pragmatic yet visually appealing applications that works well within a budget and is designed and delivered for long-term relevancy. We continue to work with Marcus on smaller projects and have recommended him repeatedly.

We hired Marcus and Smash Builders to recommend and carry out a rebuild for the porch and front of our house. He did an absolutely amazing job. I think the best way to describe Marcus is that he is an artist who happens to know how to get every aspect of a job done with his far-reaching expertise. His ideas and designs were incredible -- frankly, well beyond our expectations for such a job. The drawings were spot on and he hired the best people to do each aspect of the job, which was complicated and had many moving parts. Perhaps most important to many people -- his quotes were spot on and very reasonable. There were no overages, in fact, he himself recommended some change orders that even further improved the look, and those change orders actually reduced the price. Amazing young man and a great talent. David Parker

I own a home in East Austin and worked with Marcus to build a 900 square foot ADU and office / studio space on the back half of my lot. Overall it was a great experience and the end result is more design driven and high quality than I expected when I had the idea to build. Working with Marcus was a very collaborative process. He did a great job of listening to me and my goals for the project and proposing design ideas that I would have never envisioned on my own. That said, I also felt I had a hand in the design process and Marcus was great rethinking design elements that I felt didn't suit my needs or aesthetics. The result is a structure that has unique elements that reflect a creative process that I felt I had an active part in. The end result is an environment with features that I remember being born more as stories than drawings on paper. The project came in close to budget and I feel I got a more than I expected for the money I spent on the project. With a tight labor market and competition for resources in Austin, Marcus did a good job of navigating the challenges of the build process, whether that involved interactions with permitting and inspections or finding the right sub-contractors for a job that involved a lot of custom fabrication. Marcus and I were friends before the project, and still are, and that says a lot about the success of a build project that can experience the unexpected. The photos in this review are the project near completion in 2017 and recently in 2021.