--- title: "EMK Designs — Architects & Building Designers | Houzz" canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/emk-designs-pfvwus-pf~1166376097 markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~1166376097.md entity_type: LocalBusiness business_name: "EMK Designs" category: ["Architects"] image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/994327b9029177a3_9160-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg address: "PO Box 211, Ocean View, Delaware 19970, United States" latitude: 38.5617 longitude: -75.0966 phone: "(302) 401-1944" website: http://www.emkdesigns.net rating: 5 review_count: 8 best_of_houzz_awards: 2 followers: 39 last_updated: 2026-09-10 --- # EMK Designs Original Houzz profile: [EMK Designs](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/emk-designs-pfvwus-pf~1166376097) ## Professional summary - **Primary category:** Architects - **Location:** Ocean View, DE - **Serves:** Millsboro, Lewes, Long Neck, Selbyville, Ocean View, Millville, Rehoboth Beach, Frankford, Dagsboro, Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, Dewey Beach, Berlin, Bishopville, Harbeson, Ocean City - **Houzz rating:** 5.0 out of 5 (8 reviews) - **Best of Houzz:** 2 awards (2017–2018), for Service. ## About ### Houzz Badges - Star Houzzer - Recommended on Houzz - 250 Ideabook Saves EMK Designs is a residential design studio providing creative and practical custom home designs to suit your lifestyle with remarkable attention to detail and plans builders love. Before you start any housing project, whether it's a simple addition to your existing home or a custom home to fit your exclusive property, EMK Designs can help make your dream a reality. Listed below are a few of the services we provide to start the journey. •A visit to your home or building site to discuss the general scope and intent of the project. •Basic measurements and photographs may be taken for reference. •Basic design options will be discussed at the meeting; rough sketches can be created to help facilitate the discussion and options. •Once the meeting has concluded you will know the scope and the rough design of your project. •Experience gained from the meeting is applied in preparing a design contract for further consideration. When we move forward, we will keep you well informed during the entire project lifespan ensuring a smooth process. During the construction document phase you will see your project become a reality by receiving periodic progress sets. Once the drawings are complete you can then use them to obtain the appropriate building permits, determine materials (if not already specified), and gather bids from potential builders/contractors. Once construction has started we will work closely with your builder/contractor to ensure successful project completion. ### Services Provided - Architectural Design - Building Design - Architectural Drawings - Custom Homes - House Plans - Home Additions - Home Extensions - Kitchen Design - Kitchen Remodeling - Sustainable Design - Energy-Efficient Homes - Floor Plans - Green Building - Bathroom Design - Space Planning - Universal Design - Drafting - Historic Building Conservation - Basement Design - Construction Drawings ### Areas Served - Millsboro - Lewes - Long Neck - Selbyville - Ocean View - Millville - Rehoboth Beach - Frankford - Dagsboro - Bethany Beach - South Bethany - Fenwick Island - Dewey Beach - Berlin - Bishopville - Harbeson - Ocean City ### Typical Job Cost $1,800 - $20,000 ## Business Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Business Name | EMK Designs | | Address | PO Box 211, Ocean View, Delaware 19970, United States | | Phone | (302) 401-1944 | | Website | http://www.emkdesigns.net | | Followers on Houzz | 39 | **Social profiles:** - Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/pages/EMK-Designs/319118769426 - X (Twitter) — https://twitter.com/EMKDesigns - LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=36381858&trk=spm\_pic - Blog — http://www.emkdesigns.net/ ## Contact - **Houzz profile:** [EMK Designs](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/emk-designs-pfvwus-pf~1166376097) - **Website:** http://www.emkdesigns.net - **Phone:** (302) 401-1944 ## Credentials - **Best of Houzz:** 2 awards (2017–2018), for Service. ## Reviews **Overall rating: 5.0 out of 5 — 8 reviews** ### All 8 reviews **★★★★★ — Tabitha Cortijo, Jan. 2017** > Everything that we asked for, Erik made sure he included in our plans. Every time we had a request, he made it happen. The communication was excellent and I never had to worry about him getting back to me. I cannot wait to see the finished product that Erik created for my family. **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks for the review, Tabitha; it's been a true pleasure working with both you and Shawn! **★★★★★ — Mike Sekscinski, Aug. 2016** > We had an excellent experience designing an addition to our home with Erik. Erik was very patient, flexible and had great ideas. We feel that our goals for our addition have been exceeded by the design work from Erik. We would recommend Erik to anyone! **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks, Mike, for the great review...I enjoyed working with you on your project and am having fun watching it come to life! **★★★★★ — Ivan O, June 2016** > Erik from EMK Designs is truly an amazing architect. Talented and hard-working. His ideas are just brilliant. > > Erik designed our house, and we couldn't be happier with it! > > Our town has an excruciatingly strict building code with limitations for everything. We wanted a million of unusual structural elements including a two-story high living room, spiral staircase, multi-level design, structural details, etc, etc, etc. Erik was able to incorporate all of our wishes, create a brilliant historic concept of a tower in addition to all our demands, design a completely modern and unusual layout of all rooms, and... still meet the town code! > > Yes, the house was featured in magazines. Yes, everyone knows our house now. Yes, we get the compliments all the time. All this is Erik's hard work and brilliant design ideas. > > In addition to designing our wonderful house, Erik stayed on top of the house construction, carefully managing the implementation of his design ideas. > > If you are considering Erik for your house design, you wouldn't be disappointed! **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks so much, Ivan, for your kind words. Given the scope of the project, one near and dear to me, I feel like we're family ;-) **★★★★★ — HU-77368, June 2016** > Erik did a great job turning our house ideas into home plans. We are currently building the home now and look forward to living in our house designed for us! **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks for the review...I'm loving watching it come to life! **★★★★★ — marycre8s, June 2016** > Erik designed my dream home exactly as I envisioned it. He is a very talented architect. I come from a long line of architects & engineers and I enjoyed working with Erik. **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks, Mary, for the review...you have one of the best views and hope you've been enjoying it this summer! **★★★★★ — HU-6824687, June 2016** > WE hired Erik from EMK Designs and he has been absolutely wonderful to work with. In a very short amount of time he was able to provide us with a full set of "as built" drawings. This gave us a starting point from which my wife and I could work with Erik to redesign our entire house and ultimately increase our livable area by nearly 1000 square feet. His thoughtful consideration and his ability to work with multiple changes (stemming from us) has been an excellent experience. I would highly recommend anyone thinking of remodeling their existing home, extending their home, or just simply have a full set of "as built" plans should seriously consider hiring EMK designs. Thank you Erik I can not wait to begin construction this fall! **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks, Billy, for the great review...and I'm glad you didn't wait until Fall to start! It's been fantastic watching everything come to life...and I'm loving the fresh eggs ;-) **★★★★★ — Jeff McCracken, June 2016** > Working with EMK was easy and I got great results. Erik was easy to work with, provided great ideas and checked in frequently during the project. **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks for the review Jeff! I loved being able to watch the changes come to life...even if most of them were in the back ;-) **★★★★★ — caco357, June 2016** > We highly recommend EMK Designs. We met EMK/Erik after many meetings with potential contractors and designers. Most gave us the impression that our dream beach home would be based on their ideas, but Erik actually listened. He then took our ideas, needs/wants and sketches and transformed them into \*our\* blueprint--one that we could use for bid, to guide the construction process, and keep us within budget. > > Ours was a complete reno utilizing the foundation as a footprint. Erik used that existing framework to create a stunning yet economically practical design. Not all designers stay actively involved during construction, but Erik did--beyond his contracted follow-up. Early on he caught a significant contractor framing error which he corrected directly with the site contact. He even got involved with design ideas beyond his scope of work and provided great suggestions all in keeping with our style. > > We feel our investment with EMK Designs was money well spent and saved us money overall. (Too) many times the contractor would attempt to negotiate line items that fortunately for us, EMK had detailed clearly in our plan. Anyone considering a construction project should not skip this critical planning step, particularly if you want your requirements heard and included in the construction of your home. **Comment from EMK Designs:** > Thanks so much for the glowing recommendation! I'm glad you're \*officially\* moved in and, more importantly, love the fact that great clients have become greater friends!! ## Selected projects - [Henlopen Acres, DE - Custom Asian Inspired House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/henlopen-acres-de-custom-asian-inspired-house-pj-vj~546966) - Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE - Photos: 3 - Description: Asian inspired custom designed beach home in the exclusive Henlopen Acres community with 4/5 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths, art gallery entrance, eat-in kitchen, separate barbeque deck, large screened porch, expansive great room, generous mud room/laundry room, outdoor showers (big enough to wash off the dogs after frolicking in the waves), second floor bonus room for the kids, spacious elevated deck - all just a short walk to the beach. - [South Bethany, DE - Custom Modern Beach House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/south-bethany-de-custom-modern-beach-house-pj-vj~561503) - Location: South Bethany, DE - Photos: 3 - Description: Custom designed modern beach house with 5 bedrooms and 3-1/2 bathrooms with canal frontage. Features 2 private bedroom balconies, elevator, elevated deck and stair tower designed to pay homage to the WWII watch towers dotted along the Delaware coastline. - [Bethany Beach Custom Beach House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/bethany-beach-custom-beach-house-pj-vj~1643858) - Location: Bethany Beach, DE - Photos: 3 - Description: Custom designed 5 bedroom, 4 bath home just steps to the beach. Featuring large screened porch, massive deck with ocean views, dining room, great room, secondary sitting room and 2 master bedroom suites (one with private screened porch). - [Fenwick Island, DE - Custom Contemporary Beach House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/fenwick-island-de-custom-contemporary-beach-house-pj-vj~1772233) - Location: Fenwick Island, DE - Photos: 2 - [Rehoboth Beach, DE](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/rehoboth-beach-de-pj-vj~546945) - Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE - Photos: 3 - Description: 3 separate custom homes built for a boutique rental consortium in Rehoboth Beach. See photos for details and features. - [Fenwick Island, DE Whole House Renovation/Addition](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/fenwick-island-de-whole-house-renovation-addition-pj-vj~2106149) - Location: Selbyville, DE - Photos: 10 - Description: What was once a prefab Nanticoke house is now a stunning 4 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath home sitting on a canal complete with observation tower allowing you to see across the bay to Ocean City! Features two master suites (one with private balcony), great room, gourmet/eat-in kitchen, screen porch and deck. - [Bethany Beach, DE - Custom Renovation and Addition Beach House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/bethany-beach-de-custom-renovation-and-addition-beach-house-pj-vj~1772228) - Location: Bethany Beach, DE - Photos: 7 - Description: Major custom renovation and addition: Before: 1,860 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms After: 3,600 square feet with 6 bedrooms, 5-1/2 bathrooms featuring an elevator, screened porch, 3 decks, 2 private balconies, gourmet/eat-in kitchen, great room, separate bonus room for kids and 2 outdoor showers just a hop, skip and jump away from the beach. - [North Bethany Beach, DE - Custom Colonial Style Beach House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/north-bethany-beach-de-custom-colonial-style-beach-house-pj-vj~1643853) - Location: Bethany Beach, DE - Photos: 3 - Description: Custom designed colonial style beach house with 5 bedrooms and 4-1/2 bathrooms just steps to the beach in the private Vista Del Mar community in North Bethany Beach. Features 2 master bedroom suites (one with private deck), two screened porches, two open decks, massive great room and eat-in, gourmet kitchen. - [Campton, NH - Custom Designed House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/campton-nh-custom-designed-house-pj-vj~546196) - Location: Thornton, NH - Photos: 1 - Description: Situated on Owl's Nest Golf Course in Campton, NH, this custom designed home features 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 bathrooms. It's features include a 2-story great room, loft, full basement and 2-car garage. - [South Bethany, DE](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/south-bethany-de-pj-vj~546181) - Location: South Bethany, DE - Photos: 1 - Description: 5 bedroom, 5-1/2 bath home with views of Little Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Large eat-in kitchen, massive great room, dining room, 2 master bedroom suites (one with private balcony overlooking the canal), elevator, massive elevated deck and two covered porch areas. - [South Bethany, DE - Custom Dutch Colonial Beach House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/south-bethany-de-custom-dutch-colonial-beach-house-pj-vj~1643865) - Location: Bethany Beach, DE - Photos: 1 - Description: \*\*\*UNDER CONSTRUCTION\*\*\* Custom designed Dutch Colonial beach house with 5 bedrooms, 3-1/2 bathrooms on a canal. Features private balcony off of the master bedroom, elevated deck with screened-in porch, great room, gourmet kitchen and a reading nook with secret loft for the kids in the tower. - [Custom Beach Cottage](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/custom-beach-cottage-pj-vj~546188) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 1 - Description: Custom designed beach cottage with 2 bedrooms and 1-1/2 bathrooms featuring a great room, screened porch, open kitchen with breakfast nook, rooftop terrace and circular stair tower. - [Custom Designed Modern Shipping Container House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/custom-designed-modern-shipping-container-house-pj-vj~546643) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 1 - Description: This custom designed modern house uses 7 shipping containers for a total of approximately 2,400 square feet of living space. With 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 bathrooms, this home features a great room, dining room, home office, laundry, spacious kitchen and private balconies off 2 bedrooms. - [Custom Designed Tudor Cottage](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/custom-designed-tudor-cottage-pj-vj~546637) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 1 - Description: This charming, custom designed, Tudor woodland cottage has 2 bedrooms and 1-1/2 bathrooms. It features a 2-story great room, dining room, spacious kitchen and screened porch. - [Enfield, NH - Custom Designed Lake House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/enfield-nh-custom-designed-lake-house-pj-vj~546191) - Location: Enfield, NH - Photos: 1 - Description: This large project encompasses a main house with 4 bedrooms and 2-1/2 bathrooms featuring a 30 foot tall observation tower for prime Mascoma Lake views. In addition is a 3-car garage, one section of which is a carpentry shop. Above the garage is a 1,230 square foot apartment with 1 bedroom, 1 full bath, office and great room. [See all 15 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/emk-designs-pfvwus-pf~1166376097) ## Community Q&A **Q: What is the color of this home please?** *(in Photo Questions)* Color of the home please? A: I don't specifically remember. It is Hardie Plank siding and one of their blues. **Q: Paint or Stain Color?** *(in Photo Questions)* A: That is Hardie siding Mountain Sage. **Q: New Build Cost** *(in Photo Questions)* I know there are a lot of factors that go into build cost, especially with final selections, but what is a rough ballpark on a house like this? We are looking at doing a new build in South Bethany, and trying to gather more information if it makes sense for us or not. A: Terry, for a house like this one, I think you can expect to be in the $185 - $200 per S.F. range. You're correct in that the finishes drive the price. The cost of the "box" will be the same across-the-board. But finishes, appliances, lighting, etc are the drivers. Here at the beach you can figure to start around $175 per S.F. and go up from there for a custom home. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try to answer them for you. Thanks! erik@emkdesigns.net **Q: Color of Shingles?** *(in Photo Questions)* Can you tell me the brand and color of the shingles? A: I will find out and let you know. --- *Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-09-10.*