---
title: "Fat Pen Studios, Inc. — Architects & Building Designers | Houzz"
canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/fat-pen-studios-inc-pfvwus-pf~847769666
markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~847769666.md
entity_type: LocalBusiness
business_name: "Fat Pen Studios, Inc."
category: ["Architects"]
image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/f543b7ed06d873d8_2618-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg
address: "El Granada, California 94018, United States"
latitude: 37.5101
longitude: -122.4734
phone: "(650) 918-7117"
website: http://www.fatpenstudios.com
rating: 5
review_count: 17
best_of_houzz_awards: 4
followers: 24
last_updated: 2026-09-09
---

# Fat Pen Studios, Inc.

Original Houzz profile: [Fat Pen Studios, Inc.](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/fat-pen-studios-inc-pfvwus-pf~847769666)

## Professional summary

- **Primary category:** Architects
- **Location:** El Granada, CA
- **Serves:** San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Foster City, Burlingame, San Carlos, Belmont, Millbrae, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Atherton, Woodside
- **Houzz rating:** 5.0 out of 5 (17 reviews)
- **Best of Houzz:** 4 awards (2017–2023), for Service.

## About

### Houzz Badges

- Star Houzzer
- Recommended on Houzz
- 25 Ideabook Saves

My love of Residential Architecture is what drove me at age 15 to pursue a career in Architecture. I visited open houses and model homes for fun on weekends and enjoyed all the imaginative ways families can create a home from a house. I began working  internships for Bay Area firms at 16 years old, and continued on to study at Rhode Island School of Design. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture, I explored multiple market sectors while still doing residential work on the side. My goal was to make sure I had experienced everything before deciding Residential Architecture was my ultimate career direction. What I also gained from this path was experience and professionalism not often found in Residential Architecture. 

I have been a licensed Architect since 2007, and am licensed in the States of California and Georgia. I have been designing residential Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2013, and look forward to continuing to provide the highest level of professionalism, creativity and collaboration for my clients.

### Services Provided

- Architectural Design
- Building Design
- Home Remodeling
- Architectural Drawings
- House Plans
- New Home Construction
- Home Additions
- Home Extensions
- Kitchen Design
- Kitchen Remodeling
- Sustainable Design
- Energy-Efficient Homes
- 3D Rendering
- Green Building
- Bathroom Design
- Space Planning
- Basement Remodeling
- Basement Design
- Deck Design
- Laundry Room Design
- Custom Homes

### Areas Served

- San Mateo
- Redwood City
- Palo Alto
- Menlo Park
- Foster City
- Burlingame
- San Carlos
- Belmont
- Millbrae
- Half Moon Bay
- Hillsborough
- Atherton
- Woodside

### Typical Job Cost

$250,000 - 3 million

## Business Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Business Name | Fat Pen Studios, Inc. |
| Address | El Granada, California 94018, United States |
| Phone | (650) 918-7117 |
| Website | http://www.fatpenstudios.com |
| License Number | C-35187 |
| Followers on Houzz | 24 |

## Contact

- **Houzz profile:** [Fat Pen Studios, Inc.](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/fat-pen-studios-inc-pfvwus-pf~847769666)
- **Website:** http://www.fatpenstudios.com
- **Phone:** (650) 918-7117

## Credentials

- **Best of Houzz:** 4 awards (2017–2023), for Service.

## Reviews

**Overall rating: 5.0 out of 5 — 17 reviews**

*Aspect averages:*
- Work Quality: 50.0
- Communication: 50.0
- Value: 50.0

### Reviews

**★★★★★ — Stacey Olgado Residential Construction Management, Sept. 2023**

> As a client project manager I have worked with Katie on several projects. She is very smart, responsive and a creative problem solver. It’s a great combination that makes for happy clients.  Builders also appreciate the level of detail in her plans as it really helps the actual construction process go smoothly.
>
> Katie is a good listener and thoughtfully makes suggestions without imposing any pre-determined design style.  Surprisingly in the world of architects, this is not common.
>
> Highly recommend!

**★★★★★ — notso990, July 2022**

> Highly recommend Katie (Fat Pen Studies Inc).  She is personable and very knowledge and easy to work with.  This was our 1st home remodel and as the architect she made it easy to navigate through this complex process.  We went into this process with little knowledge and a basic vision and Katie listened to our wants and needs and from there provided recommendations from her vast expertise.
>
> Anytime we needed to connect with Katie she was very responsive and available to get on a call or Zoom.  Throughout the process she was patient with us and we are very happy with the final design!  We heard horror stories from other people on working with the city to get remodeling permits but Katie was very knowledge on the process in San Mateo and got us quickly through the process for approvals.
>
> We had a great experience with Katie and if you are looking for an architect with a personalized touch for your housing needs, reach out to Katie!

**★★★★★ — Tara, July 2022**

> We hired Katie with Fat Pen Studios to help us design a large scale home addition and renovation. We had a good feel for the floor plan we wanted, but needed a lot of help with the exterior design and the massing. Her design amazed us! The addition flows seamlessly with the existing structure (built in the 1950's) and is hard to tell it's an addition. The Coastside design review committee had very positive feedback about her design, stating the design enhances and modernizes the home while keeping with the character of the neighborhood. She is so familiar with the county requirements - we passed the design review hearing at first review! She had fantastic advice and suggestions along the way and she helped us get through the arduous San Mateo County planning and building department approval process.
>
> At first, we thought hiring an architect was expensive and maybe not even totally necessary. However, I can unequivocally say that she worked hard for every dollar we spent on her design and expertise throughout the whole process and it was worth every penny. I highly, highly recommend working with Katie!

**★★★★★ — Kelly Bratt, Aug. 2021**

> Katie has been amazing to work with- we had a small property that turned into quite a large project and she helped us through it all!  She was so prompt at answering our questions, gave great context and detail, and helped us to navigate the various ups and downs with the many City departments (we are owner/builder).  Thank you, Katie for being so amazing to work with!  We are so excited to see our project come to life!

**★★★★★ — HU-592652071, Aug. 2021**

> Katie is an amazing architect to work with! My wife and I have been working with Katie since 2019 to develop the plans to remodel our home and we have been helped every step of the way.
> We are owner builders, so we have many questions for Katie, which she always answers and/or goes out of her way to find the answers for us.
> She worked through initial project, planning, permits, etc. and has guided/helped us through revisions, inspections and all the questions we have had along the way.
> We have recommended Katie already and will continue to do so. We will also definitely Katie for future projects as well!
> Thank you for all you do.

**★★★★★ — Kim, Aug. 2021**

> Katie was wonderful to work with. Not only did she design beautiful plans for our home remodel, but she also listened to our preferences and helped us to achieve a spectacular dream home. Katie has lots of great ideas, is easy to communicate with, and is very personable and kind.

**★★★★★ — James, Aug. 2021**

> We had an excellent experience collaborating with Katie to develop a design for a complete remodel on our house. She listened to all our desires for the project and provided a well thought out design within the constraints of the current city codes - which was no easy task given our small lot and grandfathered garage. We especially appreciated her attention to detail and proactive communication through the design and permitting processes. We have, and will continue to recommend her to anyone needing an architect!

**★★★★★ — Maria Bishop, Dec. 2018**

> Katie is a dream to work with. She is very experienced and has an eye for detail. Our entire experience with her from start to finish was flawless.  With her drawings in hand, we zipped through the permit process in record time. (Two days!  Yes, two days.)  Maybe it was just dumb luck, but I think it was because of her drawings.  Nothing was questioned by all the agencies we had to get approval from. Our room addition project is almost complete and we couldn't be happier with the results. We love Katie and know that you will too.

**★★★★★ — Shelly Crews, Dec. 2018**

> Katie did a amazing job on this project. Truly professional on a difficult ADU conversion. The plans she created exceeded my expectations and kept the city planning dept at bay. I'm fortunate to have work with her and plan to in the future.

**★★★★★ — Sarah Sobel, Dec. 2018**

> Katie was a pleasure to work with in designing our house.  She is easy to communicate with and creative in her solutions to challenges.  She uses a 3D program where you can see images of what you project will really look like which is very helpful for understanding the feel of a new space.

**★★★★★ — steve cecil, March 2018**

> Katie's my favorite part of the renovation! Always cheerful, very knowledgeable, excellent people-skills, superior design abilities, good collaborator, fast learner, positive leader, keeps all the trains running on schedule!

**★★★★★ — Micah, Feb. 2018**

> Katie is a professional!  Her knowledge of local regulations is deep but it's her relationships and ability to push the process with the county that makes Katie's services top notch.  I highly recommend Katie!

## Selected projects

- [Redwood City Bungalow Renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/redwood-city-bungalow-renovation-pj-vj~7670833)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 28
- [Moss Beach Addition & Renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/moss-beach-addition-and-renovation-pj-vj~5405245)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 30
- [Menlo Park New Home](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/menlo-park-new-home-pj-vj~7670191)
  - Location: Menlo Park, CA
  - Photos: 37
- [On the Boards](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/on-the-boards-pj-vj~5438394)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 5
  - Description: Rendering of new home built into the hillside.
- [El Granada ADU](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/el-granada-adu-pj-vj~5424707)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 13
- [Redwood City Renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/redwood-city-renovation-pj-vj~5405220)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 6
- [Before & After Renovations](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/before-and-after-renovations-pj-vj~2950106)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 3
- [San Carlos Modern Renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/san-carlos-modern-renovation-pj-vj~2948536)
  - Location: San Carlos, CA
  - Photos: 12

[See all 8 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/fat-pen-studios-inc-pfvwus-pf~847769666)

## Ideabooks

- [Edison Street Exterior Inspiration](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/183710116/list/edison-street-exterior-inspiration) — 25 ideas
- [Kostiuk Specs](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/102467502/list/kostiuk-specs) — 14 ideas
- [Fire pit options](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/163868437/list/fire-pit-options) — 8 ideas
- [Wish List](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/106209444/list/wish-list) — 4 ideas
- [Swift Residence](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/163698673/list/swift-residence) — 11 ideas
- [McKendry](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/132534085/list/mckendry) — 8 ideas
- [Kostiuk Laundry](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/124672804/list/kostiuk-laundry) — 10 ideas
- [Kostiuk Yard](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/108851256/list/kostiuk-yard) — 3 ideas
- [Go Exterior](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/90809369/list/go-exterior) — 7 ideas
- [Sobel Interior Inspiration](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/80744655/list/sobel-interior-inspiration) — 18 ideas
- [Sobel Exterior](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/79972547/list/sobel-exterior) — 21 ideas
- [Rawat Herrmann](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/50902742/list/rawat-herrmann) — 18 ideas
- [Roche Exterior](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/52567727/list/roche-exterior) — 11 ideas
- [Denise Chervenek](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/49727821/list/denise-chervenek) — 2 ideas
- [Deihl-Wright Misc](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/23603777/list/deihl-wright-misc) — 8 ideas
- [Holzrichter Exterior](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/19717163/list/holzrichter-exterior) — 5 ideas
- [WEISS CONTEMPORARY](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/13093259/list/weiss-contemporary) — 16 ideas
- [WEISS TRADITIONAL](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/13039472/list/weiss-traditional) — 9 ideas

[See all 18 ideabooks](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/katiekostiuk)

## Community Q&A

**Q: Shaw Castlewood/Coat of Arms - DO NOT BUY** *(in Flooring)*

I bought Shaw Coat of Arms (also called  Castlewood) a few years ago.  The floors are beautiful from afar, however,  the finish is non-existent. My family has gotten splinters from the floors and dirt gets stuck in the wood grain and is impossible to get out. I spent a lot of money on these floors as I felt they were a good investment.  Now I'm stuck with them! They have replaced a few boards but it doesn't fix the overall issues.

A: Are your floors the Castlewood Hickory? Did you ever contact the manufacturer about the floors? I am considering these floors in the darker color called Romanesque, and was wondering what climate you are located in. Did you find out why the floors are splintering?

---

*Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-09-09.*