Caswell Daitch Architects

FineCraft has had the pleasure of working with Julia Daitch of Caswell Daitch Architects, and our experience has been consistently excellent. Julia is a thoughtful, detail-oriented architect with a strong command of both design and execution. Her work reflects a clear understanding of how good architecture comes together in the field — from proportion and materiality to constructability and sequencing. The result is design that is refined, intentional, and realistic to build. From a builder’s standpoint, Julia is a strong collaborator. Her drawings are well developed, coordination is thorough, and communication is clear and timely. When questions or challenges arise during construction, she engages constructively, evaluates options carefully, and works toward solutions that serve both the client’s vision and the integrity of the project. What we value most is Julia’s professionalism and her respect for the collaborative nature of residential construction. She advocates for her clients while maintaining a productive, team-oriented relationship with the builder — which ultimately leads to better outcomes for everyone involved. We greatly value our working relationship with Julia Daitch and Caswell Daitch Architects and look forward to many future collaborations. We would confidently recommend her to homeowners and professionals seeking an architect who is talented, responsive, and a true partner throughout the process.

That's my gas station house above. I've been in it nearly two years, and I still wake up every morning, look around, and can't believe I live in a place this cool. Not one regret about the design. Julia was fantastic to work with. I'd had another architect sketch up his idea for the house, and he just did not get it. My vision was not making the transition, and his imagination was not in synch with mine. My first meeting with Julia I could tell she was THE ONE. She was very enthusiastic about the idea, had great advice before the project began, set accurate expectations regarding a timeline for design vs. build, etc. Most importantly, Julia facilitated and added to my ideas without imposing on them. When she made suggestions on design elements that I thought were not right for me, or I had ideas that seemed "out there," she was always willing to incorporate my ideas and work them into a "whole house project." My house is not for everyone. It is a little too industrial for some, a little too impractical for others, perhaps too unconventional. Julia always reinforced the idea that it will be YOUR home, and we will work to make it what YOU want, and she did. Her best advice was don't constrain yourself initially by budget restrictions. Design your dream, then decide which elements you will give up to bring the project down to your budget. Great advice. Also, she never balked at design changes. "Ink is cheaper than concrete." A super experience all the way.

Our experience with Caswell Daitch Architects was beyond expectations. They are highly professional, approachable, responsive and easy to work with. The plans were spot on. The overall design and layout met the clients desires and expectations. They were always available for consultation and did weekly site visits.

Julia was a great help when I renovated my home last summer. She served as the architect and came up with a design that added the space I was looking for while ensuring it flowed seamlessly from the existing structure. She also suggested I consider a cathedral ceiling rather than a flat one, which added a much more open look and feel to my new bedroom. Julia is a good listener and easy to work with. I would happily work with her again and recommend her services to others.

Designed an addition to our house in 2012. Very professional and customer-focused. Easy to work with. Inspired feel for design and functionality.

Our back porch abutted the back of the house, with doors into the kitchen and dining room. It had brick walls up to about two feet above a tile floor, with screens all around the other three walls, and a full roof. We wanted it fully enclosed as a sunroom, with windows instead of screening, and we wanted to knock out the exterior house wall separating it from the dining room, thus making the porch space part of the interior of the house. Julia did the architectural design for the entire project, drew up the plans, identified potential contractors, and handled the bid solicitations. When we selected the contractor (with her assistance), she assisted us throughout the construction phase of the project, administering the construction contract, and reviewing the contractor's work from time to time as appropriate. She was easy to work with, responsive to our needs, and provided excellent advice throughout the project. At the design stage, she identified design issues that we had not considered, and she drew up several alternative sets of preliminary plans to help us determine exactly what we wanted. She suggested ways to obtain the largest possible opening of the house wall between dining room and porch, but still be able to install doors allowing for separation of the spaces. In the bid and construction phase, she helped us with practical modifications to the specifications for heating and cooling the new sunroom. Julia did all of the work herself, with no risk to us of having someone less familiar with our project handling some of the architect's responsibilities.

We were thrilled with our experience with Julia Daitch. Our job involved basically gutting a small kitchen and dining room, and turning it into one open room, divided by the new kitchen counter. Julia was very supportive, comforting, enthusiastic, reliable and helpful. She also came up with a way to add a very small wall and counter next to our refrigerator, which gave us a useful landing spot next to the fridge, but also sort of blocked off the view of the entrance to the bathroom, which otherwise would've been IN the kitchen. Was a very clever and helpful idea. While we didnt change the external walls, we do feel like we now have an addition..it's that much of a change, to more useable space. This project was a big splurge for us, and we were much more comfortable proceeding, having Julia's support/advice etc throughout. I'll try to update this review with a photo soon.

There's a long story behind how and why we needed an architect, why it took us so long to find one, how we found Julia Caswell Daitch, and what a fabulous job she did for us, but the short version is that a serendipitous encounter made all the difference to us and to our home - so much so that, after Julia Caswell Daitch’s work for us, our house became listed on the Maryland Historical Trust Inventory (as can be seen if one conducts an Internet search for “The Kleiner Davidson White House”). For more than a decade, we had wanted to demolish and replace a badly done 1950s addition on the 1920s house that we had bought in 1989. It was only when our daughter started to take private cello lessons with a cello teacher who had recently had a beautiful addition to her house designed by Julia Caswell Daitch that our problem was solved. (I had immediately said, about the teacher's home, "This is GORGEOUS; just what we need. Who designed it for you?") And, thus, we learned about Julia Caswell Daitch and made an appointment for her to come to see our problem and need. The first thing that Julia said as she walked through our front door was, "This is a Sears Roebuck catalogue kit house!" Yes! Our house had not been sold to us as a Sears home but we had subsequently (and also serendipitously) discovered that it was the Sears “Argyle". Its classic features had suffered at the hands of several earlier owners but still Julia instantly recognized its "bones". How extraordinarily fortunate we were to have, by pure chance, found an architect who knew precisely what was needed to match an addition seamlessly to the architecture and style of the original Sears house. Julia was responsive, thoughtful, thoroughly professional, and readily available to answer our questions. In no time, Julia had designs for us that met our needs exactly, that somehow perfectly blended the 1920s original character of our home with a 21st century openness (and with a Frank Lloyd Wright-ish mid-century modern, seamless indoor-outdoor transition). Then, once we had Julia’s beautiful design, we had no idea of whom to use as a builder. Julia solved that problem for us as well, as she regularly works with several reputable, dependable builders and recommended Plumb Square Builders for our project. This turned out to be exactly the right recommendation, as the demolition and reconstruction was completed in a month, as promised, and the principal workers were two brilliant, very experienced master carpenters (Kevin and Pat) who also knew exactly what trim to use to match the original Sears Roebuck wood. In conclusion, we could not have been happier with the entire project and could not imagine having had such a smooth process had Julia Caswell Daitch not been the architect who held our hands through all aspects of the project. We only regret, now that we live no longer live in Maryland, and have once again stumbled into an architecturally interesting home that needs some work done, that Julia is not based where we are now, in New Mexico!

Julia Caswell Daitch brings innovation, creativity, and inspired design to every project. Julia Daitch does not tolerate the ordinary. When our home needed exterior repairs and an update, we spoke to several design-build firms. Each presented us with cookie-cutter ideas. Only Julia had the talent and vision to unlock the hidden potential of our home, and to transform its dated, tired façade into an Architectural Digest worthy work of art. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

We hired Caswell Daitch to help us with a basement and kitchen renovation. Julia took the time to explain the renovation process, to listen to what we wanted and to develop plans that suited our budget and our priorities. Julia was patient with our questions, and open to revising ideas. She was adept at explaining how the elements of the design worked together. She stayed involved throughout the building process, assisting with the many many decisions that have to be made. She never imposed her ideas but was always willing to guide, helping us figure out what finishes would work. We enjoyed working with her

"It looks as if it's always been this way!" This is what everyone says when they see the addition Julia created for our house. We have an old house, and were concerned an addition would look incongruous. But we shouldn't have worried. We loved how well she listened to us in our initial meeting. Then we went to see one of her projects and, well, it looked as if the house had always been that way! Julia is a dream to work with - she takes every question and suggestion seriously, and looked for ways to make our dreams come true, rather than telling us what wouldn't work. Although we'd never done a project like this, she respected us (and our budget!). We recommend her without hesitation.

Julia is a wonderful architect who guided us through our remodel project. We updated the house with a new downstairs bedroom and bath, opened up the basement with a new bank of windows, remodeled the kitchen and also rebuilt the sunroom with new windows to enable all-season use. We also refreshed the look of the front exterior including a new door/entry and windows. Julia provided the guidance that enabled us to to take advantage of the current structure and effectively create a beautiful new home.