Ashley Hopwood Farrar

We worked with Ashley for a review of a prefab/modular plan and it was incredible - I'm positive it already saved us thousands, and having another professional opinion to back up our hunches about certain decisions gave us so much peace of mind! In particular, I loved that we could bring her in for 1 piece of the project since budget, timeline, and builder capacity is super tight - so the fact that she could weigh in on the design while respecting those parameters was so critical.

Working with Ashley was a delight. She brought enthusiasm, expertise, common sense, and excellent communication skills to our project. We had to scale back our project as material prices soared, and she creative problem-solved along with us. Now, we have a new space that is more awesome than what we had initially imagined. One of Ashley’s superpowers is as a liaison between clients and contractors. She coached us through the process of picking a contractor, asked questions we would not have thought of, interpreted options for us, facilitated timely communication, and went out of her way to help us move our project forward when delays threatened to derail it. Construction projects can be an ordeal, but working with Ashley was always a pleasure.

I was looking to design a training center for my organization that was both efficient and stylistic. While I had a basic concept in mind, after just one meeting Ashley created a concept that was pretty darn close to the design we chose. I found her easy to work with, with very little wasted effort and excellent collaboration with just the right people along the way. While she was definitely in charge of the design, she was very receptive to suggestions and design changes that either saved money or improved the original plan via the feedback loop. My experience with Meldrum design was a 10 out of 10, and I believe all the contractors felt the same way. Highly recommend!

We contracted with Ashley for our custom, ground up build in inland North County. Working with Ashley was by far the easiest part of the entire project. She listened to all of our needs and desires and was able to provide a design that fit our vision and our lifestyle perfectly! In addition to her design skills, I was blown away by her knowledge and professionalism. Ashley does her homework and her attention to detail made getting our plans approved by the county a breeze. She also has a well-built network of engineers and contractors she was able to recommend, collect bids from, and coordinate with on our behalf in order to complete the plans. She was fast, efficient, very clear with communication and upfront about what we could expect. We have no regrets and are so thankful for Ashley and the experience we had with Meldrum Design!

Ashley Hopwood Farrar of Meldrum Design is a talented architect and designer who is also an excellent communicator and extremely well organized, which makes her a joy to work with in my role as an Owners Rep. Over the last 20 years, I have worked with many interior designers and architects in my role of managing residential construction projects. Typically designers and architects can be the most challenging because most creatives are not well organized or good communicators. Ashley shatters that model as she is an extremely good communicator (check our her blog for a prime example), very responsive and exceptionally organized. I am working with Ashley on a very challenging project with several people dropping the balls while Ashley is helping me to keep everything running smoothly. Her finish selection sheet is so well organized and detailed that I give it to my homeowner clients as an example of what they should expect from their interior designer. If you are looking for a designer that is creative yet detailed, thorough yet efficient, impactful yet cost effective, Ashley should be your top choice.

Couldn't be happier with everything! Ashley designed and helped us navigate a whole- house renovation to include vaulting a ceiling and moving a couple walls. Her knowledge and professionalism are top notch. Plus she's one of the nicest most genuine people you'll ever meet.

We hired Ashley to help us open up some wasted space to become a fabulous living room. She was so easy to work with, professional and came up with wonderful ideas and solutions to every problem we encountered. We ended up with a stunning living room with a disappearing wall that has become the focal point of our home. She also helped us gut and redo a very small cramped bathroom (still small) but now fully functioning, modern and not cramped. I would highly recommend Ashley for any project.

Ashley served as my draftsperson for a very complicated multi-family ground-up residential construction project in a historically designated district of San Diego. There was an existing structure in place and Ashley provided accurate as-is drawings and demo plans. She also conceived several proposals for the future layout with her conceptual knowledge of small-space living. Although the client’s original concept of the small-space configuration was ultimately used, her ideas helped assure us that we were moving ahead in the best direction. There was also a missing aspect as to exact furniture configuration and TV placement in the client’s ideal floorplan – Ashley was integral in closing this critical gap. Ashley’s to-be drawings were well assembled. She coordinated with other design professionals and subcontractors (engineering, plumbing, electrical, mechanical) to create a full set of design documents. Ashely also worked with a licensed architect to obtain the necessary formal stamps on the plans to ensure we were Design Development Services (DSD) ready. The client did 100% of the permit running at DSD. Ashley provided guidance when she was available. All draft work was completed remotely and live meetings were limited to approximately every 6 weeks or so. Even with this limitation, a great product resulted. I would highly recommend Ashley as a draftsperson for small-space design and drafting.

Ashley and I were brought together by our common client to architect/design (Ashley) and remodel (TaylorPro Design and Remodeling) a kitchen/dining/living room in University City. Often a combination of this type breeds a power struggle that is hard to manage as differences in design/construction/management styles clash. In this case, Ashely and I started working together like we have be successful partners for years. Finding a designer that puts the customer first and works as a team with all parties is, in my opinion, hard to find. Experience and a style beyond their vision are what clients pay for. Ashley has this in spades along with the practical part of construction that makes her invaluable to the contractor. I typically have to spend a lot of time changing a designer's design so that it can be built. Ashley was always a step ahead of me and she made my job easy. Ashley is a diamond in the rough find of a designer. I look forward to our next project. Kerry Taylor, TaylorPro Design and Remodeling