Tepper Architects

I learned about Meri’s work through a curious process of cross references (made possible by Houzz). I was immediately drawn to her approach, the sophisticated simplicity of her designs and the light filled spaces in her portfolio. My home is a typical two story/3 bds (built in 1906!) that although renovated, had the basic design structure intact. I needed advice on bringing natural light into the kitchen/ dining area (within the existing floor plan) and on minor kitchen updates. Meri came for a two hour consultation session and it is hard to summarize all she did in a limited amount of time and the impact of her advice. The first thing that stands out is how much she cared about this small consultation and how eager and passionate she was at her craft. She was ready to direct all her knowledge and energy to the task. She took a careful look at the entire house, focusing on the physical characteristics and how each space was used. She paid attention to my design style, asked excellent questions, assessed the structure, the surrounding houses, the garden, the orientation. She listened to my design ideas/budget considerations and with an impressive clarity and speed went over cost /design scenarios. She has an outstanding ability to consider cost and design options and a detailed knowledge of building materials cost-quality trade offs. We settled on a particular option and she provided invaluable information about particular manufacturers/styles of windows, doors, tiles, lights, etc. She paid attention to every detail. Meri’s design advice gave me all I needed to move forward with my general contractor. I can not thank her enough for agreeing to share her knowledge and for playing a crucial role in making older houses like mine functional and attractive. It was a privilege to work with her.

From the outset I was drawn to the Tepper Architects webpage. Beautiful, realistic, livable design. Meri carries an astounding knowledge of building codes and building costs, as well as of materials, methods and products. She has innate sense of how space is used, moved though, and lived in. She is unflappable and unfailingly energetic. Perhaps equally important to all of that, Meri is a master communicator - a remodel can be financially challenging and also collaboratively challenging for a couple. Meri expertly managed the design process and made it a truly enjoyable experience, even when my husband and I were quite literally envisioning designs involving differing levels of the house! While we hired a design-build firm for project management and construction, we also hired Tepper Architects to stay on throughout project completion. The invoices reflected Meri's impressive efficiency. She was a positive, unifying presence on the team. She never missed a scheduled weekly project walkthrough, identifying issues and addressing them with the team on the spot. Within a few hours of each meeting, she disseminated a detailed yet concise project status memo with to-do list, providing much needed clarity as the project unfolded and the details accumulated. When the build deviated from the design, when quality lacked, completion were dates missed, or expectations went unmet, she unwaveringly held our GC accountable and where needed, developed solutions herself. She is an artist-in-residence, fountain of information, sage advisor, and friend.

Meri Tepper worked with my husband and I as we planned the demolition of an old home and the building of a new single family home. The home we are demolishing was my childhood home, so earnest care and managing the emotional process were key components as we assembled plans for our new home. Meri was thoughtful, cost conscious, and an excellent communicator. Meri was clear about her role as our architect, walked us through her contract and was clear about what costs we would expect for her services. As we began planning Meri listened to our hopes and translated them well into several rough options. As we refined our plans Meri was happy to include our GC in our conversations and incorporate their insights where appropriate. Meri was also familiar with our neighborhood planning department zoning rules and applied them to our plans. It has been a pleasure working with her and I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone embarking upon the house building process.

We can’t emphasize one skill over another when it comes to Meri Tepper’s talents in home design. She is an extremely knowledgeable, organized, cost-conscious, and talented architect. Her knowledge of materials, latest products, and techniques is amazing, from the overall concept to every detail that made our new home beautiful, practical, and very livable. With her sharp research ability and creative ideas, she was constantly providing a variety of options to meet our very specific needs and requests. As important as all this was, what made our project a joy was Meri’s interpersonal skills and approach. She truly cared about every idea we had and, when our ideas were good, she found ways to incorporate them into the design. We can think of multiple times when we heard “I love the collaborative approach as things always get better when we work together.” When our ideas didn’t hit the mark, she found gentle ways to explain why they did not and/or she modified and improved upon them. Excellent communication is a priority for us, and Meri was always quick to answer questions, research our ideas, and keep us and our builder involved. She made what is often a very stressful process lots of fun. In short, it was a privilege working with Meri.

We own some beautiful acreage in the country and wanted to build a small comfortable house with big views of nature. We initially thought we could pick a ready-made plan from a catalog but we must have studied a thousand plans and none would fit the layout of our site which lead us to hire an architect. Meri was quite agile at adapting plans to our site and quickly came up with a few very interesting plans. She is obviously dedicated to energy efficiency and well versed in proper building techniques. Meri was also flexible in adapting to our wants, needs, and tastes. We played an active role in the design and Meri was open to suggestions and was always willing to incorporate our ideas. We know a bit about construction but Meri’s in depth knowledge of proper construction techniques was obvious when impractical ideas were proposed, and her explanations were much appreciated. Our budget was tight and Meri always had that in mind. Our house is a joy to live in and people who know us well say the house is perfect for us.

There just aren't enough good things to say about Meri. She is so kind, responsive, highly organized, knowledgeable, creative and collaborative. She really truly cares about and enjoys the work, and her attention to detail is astounding. The drawings she produced were so clear and beautiful, true works of art! I never felt the need to manage the project - she was always available and kept the work going in a positive direction. I can honestly say she was a true pleasure to work with, and we love how the house turned out!

was referred to Meri Tepper of Tepper Architects through my design build firm. We purchased a mid-century modern house that needed updating and we ended up doing an extensive renovation. Meri worked with me from the start and was incredibly knowledgeable about the entire building process. We worked closely (and sometimes spontaneously) to problem solve the layout as well as creative solutions that would prove to be special architectural features. She was always happy to push the design process, and though we may have had a solution that worked, she was willing to look at other angles until I was satisfied. Meri's experience and drafting skills were a value in my design process.

Meri was so wonderful to work with! She took our napkin pencil drawing and turned it into the home of our dreams! We had some specific features we wanted worked into our home and she made it a priority to accommodate all of these special features! She is incredibly skilled in energy efficient, usable space that is beautiful as well. We can say after living in our new home there is no wasted space and all is very functional and beautiful at the same time. She was accessible and open during the whole building process, even after the design phase in order to help us bring the design features into reality. Meri is innovative, personable and so easy to work with and has designed our home to match our dream! We would highly recommend Meri as an architecht!