Stephen T. Terhune, Architect

I have known Steve Terhune professional for nearly 30. In that time he has performed architectural services for friends, clients of mine, family members and me. After frustration with the architect which my builder works with I turned to Steve. This project he re-designed turned my eyesore of a patio arena into a showplace. Not only is it beautiful but also functional. He has a way of relating indoor and outdoor spaces that makes them really complement one another. His ideas are very original and impressed my builder. My brother recently hired Steve again for a significant remodeling, and is thrilled with the outcome. Steve creates long term relationships rather than casual client contacts. I would recommend Steve for other projects as they come along and use him for my personal projects.

Steve is great. He's been helping us over various stages of our remodel (2019-2021). His attention to detail is second to none.

Ten years after the first remodel on our home, we decided we needed another facelift. After interviewing several well-respected and well-known architects whose names pop up first on Google, we just weren't overly impressed by any of them. They seemed to have about as much enthusiasm and originality as a cinderblock. My husband and I were feeding these professionals aesthetic and design ideas - which was the wrong way around. I found Steve Terhune on Houzz, saw his designs, and thought he might be a contender. He came out to our house for an interview and the search ended that afternoon. He blew us away with his passion, ideas and willingness to brainstorm different designs. He spent nearly three hours with us and never asked for a dime for his time. We've worked with him on two projects in the last two years and I don't think you'll find better taste, a better sense of proportion or more creativity anywhere. Steve showed up brimming over with ideas, more ideas and alternatives to those ideas. He's an "all-in" kind of guy, accessible and responsive. Best architect we've ever had.

Hiring Steve Terhune has been a great decision for my wife and I. What we liked most about him, and the reason we hired him, was his approach. Before we paid a dime or signed a contract he spent 2-3 hours with us spouting vision for our home. I will not forget the first thing he said to us: "Don't tell me what you want, just show me your house." He proceeded to list off every single want we had and also identified some things we didn't know we were missing. A good example: our house is on a corner and friends and family tend to use the side of the house as the main entrance. Steve said "I want to put the front of your house where people actually come on and out." He identified this without us saying anything or knowing we wanted it and it quickly became one of my favorite design aspects. He really understood what we needed, helped us understand the process, and he created an addition that is beyond our hopes and within our budget. As my wife said, when she first saw the design, “is that my house?!” He took our little 1-story home, created a 2-story addition, and managed to keep it from looking like a 2-story parked next to a 1-story, like so many of our less fortunate neighbors. Not only did he create a beautiful design that will add tremendous value to the property, but he brought us the right builders for the job, and helped us make the numbers work. I can’t imagine the project turning out better.

We just finished our third project with Steve. It has been a challenge because it is a vacation home in a mountainous location 2000 miles from Maryland. We had total confidence in Steve to be able to adapt to a style that fits the environment. He did so magnificently, and in a very tight time frame. Steve really knows how to work with builders, makes himself available day and night, and he always makes us feel that we are his highest priority. If we ever do a fourth project, Steve will be our guy. Chris, Annapolis

Steve has a great combination of incredible creativity and strong project management. He has really transformed our home with ideas far beyond what we ever imagined. The design really fits our way of living. He really grasped what were saying, and took us far beyond our dreams . Besides that he has been a great help in dealing with serious contractor issues. He stands by his clients. During the bid process, Steve really took charge and led us through the uncharted waters of hiring a contractor who would give us the most for the least. We met Steve because we literally chased him down with our car as he was pulling into an incredible home he designed in our neighborhood. We immediately felt comfortable with him, and were impressed that he visited his projects on Sundays! We could not recommend him more highly.

My wife and I absolutely love the house Steve designed for us. Building on the water on a very narrow lot presented numerous challenges that Steve helped us maneuver. His ideas and an eye for detail that incorporated our desires was off the charts. He was very patient and understood our budget constraints. Steve was able to provide us our dream home and still adhere to our budget. Steve was very helpful in dealing with the builders to insure they understood our requirements while maintaining Steve's fabulous design. I highly recommend Steve for any architectural requirements no matter how small. One of the best things about Steve is he treats you with the utmost respect and you never feel like your project is too small. I can't say that about some of the other architects I interviewed. Steve is the best.

I have partnered with Steve on several large scale projects. Steve's ability to make his client's vision a reality is remarkable. He is willing to provide guidance to his clients through each stage of the process while taking great pride in his work and meeting his clients needs each step of the way. Steve does a great job of illustrating his ideas in harmony with those of his clients, resulting in a stunning end result and a very happy client.

Love working with Steve. He had so many ideas on what we can do for our addition. He even came up with dramatic layouts that will save us money.

We have built a lot of homes, many of my own design, but Steve brought so many unique ideas to my Maryland home that I asked him to help me with my newest Key West house. Besides listening intently to what we wanted, he really showed an ability to absorb the Key West culture and adapt it into an outstanding design. We worked very closely throughout the project, and I found his 3d virtual reality technology to be extremely helpful, especially to those in my family who can't visualize the home from 2d plans. We get a lot of compliments. The other day a woman stopped in front of our new house and told us that ours is her favorite. For that, and many other reasons, I recommend Steve highly.

We are so glad we hired Steve to help us on our home addition and remodeling project. Our first ideas paled in comparison to what Steve came up with, and we are elated with the final result. Besides telling Steve about the shortcomings of the original house, and there were many, we gave him a tight budget to work within. He brought in contractors in the design phase who helped us be sure we were not overreaching, and he continued to manage the cost and bidding part of the project diligently. He recommended builders he knew, all excellent, and he helped us immensely during the contract and construction process. Our friends and family are amazed that we were able to alter the house so dramatically for what we spent. Steve went far beyond just adding on here and there. He suggested we move the kitchen which made the whole layout work beautifully. With Steve, we got so much more than we ever anticipated, and we are happy to recommend him highl

The best thing we did in our remodeling project was to hire Steve Terhune. When we began we never imagined what could be done to our very outdated home to transform it, and with Steve’s steady guidance we ended up with a really beautiful final product. Due to the care Steve used in his design, we ended up with a very dramatic transformation within a tight budget- a really “big-bang-for-the-buck”. One of Steve’s great strengths is his ability to transform not only the inside in a dramatic way, but also the outside living for the home, adding a new character to our backyard which was previously useless to us. He always made us feel comfortable, and we maintained confidence in him throughout the long process. Friends and neighbors compliment the design each time we proudly show off our “new” home. Steve’s fee was lower than the other Annapolis “high-end” architects would have been, but the result of his work seems to exceed the quality of their work. We found a friend and a kindred spirit in Steve and are thankful for the contribution he has made to our lives.