Multigenerational Home Builders in Santa Monica

“My husband and I own a four unit apartment building in the Beverlywood area of Los Angeles that was constructed in the '40's. It was originally one of the "Co-op Style" buildings similar to the condos of today. Due to extenuating circumstances, it has been extremely difficult to update the building. HHDesign, with confidence and poise came to our rescue. Their professionalism and architectural expertise have turned a nightmare into a sweet dream. We were so impressed with their portfolio which is largely high-end and contemporary. This could have possibly been a stumbling block, however; you can imagine how pleased we were when, at their suggestion, they maintained the integrity of the building and style of the neighborhood. Even better yet, while honoring our budgetary constraints, they managed to give the building and grounds an incredibly needed facelift and artfully pulled the exterior facade into the 21st Century. We have had numerous complements from neighbors and friends and now have pride of ownership thanks to the tireless efforts and extraordinary service afforded by HHDesign. It is with the utmost sincerity that we recommend this highly efficient and talented team to the consumers of Houzz.”

“My experience with Audrey Sato was outstanding. She truly is a talented architect who has both great vision and is detail oriented; making the process of designing and constructing my fitness studio a fun and seamless one. I appreciated that she kept in constant contact with me, and was very hands on from design through construction. I felt comfortable asking questions and giving input, and am was very satisfied with the results. Pictures of the studio can be found on Facebook under 'The Dailey Method Calabasas'. Its a beautiful space. Clients of the studio rave about how beautiful, well lit, and comfortable the space is. And we owe it all to Audrey Sato Design Studio!”

“I want to give a huge thank you to Ori and the rest of the Via Vista team. Working on this project has been such a pleasant experience. Ori is both responsive and creative. Via Vista‘s work is unbelievably realistic and has a great turnaround time. I am beyond pleased with the outcome. Highly recommended!!”

“I grew up with a father who is a master contractor. In my adult life, I have been involved in countless home renovations, so I've always thought architects are a waste of time & money. They always seem to be writing checks with the customers' money, and have no basis in reality or practicality: they seem so frivolous. Hubby and I bought a mid-century modern home that had been turned into a tuscan style by the previous owners. (can you imagine?) We needed help getting approval from the local city planning board who are a NIGHTMARE to deal with (average of 8-10 plan checks, most cities do 2-3!?) We hired Glen with EZPlans to help us. Glen handled acrimonious city officials, seeming design impossibilities (and even a few vastly different design ideas between hubby and I) with tact, professionalism, and good humor. Dealing with EZ Plans was a breeze. I am so impressed with their vision, their professionalism, and the very talented, creative (and practical) architects they hire. They are exceptional communicators, and are as intuitive as they are talented. EZ Plans turned a simple contractor grade design we could have come up with ourselves, to a design that respected the mid-century bones of our home, and brought it to the practical standards we needed the home to suit. The design they came up with easily increased the value of our renovation tenfold. the only direction they had from me was "I want to respect the home's bones with materials in their natural element, nothing frivolous, but we need the house to be super specialized for our dogs." (maybe that's a bit frivolous....) They took this and ran with it. Incidentally, they are AVID dog lovers (almost as nutty as hubby and I are, ) so they came up with such cool suggestions that will make our old dogs' lives (and our lives) easier. As someone who has scoffed at the need for an architect, (come on, my dad is a contractor!) I can assure anyone: the design of a talented architect is worlds apart from what a contractor, or even designer, could come up with. They take things to another level. Glen increased the value of the renovation by making the design in line with architectural design elements, not current trends that would be outdated quickly after installation. More importantly, they made changes to the home to fit OUR lifestyle and needs, instead of us changing our needs and lifestyles to accommodate the home. This is the difference: architects build homes, contractors build houses. Hubby and I are so pleased with our experience at EZPlans. They make incredible planning, design and architecture...easy. :)”

“Aaron has been helping me build my dream house for the past 3-4 years. He has been a crucial part in getting the design right, the plans approved, all the way down to the final finishes and door knobs. His design sense honors a healthy balance of progressive ideas and functional living.”

“We have a mid-century one story home built in 1959. We hired TOLO Architecture to update the home. We worked with architect Peter Tolkin who transformed both the interior and exterior making it a fine example of contemporary design while being conscious of both budget and the integrity of the original design. Our living room, kitchen and dinning room were enlarged visually by exterior mounted "barn doors" which open the spaces to the outside, and by raising the exterior walkway elevation with wood decking to the level of the interior floor elevation. Peter's design added 5 feet to the master bedroom, designed a wall of built-in cabinetry of closets and drawers. The design placed barn doors on two adjacent corners of the room which transformed an ordinary bedroom into an extraordinary space which opens to the outside wood deck and pool beyond. He also resigned the circa 1959 "lava rock" free-form swimming pool. Peter used the pools existing footprint to create a new rectangular pool with spa which has a continuous spillway into the pool. It really is a water sculpture with sound! He secured our hillside with a 50' long horizontal white wall (5' tall) which not only keeps the landscape in place, but gives beautiful definition to the pool area. He designed a 400 sq ft pool house, perfect with shower right from pool. Barn doors at the corners makes the pool house an indoor/outdoor space. And last, but not least as the saying goes, Peter created an outdoor living room which steps down from the wood deck. It is complete with a cushion covered concrete banquette and a large fireplace within a concrete base. The house was featured in Pasadena Magazine (cover and inside) in an issue showcasing indoor/outdoor living. It was a pleasure working with TOLO Architecture!! They are creative, cost conscious, and responsive.”

“We've toured the residential and commercial projects created on Bainbridge Island by Coates Design, and have followed their work for years. Our office was in the same building, and we often stopped in to learn more about their projects. We've always been impressed by their great architectural sense of aesthetics, and their ability to create innovative work that blends well into the surroundings of the project location. Very professional, very pleasant and very accomplished.”

“Lisa Little worked wonders in our smallish Venice space. We had complicated needs and she found elegant solutions within a tight budget. We redid a kitchen from the walls out, extended it a bit, added a bar, added in a huge walk-in closet and staircase in the master bedroom, and reconfigured a guest loft. The latter involved enclosing a half-wall for privacy via rotating shutters that Lisa dreamed up and designed. The shutters rotate open when the loft is not in use and closed when we have company up there. This was a brilliant idea, brilliantly executed at not much cost. Lisa helped with fixture choice, color choice, and furniture choice, and worked closely with the general contractor and his subs. She exhibited great taste, a firm hand, and a keen eye on the budget. Recommended without reservation.”

“My wife and I hired Jeannette Architects to assist us with a major remodel (interior/exterior) of our 3,500 sq. ft. ranch style home in Newport Beach. The task: incorporate warm contemporary design into our 1970's "woody cabin." As a real estate developer and because it's our third major house remodel there were many design elements we knew we wanted but many more that we needed help with. As capable as Jeff (Jeannette) is with his design sense, we believe that it's his ability to listen to his clients, understand client goals, how we will live in the space and how that fits into our budget is what sets Jeff apart from other architects. The Jeannette team met aggressive time constraints, produced a thorough set of construction documents, were always quick to provide clarification and answers to our questions and were great resources for product and material options and information. True professionals that we would use again and confidently refer to others. Our project is nearing completion and I can't wait to share photos.”

“I can't say enough amazing things about the fine work by RRID and Roman Reiterer. He started with an incredible vision, maximized the space and really made an effort to learn about me and what would represent my lifestyle. He is professional, collaborative and inventive, especially when helping manage the budget. In the end, I have the house of my dreams. Every detail was thought out, and even things that I didn't think would have much impact, really contributed to the "feeling" of my house. I am proud to invite guests in to my warm, beautiful home.”