Custom Home Builders in Orleans

“Curt and the Team at Sketchpad were a pleasure to deal with starting Day 1. The 1st house we did turned out better than expected and is a huge hit on the vacation rental program. We have since done multiple projects and looking forward to many more!”

“Gifted home designer. Understands the role of sustainability in affordability and personalized function. Eric has set a new standard in home design, delivering LEED-Platinum certification at entry level through custom price points. My role as a third-party auditor for a variety of national performance building programs affords me a unique opportunity to see hundreds of architects, designers and builders. Eric Hughes stands out in a very crowded field.”

“I have worked with Via Design as an Owner Representative and have referred them to multiple shared clients who have had very good experiences with Via Design.”

“Sears Architect designed a 3100 sq house for us in East Grand Rapids, MI. We have never built a home previously. We found the design process to be very efficient which resulted in a home that matches our needs and wants. The Sears project manager was very responsive and Rob Sears seemed to be full informed and involved at all times. Having said this there were many heartaches that occurred that could in part be mitigated with up front client education. In talking with another friend who build a house with Sears last year, our experience was similar to theirs. 1. Architectural costs - designing a custom build house is more expensive and has more components than one would expect. Multiple site surveys, structural engineers, each set of more detailed plans add to the final cost. We spent $xxxxx for plans - which were the refinement of a plan presented to us in a design build proposal by the builder. In addition we used an interior designer recommended by the architect another $xxxx. We would have been happier if we had a fixed predefined budget as the builder led us to believe the costs would be about $25,000. Having said this, Rob Sears was very responsive to financial questions and happily and promptly provided the billing records that justified their billings. In addition I felt Rob made a strong effort to follow the project to completion and did quite a bit after delivery of the plans, uncompensated, to finish the job. In the end we are very happy with Sears Architects - but wiser for the experience. 2. Cost of building. We learned that there was essentially no communication between our builder and the architect regarding the building allowances and the costs of the developed plan. Our home ended up xx% over budget, despite most components falling within allowances - the builder just underbid to get the work. What I learned from the process is that is not the architects job, rather the home owners sole responsibility, to verify all components are accuately costed prior to contracting a builder. 3. Interior designer. We did not expect how important the interior designer would be in implementing the design of the home - guiding interior and exterior materials, designing lighting schemes, plumbing, etc as well as planning for furniture layout. Sears recommended Christine DiMaria. We separately retained her. My wife and I thought she did a great job - design, providing perspective from other project, helping sort priorities, communicating with the architect and in general holding our hands through the up and downs of the 10 month process. We were glad we used a designer who had worked with the architect before. 4. Landscape design. This was a separate contract and budget through a landscape architect. Sears coordinated well re the placement of the house on the lot, grade decisions needed so proper retention walls could be planned and built by the Landscape team. So overall, I feel that Sears Architecture is a terrific firm that does good work. We are very happy with the completed product of our home. We would recommend them to other home buyers.”

“Our experience with Lucid Architecture has been 100% spectacular from start to finish. Eric possesses every ideal quality a client would seek in an architect: honesty, intellect, ingenuity, and humor. He excels in the ability to take what is conceptual and transform it to actual. If there were 6 stars to allocate, we would do so for Lucid.”

“The team at AMDG Architects is who have an understanding of the client's needs. They bring a wealth of experience and insight into how spaces can best perform and they're a great team to work with!”

“Patti and Jerry were very detailed and timely. They had great patience with the design process. I would recommend them to anyone looking to build a customer home.”

“east arbor architecture helped us every step of the way to create a new kitchen and first floor layout. Our home was built in 1947 and an addition was added in 1980. The kitchen was original to when the home was built. Dan came up with many options to change our layout to be both more functional & beautiful. His plans were all in keeping with the historical age of the home. He created room layout plans from the least invasive and least expensive to build all the way to a complete rework and very different layout than what we could have ever imagined. Once we selected a plan, east arbor architecture bid out the project to three different contractors. We also had Dan continue to work for us through the entire build so that when surprises occurred, he was right there to help the builder problem-solve to come up with the best solutions. Having east arbor architecture work with us throughout the entire project - planning to finished construction - gave us the extra support to handle issues and confidence that the right solutions were being made. We truly appreciate the quality of work and definitely recommend east arbor architecture!”

“Jim is an extremely talented architect and we had a great experience working with him. We could not have been more satisfied with his design and what I was expecting to be a much more difficult process. Jim tailored every detail of our plan to our lifestyle. From the master closet, to the dog wash. He is obviously experienced and it was a pleasure working with him on the design of our custom home! HIGHLY recommend Create 3.”

“I have worked with Steven on many, many projects. His solid design skills and drawing capabilities are outstanding. He also demonstrates a collaborative client-architect relationship and thoughtfully executes clients' vision for each project.”