BARRETT STUDIO architects

First an apology to David and Rich for taking a year to write this. I do feel though, that this time has allowed us to truly appreciate and understand how well designed our home is. I cannot say enough about the positive experience we had working with the team at Barrett Studio. From the initial meeting we knew we were in good hands. They listened to our needs and wants and in some cases read our thoughts and just understood what we were looking for. David spent a great deal of time on our property looking at light and sight lines and from all of this designed a home that allows perfect views and great passive solar efficiency. The indoor spaces flow beautifully and connect intuitively with the outdoor spaces and we couldn't be happier. Throughout the process they responded to all of our questions and needs professionally and quickly. Even through our many changes they asked questions to understand and responded with good solutions. They stayed on with us through the completion of the home and helped us with some critical interior (and exterior) suggestions. Finally they were also just so nice and pleasurable to work with. Thanks David and Rich. Highly Recommend!.

After interacting with two other architectural firms, we chose to work with Barrett Studios. We found that they had a high level of integrity with regards to every aspect of helping us determine the wants and needs for our household and how to make those things happen. Our project was quite a ways from there a base in Boulder but they were able to coordinate very well both with us as well as with our contractor and we came up with a highly successful result. Our personal experience with all the staff of Barrett Studio has been so positive that we think of them now as our friends as well as our architects.

After I bought 70 acres in the rural Colorado foothills, I did NOT want a conventional structure for a home. Because I lived 1800 miles away in Pennsylvania, there were more things that could go wrong due to communications issues. I wanted a small, unique, environmentally efficient house. I did not have a large budget. I considered several architects. I was impressed with Barrett Studios suggestions & thorough consideration of my ideas. They helped with practical suggestions that saved time & money. In my absence, I needed them to interface with the builder. Much of our work was done by phone & email, yet it was thrilling & fun & I learned so much. The exterior design has surprising sizzle & the interior is so smart. I chose to re-think my budget & expand the plan from my initial thinking, because they were persuasive & right to encourage those changes. Living here is much better because of those ideas. We've been coming here for 10 years now & get great joy from this very different environment. One son insisted "NEVER sell this house", though we haven't considered selling. The experience here is so different from others in our world. Working with Barrett Studios redefined what our project became in so many positive ways.

David is a brilliant artist, and Rich and the craftspeople they worked with cared so much about beauty and the place. I felt like these are some of the coolest guys I ever met. When we moved in, it felt like a lot of love had been put into this project, and the beauty resulting from a collaboration of so many is something really special about the house. At first we were having trouble believing we get to live in a house this beautiful. Now we are simply grateful on a daily basis.

We are lucky enough to have co-created our living space with David Barrett and his team at Barrett Studio Architects. We set out with very ambitious goals for our property to support us in many ways: creatively and professionally with 2 working studios (ceramic art and movement); culinarily - with multiple all-season food growing areas, built-in irrigation throughout, a worm composting system and a professional and ergonomic kitchen; health and wellness - with pool, spa and indoor and outdoor meditation spaces; green building - with 10KW of solar panels, efficient geothermal exchange heating and cooling (very important with regard to the pool!); esthetically - we defined our space as an “Art House” because people need beauty to thrive, like plants need sunshine; and last but not least, to support a thriving lifestyle that engages with our beautiful surroundings and permits us to experience the joy of inhabiting an integrated, highly-considered and functional “engine for living”. We believe David and his team heard us and exceeded our expectations in the design of our mountain paradise. Thank you, David.

Architects are only in the most base sense in the business of creating buildings; they are more essentially in the profession of co-creating manifestations of intention and personality – places in which we feel at home, at peace, and understood. I can say without qualification that Barrett Studio accomplished that in our project on a grand scale. I feel as if our house is not only an expression of my and my wife's person and personality, but an amplification – I feel more myself in our home than I thought possible, and the best parts of myself, the best parts of my mind and heart, find expression there. David and Nicole did this by listening in the deepest sense to who we were, not what we thought we wanted. They were not distracted by the mundane detail of engineering and caissons and soil tests, although they handled all of those details with ease. They understood us, and they helped us understand ourselves as we created with them. In any craft, this is possible only in the hands of a true master – someone who has learned enough through experience to know how to guide others as they learn themselves.

Since 1988 the partners at Harrington Stanko Construction have completed over 25 projects working with the Architects at Barrett Studio. The creativity and professionalism of David, Sam and the whole staff remain unsurpassed. Barrett Studio does not just create innovative architectural forms; they also work effectively with engineers, contractors and craftsman to implement those designs in the most proficient and cost effective manner possible.

Barrett Studios is a progressive architecture firm that designs thoughtful, sustainable homes (among other things). We've worked with them extensively, and they're always a pleasure to work with. Their attention to detail and knowledge of sustainable design (beyond just energy efficiency) is both rare and refreshing.

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with David and Sam on our dream home. We Couldn't be more pleased with the finished product. The design was a perfect blend of contemporary lines with a Colorado Mountain feel. They did a wonderful job and we would use them again!

Great experience! From the moment David stepped into our home, the remodel ideas started to formulate. Working with us on the feel we wanted to create, he came up with design concepts that met all our needs. The staff worked closely with us along the way, considered our ideas and executed beautifully. We came in on time and on budget.

David and Sam did such a wonderful job on my house! I fell in love with my lot and wanted a house that would be respectful of the site and allow me to celebrate its beauty while living there. David and Sam embodied this ethos even more than me. At conception, they came out and camped on the lot to get a feel for siting and placement of the house. Their preliminary models and drawing were done there with me in the middle of the trees next to the river, which allowed for all of us to get a clear sense for what the house would be like and also to feel in harmony with the setting. Later, their design showed such attention to detail, interplay of light and shadow inside the home, and livability. As a first-time house builder, they walked me through all of my options to control costs and yet get the house that I love, giving sound advice to both me and my builder every step of the way. Now that we're finished and I've lived here for almost 2 years, I can't imagine building another house, because mine is perfect (!) but if I do I will definitely turn to them again! Thanks so much!

David, Nicole and team designed a wonderful home for us in Florida. A long distance project can be a challenge but they made it work. Five years after moving in we are still in love with our home.