J. Kretschmer Architect: Art & Architecture

“J. Kretschmer Architect: Art & Architecture has my full endorsement as an outstanding architecture firm. My company has been involved in hundreds of construction projects over the past 19 years and we have worked with many highly regarded architects. I have had the pleasure of working with Jennifer on 3 projects over the past 2 years. In all instances, Jennifer has been incredibly responsive when it comes to providing detailed drawings and information to support the project. Jennifer is very organized, extremely intelligent and has an amazing eye for all design. At each turn of the construction process she has an informed answer to our technical questions, which allows the project to drive forward without delay. Access to this type of information is instrumental in the success of a project from a GC's perspective. Jennifer has the depth of knowledge and experience to lead a project from pre-construction planning thru to completion like very few others. From a builder’s perspective, our success can often rely on the architect's support & collaborative involvement. J. Kretschmer Architect: Art & Architecture provides us with timely answers and architectural details as issues come up in the field. I also attribute the success of our past jobs to Jennifer's ability to bring out the best in the project team - from the engineers, vendors, sub-trades, GC ... even the clients. Under Jennifer's lead, everyone is motivated to put their best effort forward for the common goal of making the project a success. The bay area does not suffer from a shortage of architects, and in a crowded field, only a small group of firms stand out in my opinion. I consider J. Kretschmer Architect: Art & Architecture to be one of the very best."

Did a great job. Pleasure to work with. She was the architect for an in-law unit we build. We did not use a general contractor and this was our first building project. One of the reasons we choose Jennifer is that her experience working with owner-builders. She was willing to let us do as much of the design/draft/getting permits as we could (to save $), but was there to help when we needed her. We wanted a place for my elderly parents now. We wanted it to be easily modifiable in 10 years for a college grad moving back home (if necessary). We wanted the place to be our design (we went in with a lot of drawings, floor plan,...) And of course it to be code compliant. Jennifer did a great job. Hoping to work with her again (when we save enough money to build a vacation house)

Total pro....would hire her again......converted my single level to a partial two story.....was worried it would look like an obvious add on, but what Jennifer designed made it look all original....cant say enough great things about her......

Jennifer did a wonderful redesign of my 1950's ranch. She was great to work with, always accessible and understood what I was looking for. I would certainly use her expertise again.

Jennifer is one of the most hardworking and dedicated person I know. She gives her best to every project she works on. Her attention to detail, strong sense of organization,control on all aspects impacting projects and above all her professionalism is what stands out for me. She has been my true mentor which speaks volumes about a professional. You are in safe hands with Jennifer!

After living in our house for a little over three years, my wife and I realized what we didn't like, but we lacked the vision to correct it. Enter Jennifer, who designed our complete kitchen remodel and also came up with a wonderful preliminary design for a future second story addition (making sure that we won't redo everything we did in the kitchen when we finally get to phase 2). Jennifer was a pleasure to work with, and had great vision for our space starting from the initial consultation. She really recognized our desire for improved flow throughout our home and into the backyard. It's hard to even remember what our home was like before because the new layout is so much better. Jennifer stayed involved even after the initial design, connecting us the contractors that we used (who were great) and working with them to make sure they understood the design plan. I would wholeheartedly recommend Jennifer to anyone looking to start a project but not knowing where to begin. (Our project is listed under "San Jose Kitchen Relocation and Remodel")

Jen was an absolute sweetheart and great to work with throughout, especially when we had to fire one contractor and hire another. In fact she was so kind, she recommended someone else. She worked with us throughout on the design of our Master Bed and Bath, together with Master Balcony construction. She went above and beyond in working with the Engineer to re-architect the truss roof after the first contractor cut the truss and was flexible and patient with us as we tried to get our house back. The end result was an absolutely gorgeous bed n bath and the views from our balcony are spectacular across the San Jose skyline. We would definitely use Jen again and recommend her to anyone who might be contemplating a remodel.

Jennifer was our architect for a remodel that included adding a second story and change layout of existing home. Working with Jennifer was a pleasure. She was always willing to listen to what we wanted and bring that in the plans. She is very knowledgeable and her recommendations were very helpful as we went through the planning process. I would highly recommend her!

My project consisted of adding a master suite and living room addition to a 100+ year old cottage. I had a good idea of what I wanted but needed an Architect to make my vision a reality. Jennifer was able to do that plus a few added bonuses. Jennifer and her team were professional throughout the process. She had a good understanding of the codes and requirements of my city (which resulted in a quick permit process), was easy to work with, listened to my ideas and in the end, created a design that was seamless with the original house. Overall, I am very pleased with the end result.

I have worked with Jennifer as a General Contractor on two projects. I recently remodeled a house designed by her in Los Gatos and the outcome of the project was great. Jennifer is easy to cooperate with, responsive and knowledgeable. Our communications were always transparent which helps tremendously in staying on track and meeting project's timelines. I highly recommend Jennifer's services.

The goal of our project was to change and improve the curb appeal of our previously ranch-style house; this included a new covered portico to replace the prior open porch as well as replacing windows, siding, roof, plus new driveway/sidewalk paver and landscape layout. After considering several architects we chose Jennifer; now that the project is finished we congratulate ourselves for our decision and we are absolutely satisfied with the end result. Jennifer has a warm manner and we were able to establish rapport with her immediately. When we contacted her we did not have a very clear, specific idea as to what we wanted. However, thanks to her excellent communication skills we felt she was not only really listening but also able to interpret and even clarify what was in our minds, often contributing ideas and useful suggestions to design, layout, structure, materials and color. She was instrumental in mediating the diverse ideas and opinions that accompanied this process. After explaining to her what we wanted, she and her architect colleague Lakshmi Subramanian came up with two different designs; one for a lower and another for a higher budget. After a discussion a third sketch evolved which best reflected our vision. Jennifer and Lakshmi were very available throughout the project, helping us with difficult decisions. They were consistently punctual and prompt. They were very easy to work with, and their cheerful and positive attitude made the project go smoothly and seem less painful than it could have been. They also had an excellent relationship with our contractor and all people involved during the construction process, periodically visiting the worksite. They are very knowledgeable about, and experienced with, the city's planning procedures and building codes and took care of the entire city approval process. We highly recommend J. Kretschmer Architect: Art & Architecture to the entire Houzz community with no hesitation. Thanks to their work we now see our hopes transformed into a concrete, beautiful reality. We plan to post photos of the completed project on Houzz in the future

Jennifer is an amazing architect with tremendous vision and a terrific attitude. I've been working with her for over a year now on a range of projects from the renovation of our game room to add a fireplace and redesign the surrounding areas to make it more suitable to our needs as well as a full addition of a complete luxury cabana, workshop and Porte-cochère that integrates beautifully on our overall lot and into our landscape. At every step, Jennifer was there to help us make the difficult decisions, troubleshoot challenges, ensure that we considered the options and created beautiful solutions that met our budget and never sacrificed the design or function. I have recommended Jennifer to friends and family and would highly recommend her for any project where you need both incredible talent and someone that can negotiate the inherent challenges associated with bringing great, functional designs through all stages of development. Jennifer worked with us on the project from inception through completion. She was there to create the initial concepts, full design, complete city/regional planning reviews as well as oversee construction, engineering, interior design, landscape design. She can handle the full breadth of work and just a great person to work with. The end product exceeded all our expectations, came in on budget and without hassle. Jennifer should be your first and only call for your Architecture and Design needs . I will add photos of all the beautiful work to this review shortly.

Jennifer designed a master suite addition and reconfigured the laundry room for my home. She provided a lot of advice on those "small", but important details such as the placement of sockets or windows to accommodate furniture. It's these kind of details that make a home great. She was very fast to turn around changes or documents and handled the entire city approval process from start to finish. She was well versed on the city's planning process and building codes, and was able to get approvals with almost no delays. Even after delivering the plans and approvals, she provided guidance and advice on the construction process. She would periodically visit the worksite to confirm the work was proceeding according to the plans and would point out possible issues or oversights by the contractors. Though we didn't hire her for interior design services, she offered several suggestions on material selections and referred us to a local supplier who provided design services. She even provided helpful reminders such selecting closets, since many contractors will simply install simple wire racks unless told otherwise. Overall, the entire remodel process was quite a bit easier and smoother with Jennifer's help. Her experience with the approval and construction process helped me to avoid quite a few mistakes along the way.

I had the pleasure of working with Jen on a remodel addition project earlier this year. What is most important to me is prompt service and getting City approval’s quickly and keeping things moving on the project. Jen is excellent getting plans drawn quickly and working through approval issues to get us to Bp issued. Jen came as a referral and I would highly recommend her services and will continue to look to her on our future projects.

Jennifer did a major architectural remodel on our home back in 2003-2004. She did an outstanding job, and we were so pleased with the results. She worked as such a great team with our general contractor, and the entire experience was pleasant, professional, and productive. We highly recommend her services!

I am so happy to have had Jennifer design my kitchen and front entry. We have owned a track house in the Sierra foothills for many years. Knew we wanted to change around the kitchen and great room, but couldn't come up with anything we liked. Had hired another designer who gave us the same old idea - nothing fresh. I gave Jennifer the blueprints and a video of the home, and she knocked it out of the park! Everyone loves our home, and folks who have the same floor plan are jealous that they didn't do something like this! I highly recommend Jennifer. She is creative, cost/budget conscious, and great to work with. She will listen to your ideas & needs in developing her plan.

Jennifer helped us remodel and enlarge a home. She is very attentive to clients needs and is knowledgeable about city codes and regulations. She was effcient and prompt.

I evaluated several architects before hiring Jennifer Kretschmer for our addition project. What I liked most about her was the care that she invested in making the changes appear so natural and seamless that no one guesses that we expanded our home! She really paid attention to the little details that we liked (and wanted to create) and did a fabulous job coming up with suggestions about how to make those ideas a reality in our home. I was also impressed with how well she managed the contractor and the inspectors. She was on site more frequently than I expected, ensuring that everything was done well and negotiating with the inspectors on some aspects of the code that were open for interpretation. Overall, we couldn't have been more pleased!

Jennifer was wonderful to work with on this special project. We collaborated on the design goals and she provided an original sketch we fell in love with immediately. She provided a timely and appropriate estimate. Jennifer stayed within budget and finished the project timely. I highly recommend her services.

It was a pleasure to work with Jennifer during the extensive remodel of our home. She shared many ideas that enhanced the beauty and functionality of our home while staying within our budget and keeping us informed of the status of required permits. She also worked well with our builder. I particularly enjoy our outdoor ktichen. We use it all year long! I would highly recommend Jennifer Kretschmer for her architectural and artistic talents. She's very professional and detail oriented.

Jennifer designed a remodel/addition to our previous home and a much larger scale complete remodel/addition to our current home. She not only incorporated our ideas into her design, but in each house she came up with new ideas that would have never occurred to us, yet made the homes so much better than they would have been had she only stuck to what we specifically asked for. She is very creative and really knows how to make an ordinary home extraordinary. At the same time, at neither house did did the finished project look out of place in the neighborhoods. We get compliments on our home all the time, as we did at our last home. It is very nice to live in a Jennifer Kretschmer creation. First house finished 2009, second house finished 2012.

We have worked with Jennifer on several projects over the years and have always appreciated her expertise and team minded spirit. She has always shown concern for the clients best interest, which is always important to insure a happy client and a successful project. If you want a successful project, consider bringing in Jennifer early in the process. She takes the time to research city issues and educate the client before the architect work begins.

Jennifer is an incredibly talented creative architect, but is unusually capable in the painful practical aspects of remodeling. She knows how to talk to contractors, deal with city permit processes, work with artistic kitchen designers, come up with creative solutions to seemingly impossible problems, and make sure you have what you need and want -- and things you didn't even know would be problems. We interviewed many architects for a difficult, challenging remodel, and she was heads above the others. She helped us deal with the countless inevitable problems that come up in remodeling, worked closely with the contractor, and saw the project through to completion. I can't imagine ever working with another architect, she's exceptional in all aspects.