place architecture:design

It was such a pleasure working with Laurie Stubb of Place Architecture on our Whole House Remodel. The completed project exceeded our expectations. It was a large project that spanned several months and Laurie was always available for minor changes to the design as the construction evolved. Her communication skills were excellent, She also managed the challenges of a contractor who had difficulty managing his time. See the photos below for highlights of just the completed exterior - before the project, this was a boring 1970's ranch house with fake stone on the front and no porch. The interior is equally stunning and functional.

We were so fortunate to have someone as talented as Laurie on our team! Not only did she execute our vision for what we wanted the finished project to look like, but we were confident from very beginning that our project would go smoothly when we saw how well she, the builder and our decorator were able to work together to achieve her vision. Laurie was patient, professional and always available when we needed to consult or troubleshoot any particular issue that came up during the planning and building phase. We will miss seeing her!!

We were introduced to Laurie for architectural design in a multi-phase backyard reconstruction project to transform our deteriorating 1960s back patio and yard area into a relaxing, mid-century modern outdoor living space. Laurie was a true professional - knowledgeable about mid-century modern design; open to our ideas and input; collaborative in working through decisions on structure, colors, materials and finishes; and always respectful of balancing design with budget. She seemed just as excited about the project as we were; and, it showed in the creativity of her work. Laurie was able to take our vision and elevate it to a sophisticated aesthetic and warm atmosphere that is impossible to articulate. The end result just takes your breath away... If you are considering Laurie for a project, I would say don't hesitate. Get into her queue ASAP. She may be in high demand and having Laurie's design expertise on your project is well worth the wait. We have already commissioned Laurie for a new small fence project, and we will definitely seek her input when we are ready for our basement remodel.

Laurie was wonderful and easy to work with. We needed advice and coaching for identifying properties we could convert to our desired modern style. We learned so much from her professional perspective to guide our decision making. When we found a property we needed to assess on short notice, Laurie assembled a great team for the site visit. Through all the crazy turns of our search, she was responsive and balanced pragmatism with supportive encouragement. We found our forever home and look forward to working with her again on the remodel.

Excellent service from start to finish! Laurie listened carefully to our renovation plans for both inside and outside the house, drew up designs that were to our satisfaction, and we ended up with a spectacular end product. She dealt closely with the builder to discuss and resolve numerous issues and was firm with "holding the line" with our desires. She also was very helpful in providing many options for color and style. We would highly recommend her and would be happy to share our experience with any potential client.

We hired Laurie to be the architect and project manager on a major 2 year gut reno of a mid-century ranch. She did the full redesign of the home - changing room and wall configurations, entry and exits, window and door layout - everything. This was a major overhaul and change for this house requiring the work of a smart and talented architect. The design work on our house was flawless, the end result is everything we dreamed, and her project managing skills are beyond reproach. I cannot recommend Laurie highly enough. 1. AESTHETICS AND DESIGN SKILLS - Laurie has wonderful aesthetics and a keen design sense. We are contemporary / mid-century / minimalists and I found Laurie's taste level to be at the highest level. Her ideas were always clever, but with a good mind towards keeping the overall design unified and tasteful. That said - though she was always quick with a lot of well thought-out ideas of her own, she was always incredibly excited and supportive of our ideas. We are both artists/designers - and in that way we are extremely picky clients. We had strong ideas about what the house should and should not feel and look like - and laurie was all about making our ideas come out as perfectly as we wanted. She never imposed her vision on us - and we really worked well as a team to get to the best possible outcome. She was never shy telling me when she thought I was wrong (and she was usually right!), but she was also incredibly supportive when we had a strong vision in our mind and just wanted to run with it. Above all: Frankly I don't there are many people working locally with this refined of a taste level. If you want a beautiful contemporary and timeless home, you cannot go wrong working with Laurie. 2. PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS - I cannot stress enough how good Laurie is at general pragmatic problem-solving - which is a byproduct both of her intelligence, but also her pragmatism. This is a real strength, Anytime an issue came up - and they will - she was a quick and ready problem solver. This always kept the job moving -and she has a keen mind toward the practical. She always had a great suggestion to get us where we wanted to be with the least amount of cost and hassle. This was an incredible asset and really kept the job moving. I cannot understate how important of a skill this is. We worked well as a team, bouncing ideas back and forth quickly and every problem was resolved handily without stress. 3. CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS - We had a terrible time with our contractor (who I do not recommend) but Laurie was a god send in that situation. I ended up really having to rely on her to be a go between and neutral party in that conflict. She really rose to the occasion - and her stepping in allowed the job to get finished - and not devolve into a walk off or lawsuit. I have not doubt without Laurie's calming presence I or the contractor would have walked - and in the end it was better for everyone that we just finished and moved on. She is dispassionate, calm, collected and cool at all times. She was literally the only person on our entire job who never once lost her cool. She gave honest sound counsel about how we could be better clients and keep conflict to a minimum and she was empathetic when the fault lay elsewhere. If you hire laurie just do drawings with no oversight - she'll do a great job - but if you need a more hands on approach - she is an excellent full-service project manager. I would trust her implicitly, not matter how big the job. I have no reservations and recommend Laurie with my highest recommendation. Even after a really stressful time with our contractor she was always the ray of sunshine on our job - so much so that we just hired her for another giant full gut reno on a building downtown. My highest recommendation.

A year and a half ago, my wife and I bought a rather frumpy and dilapidated 1969 house on a wooded hillside bordering Lake Roland Park, in hopes of turning it into a comfy and sleekly modern home in tune with its beautiful surroundings. Laurie Stubb's design helped us do just that. She was a pleasure to work with at every step along the way. From the first meeting onward she had wonderfully creative ideas, yet she was always keenly attuned to our own likes and dislikes, and to what we were hoping to achieve. She assisted greatly in selecting a builder, and in trying to hold down costs down along the way, and she remained closely involved throughout the process, while offering good advice on decisions large and small. We highly recommend Place Architecture, and are thrilled with how the house turned out.

Laurie Stubb was a key partner in my major house renovation, and I highly recommend her. My project included: (1) more than doubling the size of my kitchen by pushing it outside the house footprint, plus adding a cathedral ceiling and a large island with seating, prep sink and cabinets; (2) creating a much larger master bath with a wall of storage and a separate toilet enclosure, a updated hall bath, and a walk-in master bedroom closet, all by gutting the center of the circa 1956 house and pushing the master bath wall out a couple of feet; and (3) more routine work, such as building a deck, powder room and pantry. Throughout the complex process, it helped to have her expertise. For both the design and construction phases, she continually came up with innovative ideas. Even more important, I felt she listened to what I wanted so that there was an effective give-and-take that resulted in a higher quality end-product. Additionally, she supported me by suggesting various other professionals and vendors (e.g., the structural engineer and the manufacturer of the beautiful, handmade kitchen backsplash tiles). After the design plans were complete, she recommended building contractors and helped with the bid process. Once I had chosen the contractor, she stayed with the project, providing construction and selection advice in a timely manner whenever I needed it. It helped that I found her aesthetic sense excellent, and that she was professional, flexible and also friendly. I am delighted with the final results, and visitors always comment on how beautiful the new rooms are, worthy of a spread in a magazine. I definitely enjoyed working with Laurie. She is a real asset if you are undertaking an extensive home renovation.

Laurie was recommended by an architect who worked with us on a previous project and who had since retired. We were very fortunate to receive this recommendation, as Laurie turned out to be a great partner for our addition. Our goal was to design a screened porch (along with a bluestone patio) that was more akin to a finished room that happened to have a lot of screens. Laurie worked with us through a number of iterations of the plans, and we ended up with a design that fully reflected what we had hoped to achieve. We found Laurie to be a true professional. Her work is top-notch, she was very responsive, and she was a good listener. She was also exceedingly patient, as our questions and specifications were very detailed. The outcome of that good working relationship was a set of plans that were very thorough and that could be executed by our builder (D2 Contractors) with minimal issues or subsequent decisions that needed to be made. We are thrilled with the results and would highly recommend Laurie. Thanks so much Laurie…we are thoroughly enjoying our outside living area!

Laurie is a delight to work with. We have worked together on projects for several years and find her creativity and communication skills to be of the utmost quality. Laurie strives to understand and achieve the vision and dreams of her clients. She always makes herself available when questions arise on the job and works hard to find a solution that meets the vision with the customer and myself in mind. Laurie is mindful of the budget but is willing to make suggestions and hear suggestions that may improve upon design, functionality, and aesthetics. We will continue to recommend Place Architecture to our clients and look forward to working with Laurie for continued success in our joint projects.

We can't say enough good things about Laurie Stubb, Place Architecture. We are working with a builder who is customizing a gut rehab row home in Baltimore, including layout for us, and without Laurie, we would be lost. Laurie is very knowledgeable, easy to work with, and has excellent design aesthetic. We had a lot of starts and stops with our project and she was patient and efficient with us along the way. She is very creative and practical about what works with the space and everyday life while keeping in mind the overall design.

We worked with Laurie to renovate the kitchen in our 1969 rancher. Working with Laurie was a wonderful experience and we would absolutely work with her again. Before we started the project, we were unsure of how extensive a renovation we wanted. Laurie really helped in the design phase to formulate the best plan to match our wishes and budget. Laurie thought a lot about the details in our kitchen and helped us spec out finishes, especially with our cabinets, to ensure that those design details came through in the finished kitchen. Laurie was always very responsive and helpful over email and we bounced a lot of ideas off her throughout the entire process, from the preliminary design stages, to choosing lighting fixtures and finishes when the project was mostly complete. We are very pleased with the final product and Laurie was instrumental in making the project a success.

I most highly recommend Laurie Stubb, of Place Architecture. We used her services to help us plan and execute a basement demolition and rebuild in our house built in 1901. From start to finish she provided top notch, quality work. She was prompt in answering our many questions. She did what she said she would do when she said she would do it. She took a lot of time to understand what we wanted for the project. We loved her plans for the basement. The design was beautiful. Her artistic sense is excellent. She came up with creative touches which made the project special. I appreciated her willingness to go to the showroom and help with product selection. She steered us to a contractor who was excellent. The contractors appreciated her good drawings, which because they were thought-through and detailed made the job go smoothly. Everyone who takes a tour of our new basement is very impressed by the quality of the re-model, which directly reflects on the quality of Laurie's work.

Working with Laurie was like working with family! Her genuine interest in maximizing our living space within our budget was truly appreciated. Laurie's many innovative and current suggestions were a big help. Hire her, you won't be sorry!

After a 2 year relationship with Laurie, I can attest to her professionalism, her creativity, her patience, and ultimately to her talent and insight. She was able to have a vision for a renovation that met many unexpected challenges, and she came through with a beautiful ....spectacular ....finished product! And she listens!! It was a long distance project, so communication was key. I highly recommend her professionally as well as a woman of high integrity. She is joy to work with.

We were first time remodelers with little experience in balancing our 'wants' with price. Laurie is a great listener. We wanted to expand and do a major renovation of the master bath, re-work master bedroom closets, kitchen and family room. When the expansion estimate was too costly for the amount of extra space we would get she thoughtfully cut back so that we still have just about everything we wanted. She even found a really creative way to have a full mirror over the double sunk vanity without sacrificing a window. Because the general contractor (Dale German at D2 Contractors who we also highly recommend) said he could start right away, the project did not have final plans - just drawings that were modified on the fly as needed. Laurie had to be very flexible and available to us and Dale. The sheer magnitude of decisions from tile to lighting to outlet and switch placement was overwhelming. Laurie was there for us through it all, helping with even the smallest things such as paint and roof color. When both she and Dale at D2 recommended something we knew it was the right way to go. She also has a great eye for noticing when something was just slightly off. We would definitely work with Laurie again if we had another project and highly recommend her.

Laurie's designs were wonderful! The job turned out beautifully and totally opened up a dark room to one that appeared to double in size with much needed light. We are extremely happy with how our project turned out. Laurie's sense of balance and placement were excellent. We could not have done this without her expertise.

Laurie was a pleasure to work with on our project. She had a great eye for design and space. She was extremely knowledgeable about product selections. She was great coordinating communication and work flow with our contractor. And most importantly, she was quick to respond to all questions and requests. Laurie was very professional, but also provided a personal touch.

We needed to remove an eyesore structure and change the back of our home, re-imagining our kitchen and living area in the process. We also needed to do a major renovation of the master bathroom. We found Place Architecture to be exceptional listeners to what we wanted and what we needed. The three proposed designs we were given were all thoughtful and solved our property's problems, in addition to being stylish. When we needed to downsize our ambitions to be more in line with our budget, the process was easy and pleasant---and the results still looked great. Place helped us find reputable contractors in our price range, and Laurie has stayed involved during the building process. She has a good eye for noticing things that aren't quite right and does a great job acting as our advocate when necessary. In addition, it is very useful to have Place on board to consult on design directions when you are in the midst of all the decision making. Laurie has great taste and more than once suggested an innovative solution to an issue we had. We would work with Place and Laurie again and highly recommend her.

We just completed our second project with Laurie Stubb and could not have been more pleased. Two years ago, Laurie helped us remodel our kitchen and sunroom. This past year she designed a wonderful master bath and closet addition along with new master bedroom windows that have really taken advantage of our location with views of the Chesapeake Bay. Laurie was a pleasure to work with on all aspects of the projects and both came in on budget. Working on the plans, which I find to be the most challenging, was not at all. Laurie presents numerous options from which we could easily mix and match. Her availability to answer questions promptly and to steer us to product websites or stores was invaluable. I would hire Place Architecture again without hesitation.

I’ve been fortunate to photograph several residential projects for Laurie Stubb of Place Architecture over the past year. She’s a fantastic architect with a keen eye for detail and a very open, honest, and approachable manner, evidenced by the strong relationships she maintains with her clients. Every Place client I’ve met loves her work and has been happy to welcome us into their home for photography. My own home is due for a complete interior rehab in the near future, and Laurie is at the top of my list. I highly recommend giving her a call.

Laurie is not only an expert in her field but she's also a pleasure to work with. She seemed to have a sense of what our vision for our home was and helped us build upon those ideas. We had to scale back our initial plan due to budget constraints and she easily navigated us through the process. She always responded very quickly to emails and phone calls. We never felt like we were left to figure anything out on our own. She is a true professional as well as and artist. And she has fabulous style!

To say that we are thrilled with our space would be an understatement. Laurie designed a new kitchen with breakfast room, master bedroom and bathroom, upstairs bonus room, and reconfigured the flow of our first floor, including relocating our basement steps. Laurie listened to our concerns about our current house and our needs, then created 3 thoughtfully designed layouts. After selecting one, she worked with us to refine the design to fit our specific needs. This was a lengthy process and Laurie was receptive to the details we wanted to capture. The design process can be very stressful and there are a lot of decisions to make, but Laurie took the time to guide us. This was the first time we took on a project of this caliber which was intimidating at times and Laurie was always patient while we were working through the plans. She also created a schedule for us to select materials which allowed us to take time to find exactly what we wanted. This has transformed our house into a home.

We loved working with Laurie Stubb from Place Architecture. From design to finishes her patience, knowledge, creativity and great personality got us through. Our project involved gutting and full redesign of a kitchen, including removing walls, incorporating a bonus room into an eat-in area, removing a staircase, adding/rearranging doors and windows and blending the new area into our open floor plan in other rooms. Laurie's provided multiple creative options in the beginning and throughout the project. In addition to design, her instincts for finishes make it all come together. She's a great listener and really tuned in to how we want to use the space with our family. We couldn't be happier with the results.

It has been our pleasure to work with Laurie Stubb, owner of Place Architecture, on a number of significant renovations to our home. Because of Laurie we have been able to modernize our 1960s ranch while maintaining the property’s original integrity and its fit with its heavily wooded surroundings. Laurie’s guidance from the outset combined her creative vision of the renovations’ aesthetic potential with respect for our own tastes and our practical requirements. The result, in our new all-seasons room, is the transformation of a porch in disrepair into a warm, sparkling space that brings the woods into the room and makes it difficult to leave. For our new bathroom, Laurie rescued an outdated and all-but-dysfunctional space, creating a modern, easily accessible area, complete with sauna. Laurie’s knowledge extends well beyond the conceptual and creative side of design to the highly practical skills of getting the work done. She is thoroughly familiar with the latest materials and products – from concrete and structural steel to flooring and bathroom fixtures – and can converse knowledgably with all of the tradespeople involved in the job. She is quite detail-oriented and supervises the project closely, helping to ensure that the job stays on schedule and that the work is done properly. She serves as an effective intermediary between the homeowner and the prime contractor and is not afraid to insist that work be redone if it is not satisfactory. Laurie also is very easy to work with. She is firm but flexible, expressing her opinions forthrightly about what she thinks is best aesthetically and practically, but always willing to accede to the client’s wishes. We recommend Laurie and Place Architecture without hesitation to anyone considering residential renovation. Marjorie and Joseph McInerney Project named Mt. Rain Sunroom on HOUZZ site.

Laurie and her partner Sarah helped us redesign our very dated 1950s era colonial, with an eye toward blending the old and the new--enabling us to create a modern kitchen and dining room that fits in our colonial-style home. She did an excellent job of managing billing and working with us to keep costs under control, while she and Sarah created a stunning new home for our family.

Laurie has a great design aesthetic and made our addition look as if it has always been a part of the house, which was very important to us. She was so patient in working with us to accommodate all of our needs, when we couldn't afford all of our wants. Her sensitive approach helping us sort through our priorities to include all that was most important to achieve our ultimate goals. She also helped prepare us and guide us through the construction process. This was invaluable!

Laurie Stubb, the principal for place architecture:design, has been working with us for many years. Her enthusiasm, energy and most importantly her experience in residential design has helped many of our clients. We are a general contractor in business for 30 years and have had the opportunity to work with many design professionals. Laurie brings an intuitive mind, a trained eye and the design experience that we promise to provide to our clients. We call on Place Architecture for many of our architectural needs. They are a professional firm that will deliver what they promise. Call them, you won't be disappointed. Owings Brothers Contracting

We used Place for an addition to our home. Laurie spent a lot of time listening to what our needs were and then came up with 3 designs incorporating those ideas. What we got exceeded our imaginations. Not only does the addition look like it was always there, we got everything we wanted within our budget.