Smith & Vansant Architects PC

In November 2017 we undertook a major renovation with Smith and Vansant as our architect shortly after we bought our house, parts of which were built in 1880. We interviewed two local architects and planned on seeing two more, but when we met Pi Smith, there was no question that we had found the right one. She immediately identified problems we had found—front door confusion and the need to “cozify” the huge master bedroom, for instance. And her description of the way her firm works—produce a complete plan set, with details; emphasize collaboration within the firm, with the owner, and with the builder; and see the project through construction—suited us perfectly. (Being engineers we value hashing through the details, welcoming all ideas, before construction gets underway and working in a collaborative manner.) And it was an excellent partnership. The Project Manager, Stephen Branchflower, capably handled the day-to-day work and prepared drawings with attention to detail. Pi was always there, listening to our needs and guiding the design while providing so many good ideas and resources. Their professional experience was invaluable in steering us toward choices we are now so happy with, such as Pi gently pushing us to “have a little fun” with light fixtures in the farmhouse kitchen, using oil-rubbed bronze fixtures in the all-white “bohemian” guest bathroom, or details of cased openings and baseboards much deeper than anything familiar to us. John Vansant was most helpful with solving drainage and access problems on the exterior. He was on the spot to redesign a beam that replaced a load-bearing wall to open up the living room, once it was clear there was room to bury a deeper beam in the floor system above thus eliminating a post too close to the foot of the stairs. Pi was indispensable in helping us choose paint colors throughout the house that give color and life, but are eminently livable. When it came to construction, they helped us select the builder and maintained coordination throughout the project with weekly meetings that allowed for occasional course corrections that are to be expected during major renovations; subsequent changes were always discussed between all parties. We appreciated how upfront Pi was about budgets and billing which helped eliminate issues related to overall cost.

I hired Smith & Vansant to design my kitchen and bathroom renovation. I couldn't be happier with the experience or the result. From beginning to end, they were professional, responsive, and creative. I worked mainly with Pi, who helped with everything from layout to tile and color choices. She also did a fantastic job updating my kitchen in a way that blends beautifully with the house's older features. SVA worked very well with the contractor. The whole project ran smoothly; I would hire them again without hesitation.

We had a most positive experience with Smith and Vansant Architects--in every respect. While our relationship was predominantly with two key architects, they brought in others in the firm when their expertise was called upon. They listened well, proposed choices for design elements, were creative in their thinking about the challenges, and were incredibly detailed throughout the process. Their follow-through was impeccable--both with us and with the builders. S and V helped us to create a home we truly love.

We worked with Smith and Vansant to design a vacation home that would meet our needs both now with two young children and for later in life. From the earliest days of siting the house on our property and thinking about the concept, we were so impressed with how everyone at Smith and Vansant worked as a team, both internally as well as with us, our interior design team and our contractors. We looked forward to every house meeting and phone call and couldn’t be more pleased with the finished product. Smith and Vansant paid attention to every little detail with an eye to ensuring an aesthetically pleasing result as well as a completely livable space! It’s been amazing for us to look from one room to the next and vividly recall the discussions with Pi, Ira and Stephen that made that transition so incredible. We’ve been enjoying our house for nearly two years and haven’t discovered a single thing that we would change!

Smith and Vansant took our tentative idea, turned it into a concept and built us a home that surpassed our dreams. We recently renovated an existing carriage barn on our horse farm into a two story home with garage. The project presented Jason, Erica and Pi with lots of existing spacial design challenges. Throughout the project, they were incredibly creative, detailed, responsive, excellent communicators and most importantly great listeners! We always knew what to expect as it pertained to construction and our budget. So seamless was the design that the most common comment we receive is that it is impossible to tell where the original building ends and the new construction begins. We love our new home full of light, color, views from every window and outdoor living space. And the best part of all is that it is uniquely ours. There is no doubt that the home embraces the priorities of our life in a very real and functional way. We highly recommend Team Smith and Vansant Architects.

Smith & Vansant did a fabulous job renovating and adding onto our Vermont home. From start to finish, they were inspired and inventive professionals who cared as much about our home as if it were their own. The quality of the work was absolutely first-rate We couldn't be happier with the result and we give them the highest recommendation. For photos, please see "Breezeway House." What the photos don't show is how completely transformed our house was by their ingenuity—and how fun it was to work with them!

I worked with Smith and Vasant over a period of 6 years as a Project Manager for a custom builder which did and continues to work with them. The communication and facilitation of client meetings is excellent. The design capabilities of the team at Smith and Vasant are deep and highly evolved. The projects varied from very modern to traditional and the design development, siting of the structure and integration of the client's ideas and needs was outstanding in every one of them. I highly recommend making Smith and Vasant part of your construction team

We hired Smith & VanSant to help with our Vermont home. When we first met with Pi (Smith), we started with our wish list: wanting more space in the living room, a screened in porch (a life-long ambition for one of us), updating of both bathrooms and ideas for the upstairs configuration. On her second visit Pi began to translate what she saw in her mind to a vision we could imagine. SVA brought creativity and experience (in design, material, regional knowledge). The whole team of SVA (Pi, Erica, Sue and John) then got involved, leading to a final result that was entirely in keeping with the scale of the house (small), the 'feel' of the house (simple, clean lines with natural materials) and our wishes. Every day we are thrilled with the outcome.

"Colorful," "elegant," "welcoming" -- those are the words friends use to describe our newly renovated condominium in White River Junction, Vermont. We chose Smith & Vansant as our architects; we'd worked with them before on a house in Norwich, Vermont (its living room bookcase is featured on Houzz and has had more than 52,000 saves!). We knew Smith & Vansant would be mindful of our budget and listen carefully to our needs. Our needs were stated clearly: "We're downsizing, and we want people coming to the new house to think they're coming to the old. We want everything we'll need for 'aging in place' (we're both in our seventies) but we want it to be youthful and gorgeous." The project was a complete renovation of a clunky condo, down to the 2x4s, and took a year. The weekly drawing board meetings were fun. The result is more than we'd hoped for: beautiful hardwood floors, custom-built closets and cupboards, lots of additional light from skylights, and a feeling of space everywhere. Pi Smith and Sue Reed were attentive to every step of the process. We are a hundred percent happy and recommend them without reservation.

After interviewing several firms we hired SVA for a unique lakeside project in Vermont. Given a challenging footprint (which had to be modified via countless ridiculous town meetings) and the requirement that the house freezes every winter, SVA came up with a unique design for a traditionally clad modern guest lakehouse that knocks the socks off all who view it. They were superiorly professional amidst small town politics, and as the owner I was gladly included on every level of the project. Their attention to detail was incredible, not losing focus for overall comfort. Not only have I found top notch architects, but I believe to have made life long friends.

Smith & Vansant is a phenomenal architectural firm. In fact, working with them renovated not only my house, but my life! After 15 years or so of living with the property more or less as I found it, my tiny 1850 Cape needed long-overdue renovations -- including improvements to all major systems, solutions to a big water problem in the basement, a new kitchen, a new roof, adding working and living space, and a home office, along with extensive site work and landscaping. From a design perspective, they are simply brilliant. They have a fantastic aesthetic sense; know how to integrate old and new in a way that is pure genius; and are skilled problem-solvers. I wanted the house to be more liveable and comfortable, while still honoring the antique details that had drawn me to the property in the first place. Pi Smith and Stephen Branchflower in particular not only listened to me all along the way, but heard me. They gave me exactly what I had hoped for. From a practical perspective, I needed to live in the house while this was going on, and they were sensitive to my need to carry on amidst the upheaval. They worked closely with the contractor, Lud Leskovar, to assure that I was comfortable and inconvenienced a little as humanly possible while the work was being done all around me. Smith & Vansant, Lud Leskovar and I worked closely as a team. The kept me informed as to costs all along the way and helped me make decisions that took into account my both budget and my dreams. They were endlessly patient and always kind. Everyone in this close-knit firm is a pleasure to work with, operates with the highest integrity, and knows what they are doing. I can't recommend Smith & Vansant highly enough. For photos of this project, see "Houzz Tour: Beautiful, Hardworking Cape Renovation" on this site.