Smith Associates Architects PA

Ever since we had moved into our 1923 Craftsman style bungalow in a historic neighborhood in late 2000, we had toyed with the idea of turning our second-story “bonus room” into a fourth bedroom. The bonus room was a crudely finished, dimly lit, unheated attic space we used for storage; our daughter, when young, called it “haunted.” The sloped roof offered no headroom and its only access point was through a small closet door. Scott Smith’s design solved all of these problems and improved other parts of the house as well. In fact, it resulted in something so much better than we had envisioned, something almost grand. He proposed to lift parts of the roof (similar to shed dormers) to create spaciousness and adequate ceiling height and install large windows on both sides for maximum light. As access point, he suggested to take a small section of an existing bedroom away to create a hallway that would convey an open, unrestricted feeling due to a set of French doors on one side (to the now smaller bedroom) and a wall cut-out on the other (overlooking the stairwell). He also managed to include four very large closets, including a walk-in closet (!), which are a rarity in the old homes in my neighborhood. Final coup were some clever storage cubbies under the eaves that are large enough for suitcases, camping equipment, holiday decorations, and similar stuff. The transformation has been outstanding. This inviting, spacious, light-filled suite has become our family favorite. It could easily serve as master suite, although we prefer it as an office/guest room/retreat. As an added bonus, the foam insulation ensures very comfortable temperatures year round with no impact on my gas and electric bills. (That was a nice surprise.) Scott also managed to preserve the historic character of the house. From the outside, only the new casement windows allow the hint of a suspicion that this part of the second story wasn’t original to the house. (Double-hang windows weren’t possible due to egress codes.) A realtor friend who came by to check it out proclaimed it “one of the best additions [she] had ever seen.” Hiring Smith Associates was probably one of our best decisions as homeowners. We also would like to thank Frank Curtis of Curtis Contracting for his excellent work as general contractor. The photos show before and after images.

After 31 years in our home my husband and I decided to add on the master bedroom/bathroom we had always dreamed of. Scott was highly recommended to us by our contractor...he definitely lived up to our high expectations! He was efficient and creative in giving us the most bang for our buck! He and his wife(who does wonderful design work) are so pleasant and easy to communicate with. Whether a new build or remodel, we would not hesitate to use them again! Highly recommend!!

Scott provided design documents and construction guidance for a major home renovation and addition. The outcome was quite amazing and transformed my residence from one needing updates to a home with style and completeness.

We worked several months with Scott Smith to design a new home for my wife and me. We provided Scott with a list of necessary design features, and a few "it would be nice if..." sort of ideas. The very first thing that Scott did was look at the property. The lot sits on the edge of a wildlife preserve, and he used this as the focus for the design. There will be a large screened-in porch facing the preserve. (see photo) We went through a few design sketches, and we allowed—rather encouraged—Scott to put his own artistic flair on the design. In order to get all the features we needed, we pushed the project way over what we had originally planned for. Scott helped us by providing some alternate ideas that would still fulfill our needs, but cost us less. Turn-around time with changes was generally only a couple of days. We were quite impressed by that. He took what was a rather general description of the overall flavour we wanted the house to have, and created a design that will be stunning when it is completed in a couple of months.

Smith Associates Architects PA are GREAT! I would highly recommend Scott Smith. Scott is friendly, and easy to talk with. His agency works with each client focusing on the clients needs and desires, while offering realistic suggestions. I was most impressed by Scott's desire to see the property where the house was going to be built. Any architect can design a house and not care where it is going to be built. However, Scott wanted to take advantage of all the positives of the property while minimizing any negatives. His designs were prompt and unique. Communication was prompt. His professionalism is without question. He is exactly what I expected and wanted in an architect. I would highly recommend this company.