Studio CrowleyHall, pllc

Studio Crowley-Hall designed and managed the 2021-2022 renovation of our DC row house. We absolutely LOVE the home that Studio Crowley Hall created for us. Michael and Anne carefully considered and debated every design detail and it shows in how it looks, in how it feels, and in how it functions. There’s great design everywhere we look and we’re extremely happy with the end result. Our design brief was to completely renovate the first floor, create a new back porch/patio, and create a separate basement apartment. The design brief gave wide design latitude, but included one specific request to preserve a small room at the rear of our home that my wife used for her art studio and home office. We met with several design firms who either proposed removing all interior walls and eliminating the dedicated studio space, or they proposed leaving the room in place, resulting in a compromised design. In fairness, our design brief was too constrained. My partner found Studio Crowley-Hall on Houzz, impressed by their beautiful interiors and how well those integrated with their exterior spaces. Although they received the same design brief as everyone else, they understood what we truly needed and presented a concept to relocate the studio to the middle of the house. The result is a stunning studio-office space, which allows for a spacious kitchen-dining area that spans the width of the house. Before our renovation, we thought the primary purpose of an architect firm was design and permitting, but we quickly learned that a good firm also gives you the benefit of their extensive knowledge of local contractors. In parallel to the design process, Studio Crowley-Hall managed our contractor bidding process and got us under an AIA contract with a local contractor who had successfully completed similar projects for them in the past. Studio Crowley Hall's rolodex of local contractors also came into play during the renovation. The original plan was to enclose the studio-office space with reclaimed warehouse windows to maximize light, but we couldn’t find suitable windows after months of searching. Instead, Michael designed a custom steel window & door system tailored to the space, and worked with a local iron fabricator to execute his design. Not only does the custom system look ten times better than the original concept, the final cost was far less than we would have paid for a commercial window wall system. Shout-out to Naty Ironworks, Custom Performance Coating, and Gaithersburg Glass Company who fabricated, powder coated, and glazed the frames. Every renovation entails hundreds of decisions, but the single most important decision is selecting the architect firm who will design your home. We’re extremely thankful and grateful to Michael and Anne for designing our home. We wish you the best of luck in selecting yours.

We had a project to turn an underutilized basement in a D.C. row house into a one-bedroom apartment. It became apparent our first architect, though certainly competent, did not have experience with this sort of project. So we looked for a more local architect and found Anne — and we’re glad we did! Anne had done lots of similar work and guided us through the not-so-easy D.C. permitting process. She designed an attractive apartment that made good use of the limited space with some lovely touches. She also kept up with the all the details and helped us make the many decisions with no-nonsense advice. Importantly, she worked closely with the contractor to see the job to completion. I was new to the area and feel fortunate to have found Anne. Yes -- I would definitely use her services again!

We can recommend Studio Crowley Hall (SCH) without any reservations. Both of the owners, Michael and Anne, are highly professional and responsive. Without going into great detail, our project did not go well at all. However, this was completely the fault of the builder (as a side note, NEVER hire Rodas Builders a.k.a. Premier Builders of Maryland as your contractor), and had nothing to do with SCH. In fact, without SCH's help, we would have been in a much, much worse situation. Further, if we had listened more closely to SCH and taken their original recommendation for a builder, we probably would not have had any problems. In short, they can be trusted, their recommendations are sound, and they work to solve problems as soon as problems arise. Some highlights: 1. We really liked the weekly meetings. Even though our original builder was awful it was the mechanism we leaned on to keep things moving. 2. SCH guided us through the overwhelming aspects, like what you pick when. More often than not, when we didn't go with their choices, we wish we had. 3. Michael works very easily with builders and Anne does great with the design elements so they balance out really well. Finally, If you have a project budget in mind, you should work to stick to that budget. SCH will design a solution for you based on your discussions with them. They will clearly explain to you where and how their design could/will exceed your budget. But you may fall in love with their solution, and then you will need to find more money (as we did). However, if you direct them to design a solution that is within your original budget, they will comply.

Studio CrowleyHall "Had me at hello"! Anne and Michael are so passionate about their work and providing the best service to their clients. This was immediately evident to me! After several negative experiences with other architects, I was thrilled to have found Studio CrowleyHall and their truly sterling character. I have touted their abilities and demeanor to everyone I know, and I highly recommend Studio CrowleyHall Architects! I love Anne and Michael and you will too! Hire them now!

We hired Studio Crowley Hall to design our renovation/addition. We had a horrible experience with them and fired them before construction even began. They were consistently behind schedule in getting us our promised drawings and ultimately undermined our relationship with our contractor. They did not listen to what we wanted - and we oftentimes had to insist on something multiple times before they agreed to draw it in the plans. Although Anne appeared to always take notes, she regularly failed to implement our requests. On top of all of that, while they agreed to a flat fee, on multiple occasions they claimed that we would have to pay more- for no apparent reason - and despite the fact that there was no contractual basis for requiring that we pay more. We spoke with other architects who opined that what they were doing was totally unprofessional and unethical. We’ve now heard about a number of other people who had similarly awful experiences with SCH. Overall, SCH was rude and difficult to work with. We absolutely do not recommend them.

We worked with Studio Crowley Hall on a house renovation in 2019-2020 and were really pleased with the outcome. Anne and Michael designed a modern extension that respected and fit well with the existing historic structure. They effectively captured design ideas we brought to the project and helped us see opportunities we hadn’t considered, for example improving views to the backyard and bringing out the unique character of the existing structure. They were also really helpful in identifying strategies for updating the existing spaces while staying within the overall budget. We really appreciate the design and functionality of our new space!

Anne and Michael were such a great low-key team, helping us figure out what to do with our kitchen, which was small and dark. Working within the original footprint of our 1920 Adams Morgan townhouse, they helped us work towards a very simple solution with exciting, unexpected results. The surprise that we weren’t even focused on was, when the wall was knocked down between the kitchen and dining room, not only did we acquire an amazing new, light kitchen but our dining room changed exponentially. So much more light! So much bigger! And not one change to the footprint. The tall glass doors now allow light to pour into the two spaces. We are constantly in the kitchen, which we used to avoid because it was so depressing. Now it's the spot where everyone wants to be, and I can actually grow plants in there as well. Finally we feel like grown-ups--in a good way! Thank you so so so much. We have already recommended you three times.

We underwent an extensive renovation of our row home with Anne and Michael and the results were fantastic. They were able to execute our vision in a way we couldn't even imagine. Passerbyers regularly ask who designed our extension and we gladly recommend them! We are already looking forward to phase 2.

We hired Michael and Anne to help us with a renovation of our front yard and to build a roof deck on top of our rowhouse in Columbia Heights, Washington D.C. We couldn't be happier with the results and the level of attention Michael and Anne gave us throughout the process. Their willingness to incorporate our ideas into their designs and their advocacy for us throughout the construction process was impressive and much appreciated. They truly care about their clients and they have a great ability to think outside the box to find solutions and deliver results. We highly recommend Studio Crowley Hall and would certainly use their services again in the future.

This project was related to a total gut and redo of a 1200 sq ft condo unit, following a water pipe break elsewhere in the building that resulted in extensive damage. The architects were great at taking and building on our vision for the space and at creating a practical but beautiful set of solutions that resulted in a more open layout and a serene Scandinavian palette and design. They were a great team with complimentary skills and displayed a lot of patience in the face of a difficult contractor situation. I would hire them again in a nanosecond.

I am so glad I found such a great team! From the first conversation when I had no idea what I wanted (other than "it's crazy drafty and the back of the house seems to be tipping over"), they guided me through the design, contractor selection, permits, demo, and construction to end up with a result I never could have imagined on my own. Their familiarity with houses like mine was an advantage in knowing what might be hiding behind the walls, and their expertise in navigating permits and sourcing experts and materials meant I never faced a long line or overwhelming selection of options. It's been completely worth the investment to have them engaged for the whole project.

We hired SCH for a renovation of our master bedroom. Their design work was inspiring and well-thought out. We also appreciated the way they took charge of the project and oversaw the contractors involved with the execution. The pricing was not cheap, but we felt it was reasonable.