Studio Z Architecture

We had a wonderful experience with Studio Z as they designed our four season sunroom addition. I cannot stress enough how every member of their team made us feel as if our job was the most important thing for them to be working on. All of our requirements were met and implemented quickly and professionally. We have been using the totally completed addition now for about a year and have not found anything we do not like. We would definitely recommend Studio Z!

We cannot be happier with a complete first floor remodel from a home that was built in 1999. Working with Studio Z brought clarity to our needs and wants by listening, providing design options, and working with our budget. They made each step of the way by providing established recommendations: construction, counter tops, cabinets, and appliances that were easy to work. Working with Dayna, Interior Designer, brought life to the remodel with pictures and color. She was very flexible in making changes or coming up with different ideas. Her design provided more storage, counter, and aisle space. She brought ideas to the table that we never considered, but made the outcome beautiful, such as the backsplash behind the stove. Trust, communication, and design is what made this massive first floor project a success to us and a glowing recommendation for using Studio Z.

Studio Z was a life saver for us. We needed drawings done quickly and they helped us find a contractor to navigate a difficult situation. We appreciated their quick turnaround and their guidance in navigating our situation.

Dawn and her team were excellent to work with. Highly detail oriented, thorough (I particularly liked the Google Drive folder with photos and architecture drawings), and just nice people. Dawn helped us navigate a sticky situation where, after significant time and money invested, we had to find a new contractor or abandon a home we purchased with the intent to complete gut. She ended up connecting us with a great contractor, and we love how the project ended up.

We had an outstanding experience working with Studio Z Architecture. From the initial consultation and throughout the whole process, Dawn and Dayna demonstrated professionalism, creativity, and attention to detail. They took the time to understand our needs and wants and brought it to life in ways that exceeded our expectations. When we ran into some unexpected problems while the construction was underway, Dawn and Dayna went above and beyond to quickly get involved to help solve the problem. We cannot wait for the builder to wrap up the project so we can enjoy our completed project.

We have used Studio Z twice now, once for a large renovation and more recently for a small one. Both times, Dawn was very responsive, keeping us informed on how long the plans would take, meeting the deadlines, and being very willing to work with us on changes we requested. She worked with the contractor for the large renovation in 2008 and my recollection was that all went smoothly. We have completed part of our latest project, turning a half bath into a full bath, and hope to get started soon on the other part, extending part of our house with the owners' bedroom and new full bathroom. The contractors we have talked to have not had any problems with her plans. Thanks for your great work, Dawn!

We had a house fire and decided to embark on a full remodel job. When we met Dawn's team we had only a head full of ideas. Dawn, Dayna, and Karin helped us resolve those ideas into a beautiful new home! I'm particularly happy with how hard they worked to make our ideas structurally sound, code-compliant, comfortable, practical, and beautiful. This home (which we had been planning to sell before the fire) is now our dream home where we will live for years! Things we did: We moved the staircase to the center of the home and put a turn/landing in it. It is now a featured element of the home with a fantastic handrail and overlook. We eliminated two bedrooms and left them "open to below" to create a balcony. We added a scissor truss to eliminate the attic and create a vaulted ceiling. We added tall 96" doors upstairs to take advantage of the new higher ceiling. We moved the laundry to the upper level. We greatly expanded the primary bedroom and bathroom into a spacious "suite." We opened the kitchen and added a large island. Fully finished the basement and added a bilco egress door. We changed the pitch and character of the roof to better accommodate solar panels. Thanks to everyone at Studio-Z! We couldn't be happier...

We've had such a wonderful experience working with Studio Z Architecture, and happily and highly recommend the Studio Z team! When we were looking to do a significant remodel of our 1956-era ranch home, they took time to learn what we wanted, but even more importantly, how we really wanted to live in the home and what was important to us. Dawn and the team took time to understand the problems we were trying to solve. They were patient with all our questions. In working through different ideas and possibilities, they brought new ideas to the table that made a huge difference in the overall design and livability of our home. Every step of the way, they kept us up to date and were great about communicating what was going on. In addition to great architectural design solutions for our home, they brought their great sense of humor and style to the whole process. It's an absolute pleasure to work with Studio Z!

Hello Everyone, Studio Z is a wonderful architecture permeated with professionalism and dedication to the client. I was planning to contract with them to do a complete gut remodel of a 1200 sf condo. Unfortunately, I met with the general contractor (who had worked with Studio Z in the past) and he talked me out of having the architect involved: "You aren't moving walls, you are just pulling out old cabinets, floors and fixtures and replacing with new...an architect will just be a waste of money, you just need a contractor to organize all the trades." I should have gone with my gut and stayed with Studio Z. I can now tell you all the value that an architectural firm would have added. First, I don't think my young general contractor understood his own role. He hired the trades, often people he hadn't worked with previously, and never came back to check on their work. When I complained about poor craftsmanship, the contractor's response was to gaslight me and state, "I told him what to do." So I would find a mishmash of different finishes of bathroom fixtures in my guest bath. The painter was horrible, mixing up paint colors (lids from one color dripping down into the can of another), some walls with matte finish, some with semi-gloss, in the same room. Touch up splotches on what should have been freshly mudded, sanded and painted walls. Cupboard doors with gouges. Big gaps with no trim to cover. And the worst aspects were to do with the honesty, integrity, and organizational ability of the general contract himself. He promised to start soon and finish quickly, after all it was just a small condo in which we weren't moving walls. But then he delayed the start by two weeks. He ordered the wrong cabinet and those had to be reordered, as he and his partner wife did not communicate on selections. He would send email at 6 pm one night shaking me down to have a check ready at 8 am the following morning when minimal to no work had been happening from the previous draw. I started having to buy all the fixtures, lights, doorknobs, etc., myself to ensure that I got what I actually wanted and that supplies were there so the work wasn't delayed. Part-way through the job, he asked me to move out again, "get an Air-BNB" because what was supposed to have been my 2-week job, became an over 6-month nightmare. His draw invoices started referring to "change orders" that I never made (things that weren't actual changes. Subcontractors informed me they weren't being paid. A giant red flag was that on the first day of work, in communicating about another job, one of the workers said under his breath, "just like XXX, start a job, can't finish." And that seems to be the story. Architects are professionals and have guidelines, ethics and standards that they must follow. I think this contractor talked me out of having architects not so much for the added expense for me, but for the oversight that an architectural team would have provided over his shady ways. Choose Studio Z.

Our relocation to Ann Arbor entailed the purchase of a house with potential. But in order to make it our home, a remodel would be needed. We had updated previous houses but those efforts were not extensive. We knew what we wanted but how to make it a reality? After much due diligence, we retained Studio Z. It was a substantial remodel taking six months. During that time, our interactions with Studio Z were always professional, on schedule, and appropriate to our vision. Our ideas were professionally transformed from two dimensional architectural drawings to a beautiful elevated sunroom addition and a half bath, mud room, and laundry remodel. Would we do it again? Certainly and we will invite Studio Z back to design a master bathroom in our home.

We had a space in our house that we wanted to reconfigure but we just couldn't get a vision of what or how we could do it. Studio Z provided their consulting services and walked through all of the options and suggestions related to the space. They then provided resources to do the work. I highly recommend Studio Z.

The team at Studio Z were wonderful to work with. They were personable, professional, knowledgeable and respectful of our time, and therefore, our costs. The process was clearly explained, the design options reflected our styles. My husband and I can’t say enough good about Dawn and Dayna. From connections to trusted contractors, where to look for fixtures, cabinets, flooring, countertops and paint color suggestions, they helped us find our way in a sometimes overwhelming project. We have been thrilled with the outcome. Would definitely recommend this team a hundred times over.