Lin Design LLC

We recently had the pleasure of working with Janet on the design for remodeling a very old house in Los Altos and the experience was simply amazing. The house had big layout issues and lacks our desired functionalities. Janet’s expertise in architectural design truly shone through in the way she seamlessly incorporated all of our desired functionalities into a stunning and practical layout. What impressed us most was how fast the city approves the plan – her design was approved without a single question just about a week after submission! Moreover, Janet was incredibly accommodating to our needs and very responsive. Whenever we had questions or different thoughts, she was able to discuss with us, answer our questions and incorporate the changes we want without compromising the integrity of the design. In summary, if you are looking for an architectural designer who is talented, efficient, and client-focused, Janet is the perfect choice. We are beyond satisfied with her work and highly recommend her services.

Great communication which strikes a perfect balance point tailoring to our tastes and needs, while insisting on her expertise advices. This helped us greatly planning both the direction and details of our design. Lin has great architectural and structural knowledge and is able to see full potential of our remodel under budget control. Her design also leads naturally into interior and finishing ideas that work together into a coherent final product.

We worked with Janet on our home addition, my house got extended from 1100 sqft to 2400 sqft. Can't speak highly enough of Janet. My husband and I came into the project with so many ideas and design constraints that we want in our home. Janet always knew how to ask the right questions and determine our actual wants and needs. Janet was able to successfully incorporate all of our wishes into an actual home design. In fact, in most cases Janet's reality was even so much better than we had even hoped for. In the end, we have an amazingly beautiful home and wake up each morning in disbelief that this is our home.

This is a long past due review that I should've posted months ago. But I am glad that I waited for a bit longer time, because the experience just keep getting better and better. We started working with Janet at the beginning of Oct 2021 for our new house renovation project. She is extremely professional and efficient. We got our permit submitted to the city with 2 weeks and got one shot approval within 2 months of time!! No corrections needed. Throughout the renovation process we have some hiccup that the previous owner didn't follow the original blueprint for structure change which in result of my new backyard door was unable to fit in. Janet and her team immediately took actions to work with our GC and got the problem resolved within a week without any hassles!! She and her structural engineer did all the extra work and visit to the site without an extra charge of penny!! We couldn't thank her enough for everything that she has taken part in our renovation process. I am not sure when we will have the budget for another house project, but I would highly recommend Janet and her team to anyone who needs help in this field. Thank you Janet and team!!

I worked with Janet on our home addition project and the progress is pretty smooth. The design is high quality, and her suggestion is very useful in the home design process.We actually a little regret on not taking her suggestions on some of the details. She's also very nice, we actually change the scope of our work multiple times during the design communication process and she adapt the design to meet our needs. It ends up very good for now. Our construction just started, I'll update the photos later after we finished, hooray!

High quality job and great communication! Janet is very professional in the beginning with a set of proposals prepared for us to consider and review. All the architect/electricity drawings are thorough so we are able to go through the city permit application very smoothly. During the design we'd like to remove one wall and open up the space, Janet is very very responsible and helped us invite another structure engineer to evaluate feasibility. Great to work with this professional team!

It's very daunting for a first-time homeowner to undergo a major remodeling project. However, Janet has assured me that she will help me through the process, and she did. Starting with the brainstorming, Janet listened carefully to my ideas and wishes, came up with multiple options for me to choose from and helped me decide by providing the pros and cons for each possible route. We all know that getting permits during the pandemic takes quite a long time. Janet managed to shield me from all the headaches and made it a smooth process; drawing up a plan that didn't need much revision from the city has helped too. We are still in the middle of the construction process and Janet is always very responsive to any issues we have run into, providing her insights to and communicating between all the parties involved. Highly recommended!

We just finished our entire remodeling project. The permit is already finalized. So now I think I can give a fair and comprehensive review for our architect Janet. To be objective, I want to share two stories with you. The first story is about the design proposals. We found we needed to redesign our master bedroom and bathroom after we finalized our house transaction. Our agent recommended Janet to us. Janet was able to see us a few days after we called her. We found she is very hardworking, patient, and professional in our meeting. She graduated from the best architecture school in China (the one in Tsinghua). Hence, we decided to hire her. Then she came to measure our house in the weekend after our meeting. In two weeks, she generated three proposals with recommended furniture layouts. Each design is of good quality and makes sense. She explained each proposal’s advantages and disadvantages in detail, then picked one she liked best. We also liked that one best. It is a novel design that combines the shower place and stand-alone bathtub together. The design satisfies my needs for a stand-alone bathtub and a spacious shower space, given the limited space. See photos below (I include her drawings, outcome simulation, and final outcomes). The second story is about getting a permit from the city house. Before our first meeting, she asked us to apply for the original structure drawings from the city to cross-check. After we decided on the design, she made sure the structure was correctly set up. Because we applied for the original structure drawings in advance following her advice, this process did not delay us at all. Then we submitted our permit application two weeks after we decided on the design. Usually, it takes 1.5 to 2 months to receive the permit after submission. Surprisingly, we got the permit within 1 month due to her drawings’ high quality, which saved us a lot of time. All in all, we really like Janet’s service. The design is not only practical but also aesthetic. She also gave us a lot of interior design suggestions for free during our remodeling process. In addition, the process is very efficient. She usually got back to us within 1 hour if we had any questions. We would hire Janet again in the future if we need any remodeling or addition.

Janet is very friendly and professional. She always listened to what we want and adapted it into her designs. She’s always patient about our change requests and happy to do adjustments. During our permit process, she actively communicated with county reps and pushed our permit to be approved within 3 months. I recommend her if you need to do home improvements.

Janet provided architectural design for a remodeling project that we had in 2020. She actually alerted us to design defects in the existing structure that we were unaware of, and helped us design ramifications. Afterwards, she would contact us multiple times to find out if we have issues with the city planning department, or how is the on-going remodeling progress. Her job is professional and of high quality. We highly recommend Janet.

Janet is a great designer and we like the service from her and the team very much! We’re undergoing a major remodeling of a single family house. Janet is professional in the beginning with a set of proposals prepared for us to consider and review. Honestly, the floor plan we finalized with Janet’s help is beyond our original expectation for functionality and appearance. During the collaboration, Jane is very passionate, polite, and considerable on our detailed demands and often make reasonable recommendations on the point. To our question on particulars (structure, choice of material, impact on cost, etc), Janet always makes sure we understood and leave the final decision on us. When the project comes to city review with revision, she timely helped us on communication and keep reviewer side on schedule for us. When the construction comes to a few necessary modification on structure details, Janet and the associated structure engineer are very supportive and ensure the mutual understanding and confidence between us and the builders. Overall, we really enjoy the experience.

Janet is excellent in every aspect. She communicates clearly, makes great suggestions, respects our decisions, and is patient with our ever changing requests. Due to the time sensitive nature of our project, she was able to quickly iterate on the designs and submitted the proposal to the city in a timely fashion. Moreover, the proposal was approved without any modifications, which was very impressive by itself. I whole heartedly recommend Janet.