Architectural Designers in Chantilly

“Where to begin with my comments about Cathleen Curtin, the positive side, or the negative… well, that’s easy! There is no negative, so here are the positives!! Having scaled down a good bit from a larger home, and now residing in my interesting apartment in Old Town, Alexandria, I needed to make improvements and changes that would make this small place my haven. It began with getting bids on a bathroom renovation. Having contacted other architectural services and builders in the area that I knew, I found that the recommendations (and the pricing) were all over the place, and I really couldn’t tell what they were going to do. I also felt that they were not listening to me regarding the need to connect the bedroom space and my master bathroom. From the minute I ran this idea by Cathleen, she “got me” and she listened to me and she responded quickly. Within a couple days of our first meeting, she was back to me with a clear and concise overview and pricing. I was impressed with her level of detail, as well as her efficiency. And, this impression never changed thru out what became a much bigger project. Where the others all were going to expand my bathroom and take away space from my bedroom, Cathleen Curtin was able to give me all that I wanted, AND MORE, in the same footprint – saving money, time and probably a lot of unknown issues in this old building. Her creative use of space and layout resulted in a bathroom that I absolutely love, and others marvel at. Once deciding to work with Ms. Curtin, I realized that I felt safe and comfortable to do more of what really needed to be done to my living space. She gave me that comfort. Having had some experience with such projects in the past, it was knowing that she was not only the Architect, but also the Project Manager, that gave me the confidence to take this on. Always available for questions, and always quick to find solutions to issues as they came along, she drove this project hard and fast, and with a fabulous outcome. The project included not only the master bathroom, but a new laundry room, leveling the floors in my bedroom, insulation where there was none, built in cabinetry that eliminated the need for furniture in the bedroom, re-doing of floors, adding hardwood floors where they did not exist, brilliant storage cabinets, new lighting thru out, a life changing gas fireplace, creative kitchen solutions that make me love cooking again, a very special powder room, and so much more. I am thrilled in my new space – and enjoy it more than I ever dreamed possible. Cathleen was a joy to work with, a consummate professional, a willing ear, a great production manager, and attended to each and every detail of the project. On site every day, often several times, staying ahead of all contractors with selections and materials, and kept me informed with clear and consistent communication. Running a busy enterprise, I needed this style of professional oversight, and feel that not only did she give me a wonderful new home to enjoy, she gave me great service and great value in a time that we often do not get what we expect. With Cathleen, I got more than I ever expected!”

“I engaged Ashish of “RARA Designz” as designer for home improvement for small area extension in one corner to build prayer/Pooja room. Prior to his site visit, I had a plan in my mind to extend the area in both levels, ground and upper floors. His guidance and recommendation in the very first interaction, using the cost versus usable benefit approach, helped me to decide to go with only ground level improvement. This simple decision had a huge positive impact on right scoping of the project. During the course of detailing of drawings, his providing the drawings as options analysis helped me make choices for specific situations. He provided service in a timely manner, setting the expectations upfront. He provided statement of work, and transparent pricing based on expected hours of work. Overall, I am happy and satisfied to have contracted “RARA Designz” for home improvement design service.”

“We have used Claude C. Lapp for architectural plans for updates and additions to our 1931 "Cotswold" cottage three times. He has also done work for other family members and friends. He is very intuitive and maintains the proper period or style of the house while making it functional and aesthetically pleasing. He is very gifted and we wouldn't hesitate to refer him to anyone interested in making their existing home more functional or enjoyable or for drawing plans for a new build.”

“Tom Flach, our architect at Kohlmark, 100% understood what we wanted in our new home. But he didn’t stop there, he made the plans better than we even knew were possible. Tom was always available to answer our questions and to help us with any decisions or issues that arose. His skill, his vision, his guidance, and integrity made this experience a lot easier for us.”

“Carnemark designed and implemented two major renovations for our home. We had used other contractors in the past, but they are the first ones we ever hired back for a second project. We are already thinking about our third with Carnemark! The first project was primarily outdoor work which was a combination of modernizing our look and fixing some water problems -- stuccoed the exterior, installed a metal roof, installed a glass and metal front door entrance and garage door, buried electric and cable wires, replaced cement driveway, installed slate and stainless steel rails at front entrance, installed new outdoor house and yard lighting and fixed a leaky basement wall. We were so pleased with this work, that we rehired them 2 years later for an interior overhaul -- new modern kitchen, reconfigured floor plan, updated bathroom, installed stainless steel railings and steps, new lighting, new air-conditioning duct work and radiators, and new large format tile flooring throughout.”

“WLCdesign was a tremendous help to us as we redesigned our two bathrooms and kitchen. They patiently worked with us in designing a new layout for all rooms and gave great insights and fresh design ideas for the new look we were after! They went above and beyond our expectations and delivered us a new kitchen that we absolutely love and bathrooms that are reconfigured and designed beautifully. They were so easy to work with and we could tell that it was extremely important to them that we were happy with the design and the process as we moved toward project completion. We highly recommend Russell, Dave and the team!”

“James was the third architect we interviewed when we made a decision to build our dream home. After meeting him we cancelled all the rest. I am a real estate professional and I have come across some great works of art in the form of houses and have met their creators. What impressed me about James McDonald was his ability to listen carefully and understand our needs, It's like we told him our dream and he put it on paper even better than we had dreamt it. Throughout the building process he was available and willing to make any changes big or small, if practically possible. We trusted him completely and he never let us down. He has the highest work ethics and a stellar team to help him through extremely busy periods too. We would highly recommend him to anyone thinking of building a custom home or even remodeling an existing one.”

“We met with Ileana to discuss possible renovation ideas to our 1960s house to open up the space and to re-think our upstairs bathrooms. She designed the project in a way that allowed us to consider the two pieces (upstairs and downstairs) both separately and together. We originally thought we would focus on the upstairs initially, but we were so happy with the redesigned first floor that we ended up deciding to tackle this project first. We contracted with a local company to do the work, and they have had no problems following Ileana's architectural drawings.”

“This company is building our custom home. It is now in the process of being built. So far they are doing a great job.”

“Wendy went above and beyond staging my listing in River Creek. I would never hire anyone else and I have dealt with other stagers before. She is overqualified as she is an architect by trade but that is another advantage of hiring her. Her furniture was of the highest quality and perfect for the home. I believe the home sold because of her efforts.”