Historic Building Conservation Companies in Long Beach

“Consider this your personal reference to a terrific and honest 5-star contractor! I’ve been using Naz and AMBCD for nearly 10 years and have hired them for numerous jobs (probably 5 or 6). Naz is always the first person I call when I solicit bids for a specific job. Usually, Naz is the person I hire, but in the few instances that they were too busy for my schedule I usually regretted not waiting to hire Naz when he could fit me into his schedule later on. I’ve hired AMBCD for small, medium, and large jobs. I’ve never been disappointed with the final work product and I unhesitatingly recommend them to family and friends. AMBCD isn’t always the least expensive option, but they are honest and will charge a fair price. One of the things that I am most impressed about Naz is the way he handles job change orders. His bids have been remarkably accurate, but inevitably work change orders will arise. Usually, these have been because I wanted to add something to the scope of work. Many contractors “make their money” on work change orders, but I always felt that these were treated fairly, transparently, and reasonably. Overall, if you hire Naz and AMBCD you will get great work quality at an honest price. I cannot recommend anybody higher and I will continue to be a happy repeat customer.”

“My experience with Audrey Sato was outstanding. She truly is a talented architect who has both great vision and is detail oriented; making the process of designing and constructing my fitness studio a fun and seamless one. I appreciated that she kept in constant contact with me, and was very hands on from design through construction. I felt comfortable asking questions and giving input, and am was very satisfied with the results. Pictures of the studio can be found on Facebook under 'The Dailey Method Calabasas'. Its a beautiful space. Clients of the studio rave about how beautiful, well lit, and comfortable the space is. And we owe it all to Audrey Sato Design Studio!”

“We have a mid-century one story home built in 1959. We hired TOLO Architecture to update the home. We worked with architect Peter Tolkin who transformed both the interior and exterior making it a fine example of contemporary design while being conscious of both budget and the integrity of the original design. Our living room, kitchen and dinning room were enlarged visually by exterior mounted "barn doors" which open the spaces to the outside, and by raising the exterior walkway elevation with wood decking to the level of the interior floor elevation. Peter's design added 5 feet to the master bedroom, designed a wall of built-in cabinetry of closets and drawers. The design placed barn doors on two adjacent corners of the room which transformed an ordinary bedroom into an extraordinary space which opens to the outside wood deck and pool beyond. He also resigned the circa 1959 "lava rock" free-form swimming pool. Peter used the pools existing footprint to create a new rectangular pool with spa which has a continuous spillway into the pool. It really is a water sculpture with sound! He secured our hillside with a 50' long horizontal white wall (5' tall) which not only keeps the landscape in place, but gives beautiful definition to the pool area. He designed a 400 sq ft pool house, perfect with shower right from pool. Barn doors at the corners makes the pool house an indoor/outdoor space. And last, but not least as the saying goes, Peter created an outdoor living room which steps down from the wood deck. It is complete with a cushion covered concrete banquette and a large fireplace within a concrete base. The house was featured in Pasadena Magazine (cover and inside) in an issue showcasing indoor/outdoor living. It was a pleasure working with TOLO Architecture!! They are creative, cost conscious, and responsive.”

“Lisa Little worked wonders in our smallish Venice space. We had complicated needs and she found elegant solutions within a tight budget. We redid a kitchen from the walls out, extended it a bit, added a bar, added in a huge walk-in closet and staircase in the master bedroom, and reconfigured a guest loft. The latter involved enclosing a half-wall for privacy via rotating shutters that Lisa dreamed up and designed. The shutters rotate open when the loft is not in use and closed when we have company up there. This was a brilliant idea, brilliantly executed at not much cost. Lisa helped with fixture choice, color choice, and furniture choice, and worked closely with the general contractor and his subs. She exhibited great taste, a firm hand, and a keen eye on the budget. Recommended without reservation.”

“I have worked with David Michael Designs on numerous occasions for the past 4 years and find them to be, frankly, the best in their field at what they do. Always professional and knowledgeable, never failed to do an excellent job. Andy.”

“My wife and I hired Jeannette Architects to assist us with a major remodel (interior/exterior) of our 3,500 sq. ft. ranch style home in Newport Beach. The task: incorporate warm contemporary design into our 1970's "woody cabin." As a real estate developer and because it's our third major house remodel there were many design elements we knew we wanted but many more that we needed help with. As capable as Jeff (Jeannette) is with his design sense, we believe that it's his ability to listen to his clients, understand client goals, how we will live in the space and how that fits into our budget is what sets Jeff apart from other architects. The Jeannette team met aggressive time constraints, produced a thorough set of construction documents, were always quick to provide clarification and answers to our questions and were great resources for product and material options and information. True professionals that we would use again and confidently refer to others. Our project is nearing completion and I can't wait to share photos.”

“I grew up with a father who is a master contractor. In my adult life, I have been involved in countless home renovations, so I've always thought architects are a waste of time & money. They always seem to be writing checks with the customers' money, and have no basis in reality or practicality: they seem so frivolous. Hubby and I bought a mid-century modern home that had been turned into a tuscan style by the previous owners. (can you imagine?) We needed help getting approval from the local city planning board who are a NIGHTMARE to deal with (average of 8-10 plan checks, most cities do 2-3!?) We hired Glen with EZPlans to help us. Glen handled acrimonious city officials, seeming design impossibilities (and even a few vastly different design ideas between hubby and I) with tact, professionalism, and good humor. Dealing with EZ Plans was a breeze. I am so impressed with their vision, their professionalism, and the very talented, creative (and practical) architects they hire. They are exceptional communicators, and are as intuitive as they are talented. EZ Plans turned a simple contractor grade design we could have come up with ourselves, to a design that respected the mid-century bones of our home, and brought it to the practical standards we needed the home to suit. The design they came up with easily increased the value of our renovation tenfold. the only direction they had from me was "I want to respect the home's bones with materials in their natural element, nothing frivolous, but we need the house to be super specialized for our dogs." (maybe that's a bit frivolous....) They took this and ran with it. Incidentally, they are AVID dog lovers (almost as nutty as hubby and I are, ) so they came up with such cool suggestions that will make our old dogs' lives (and our lives) easier. As someone who has scoffed at the need for an architect, (come on, my dad is a contractor!) I can assure anyone: the design of a talented architect is worlds apart from what a contractor, or even designer, could come up with. They take things to another level. Glen increased the value of the renovation by making the design in line with architectural design elements, not current trends that would be outdated quickly after installation. More importantly, they made changes to the home to fit OUR lifestyle and needs, instead of us changing our needs and lifestyles to accommodate the home. This is the difference: architects build homes, contractors build houses. Hubby and I are so pleased with our experience at EZPlans. They make incredible planning, design and architecture...easy. :)”

“We worked with asap on one of our multifamily apartment projects. We were very pleased with their professionalism, quality of work, and dedication. Having worked with several other architects, I would say that they are by far the most creative ambitious and competent.”

“Giovanni is creative, original, careful and considerate. I cannot imagine a better choice for your architecture needs. He did the plans for an apartment over our garage. When people open the door they literally gasp with surprise at the light, feeling of spaciousness (it's just over 450 sq ft), and unity of presentation. It's all down to him.”

“I love Meredith and Mariam at MAAM. My husband and I hired them to design our home, he then hired them again for his office and we hired them a third time for a pool design. No reason to mess with a good thing! Impeccable tastes. Incredibly smart. Super trustworthy. They are the best!”