If you're looking to renovate or completely redesign your current home, I would highly recommend MF Architecture.
I approached MF Architecture when I saw a newly finished home they designed in my Crestview neighborhood. This new home had a very similar design aesthetic that I was looking for, as I was considering doing some renovations to my home at the time. For our initial conversation, I met with Matt Fajkus, David Birt, and Sarah Johnson where we discussed notes and influences for my renovation. I could see that we all had similar interests in architecture and design and I liked their overall vibe. I really enjoyed their warmth, insight, tasteful suggestions, and overall good nature that made this initial conversation feel easy and familiar. After our visit, I felt confident I had the right architectural firm for my renovation.
One of my favorite parts of this entire process was the design phase. I provided MF Architecture with a substantial amount of design influences and specific styles when we first started that gave us an easy shorthand in our discussion. I thought they were able to take my influences and interpret them quickly, easily and even expanded on them. Sarah and David provided some amazing designs as we worked to whittle them down to get to something we could all agree on. They were all so accommodating and I felt that this was a true collaborative process that felt very rewarding.
Once it came time to interview contractors, I quickly realized that this Austin market was a builder's market and had made some misjudgements on budget and on some of the design work we had completed. So, I went back to Matt and we decided we needed to rework the design and I brought on a contractor during this redesign process. To MF's credit, we worked on the redesign with my selected contractor at no additional cost to me so that we could get the design better and get my project back on track. By bringing in my contractor during the redesign phase, we were able to make this process much more efficient and we were able to get to a revised design plan that we all agreed felt much better. And more importantly, I was able to get a new estimate amount that I was comfortable with that felt doable.
During the construction phase, you'll always run into issues that are unforeseen even with a good contractor on board. I think it's just the nature of this business that will always have unavoidable situations to try to derail any progress. That is why I cannot stress enough that it was so CRUCIAL having MF Architecture on board supervising the construction phase helping me keep my project on track. It was an additional monthly fee I hadn't planned on paying for....but, it was WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. Having Sarah and David there at my weekly check-ins with the contractor to keep everything moving forward, answer questions quickly, making necessary unplanned redesign decisions, and more importantly, being the homeowners advocate when it was time to have those uncomfortable discussions with the contractor. I don't think I would've kept my sanity if it wasn't for Sarah and David (with Matt's keen oversight) monitoring the contractor's progress and answering questions. Having them supervising the construction build was so valuable and I don't think I could've done it without them.
I moved into my new home on Memorial Day weekend 2017. I tell everyone that this was one of the most thrilling, rewarding, and frustrating things I've ever done in my life. Even when you have a quality architect firm and a solid contractor on board, the construction process can be tough for various reasons beyond your control.......but, all that goes away when you're able to see the final outcome. I really do feel like I made the absolute right choice with MF Architecture for my rebuilt home. I had the best experience working with Matt, David, Sarah, and the entire MF Architecture staff. And strangely enough, I would do it all over again tomorrow because I really enjoyed working with them that much. I'm just so happy and proud when I tell friends that MF Architecture designed my beautiful rebuilt home...and I know you will be too.
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