Hart's Design

i came across Harts Design online while searching for a drafter on a new house build. i met with Robert for the initial visit and expressed my wants for the build. i was quoted a onetime fee of $3400.00 for the design. He was to supply 2 different plan sketches of house designs to go off for the build. 10% down at that visit to get started. i paid that. A few weeks later we met. at that meeting he only supplied one plan and stated he hopes i was ok with that. The initial plan did not look that good but i thought that we would be able to get through that. i made several changes and paid 50% of the remaining balance, thinking there would be no problem. i am building a 2800 sqf house, plus unfinished basement, with a 6-car garage. i made several changes along with a whole 2nd level re-draft. it did not look good. After several hours studding the plan, i realized the main living area was only 30 feet depth and stretched too long. The stairs should have been in the center going to the 2nd level since his plan was so narrow. This created a bump out, of one of the 2nd floor bed rooms of 6 feet over the front porch. It looked like a narrow house with a 6-car garage built next to it. it never looked right. It would have made more sense expand the depth and make it less wide, using some of the upper part of the garage to build part of the living quarters. This would have also saved money in the build. Since the garage never tied into the house that well, i wanted to change the pitch direction of the garage to create a better peak to flow with the craftsman house building. He said he did not want to do that for drainage for the roof. i had my builder look at the plan and he agreed that the plan looked "bla". My builder stated that i should change the pitch direction (which i asked Robert about earlier) and add a valley set to tie the house with the garage, creating a better exterior flow. My builder told me he could sketch it but any drafter should understand. i relayed this to Robert and he asked for a sketch, so he fully understood. when i was searching for pictures of the valley set to include with the sketch, i can across so many other plans that made more sense. Roberts plan was never good enough to work for what i was asking. i contacted him stated i found a plan that makes way more sense. It only needed a couple changes. i met with him to give the plans to draw it up. i went over everything with him. He then stated this is a new plan and would expect more money. So much for the one-time fee. i told him i would be better off bringing this plan to someone else. i never felt fully confident with him. i must say, if you do go with him, make sure you have a contract before even giving him the 10% down payment. if you meet for the 2nd meeting with the plan sketches, and you do not like them..........RUN, before giving another dime, otherwise you may be throwing money away like it did.

Took 16 months for the design process, collected money along the way. Never took notes and never would implement discussed changes to the plans. Last revision meeting Robert asked for $1,500 for the progress and then vanished. Still never completed the plans. I could write a book about failures but but it brings back so much frustration.

Robert did an absolutely incredible job on my basement project! He thought of improvements/upgrades and I hadn't considered and added a window that made all the difference for my space...so beautiful. He was always available for questions when contractors or inspectors needed him and I am 100% pleased and impressed with Hart's Design and I look forward to working with Robert on additional projects.

Robert worked very patiently with us to design our dream home. This was our second time working with Robert and for good reason. He is very reasonably priced and does great work. We did have some communication issues at times but he was always very patient and committed to give us exactly what we wanted. He does great work and is a super nice guy. Highly recommended!

Robert has been a fantastic and integral part in getting our project started and ready to move into construction phase! We had a strict budget and lots of things we wanted for our home remodel. He is knowledgeable, skilled, affordable and wonderful to work with. We believe he has gone above and beyond on meetings, calls and city appointments; all while giving us the guidance we needed to finalize our design. We highly recommend Hart’s Design! We are SO excited to see our home remodel complete in fall 2020! Thank you, Robert!

We were referred to Robert by another homeowner in our development. At first I was a little skeptical as to how we would get a plan for a new build seeing that we are in the Boston area and he is in Minnesota. All my fears were put to rest when I first spoke with Robert. He was kind and professional and made changes along the way willingly and pleasantly. We have been in our home for almost 2 years now and we absolutely LOVE the style and the floor plan. We were formerly colonial style people but we wanted to change it up this time and Robert delivered. I would highly recommend Robert for all your homebuilding ideas. He was awesome and if we built again, we would definitely use him!!

Recently we worked with Robert Hartranft of Hart’s Design to help us with our kitchen remodel project. Robert was great to work with. He listened to our needs and wants, then present Ted us with not 1, but three different plans for us to choose and then to tweek as needed. Because of his past work as a contractor we trusted his idea about taking down a wall and moving another without a lot of problems and money. Robert is very professional and easy to work with. He was always available for any questions. If we have other remodel projects, Robert will be our go to man. We would recommend Robert to anyone working on projects, big or small.

I've worked with Robert on many residential projects in the past 4 years that required design services. I must say he has earned my confidence as an accomplished, skilled and creative residential design professional. He's been my go-to Design Pro for new homes, additions, kitchen remodels and basement finishes. In addition to being thorough and timely, he is competitively priced. Robert does a superlative job. He has effective communication skills and is personable with my clients. Robert goes above and beyond for Owner-Built - I highly recommend Harts Design.

Robert recently assisted me on the renovation of my kitchen and powder room. He listened to what my goals, ideas and needs were, and then created very precise plans that resulted in two well balanced, gorgeous spaces! His ideas for the kitchen gave the room such a nice flow, I’m very happy he worked with us on the project and offered different ideas that inspired me to think outside the box!

We are extremely pleased with the creativity and talent that Robert brought to our home addition project. We moved back in last week and love the architecturally unique elements that maintain the integrity of our 1920's South Minneapolis cottage style home!

Robert recently completed the plans for our new construction. I could not be happier! I have received numerous compliments from the contractors on the design and layout of our home. Robert listened to what was important to us and was able to incorporate all the details we were looking for. Even though we are building in Massachusetts and he is located in Minnesota there were no issues working together. We communicated via phone and email almost daily. He takes pride in each and every home he designs. I would highly recommend him!

Robert has been a pleasure to work with. He has considerable experience and is a thoughtful and active listener. Small details are acknowledged by him, especially those that were long time desires of my wife. Our project involved taking our small, 1920's built house and turning it into our retirement home. He did this within our budget and without increasing the footprint. Walls were removed and we ended up with a one floor plan that allows us to live on the 1st floor if necessary. We still have a basement and 2nd floor for guests and other activities. Robert became an honored member of our rebuild team. That's who he is, that's how he presents and his thoughtful work is exemplary in every way.