I hired Umberto to design my kitchen because I wasn't liking any of the designs from the kitchen…read moreplaces and I wanted a fresh perspective. Umberto had me fill out a survey with lots of questions and then took the time to really get to know me and design a kitchen for my tastes and lifestyle. He did four different designs and I chose the one I liked best. He then went to three different kitchen places to have them bid on the project. I love my new kitchen! Some of the more creative elements of it had to be removed from the design to get the cost within my budget, but it still came out lovely. I highly recommend Umberto for anyone doing a home improvement renovation.

We are working with Umberto G. and GDA Design on a major renovation project for our home. Umberto…read moreis extremely professional and always delivers what is promised on time. More importantly he really listens and incorporates our desires and needs into all of his design ideas. We feel very lucky to work with him and are looking forward to our new living space!

we found jay herzog through an online recommendation and feel so fortunate that we found him. we…read morehad previously worked with another architect who was unable to complete the plans correctly. jay came in and rescued us! we bought an 1820 house with a resident raccoon living in the old addition consisting of a kitchen and bedroom above. we wanted this addition gone and a new great room, kitchen, 1/2 bath, mudroom, laundry etc with a full basement. jay took over and drew absolutely beautiful plans for us! jay managed to keep the oldest part of the home and blend in the new so that they came together perfectly. he listened closely to every little request and did a fabulous job. he also filled out all the paperwork for the building department involving wind forms and energy forms etc. jay has a great personality. he is very friendly, outgoing and even keeled. he is very organized, timely and a joy to work with. jay is super honest and gave us a very good price. i would never consider using anyone else. so happy that we found such a great person and architect to make our crazy project fabulous!

This rating is for the overall final result of our 6 months working with dick rockwood. We put an…read moreaddition onto our split level and it came out amazing and exceeded our expectations. I will say, it wasn't anything wild or crazy design wise. Just bedrooms and bathrooms on the new floor, but still. The front of a split level can look very flat, dick suggested certain designs (window placements, gables, etc) to break it up and it looks gorgeous. That being said, he was terrible to work with overall. Not once did he or his office reach out to us- it was 100% us calling or e mailing him for updates on our plans. Usually the drawings were done days sometimes weeks before we got them due to us constantly pressuring dick for an update. Miraculously almost every time we'd receive updated drawings, dates would go as far back as 4 weeks! It really held up the process with the builder. He was completely non existent via text. We'd have to call him repeatedly before he would decide he got annoyed and finally pick up. I will say if you can overlook and deal with this stuff, he is truly one of the best around at his craft and in the end was worth all the headaches with lack of communication since the final product is perfect for us and exactly what we wanted. He knows his stuff and has great insight on what will work and what won't.

We were looking for a home addition design and Rockwood was recommended to us. We spoke with one…read moredesigner on the phone and set up an in home consultation. He cancelled the day of so a different representative (Dick Rockwood himself) came to the house and we sat down for 45 minutes discussing the project. He was very nice and attentive at the meeting. We thought we were on the same page when he left with rough sketches. Rough measurements were taken that day along with pictures. The only communication from the Rockwood group towards us after that day was requesting payments at their deadlines which we paid as asked. We had to continually call to get updates on progress. We finally had sent multiple emails and called multiple times to get a copy of the drawings sent. When they were sent they were not close to what we discussed, they were executed by a third person that had not ever been in contact with us or had never seen the location. They charged $5000 for the drawings and never responded when we asked for redraws stating they were not in the ballpark of what we had discussed with Mr Rockwood himself in our kitchen. When we called to discuss the issues Mr. Rockwood was busy skiing in Colorado. He was nice enough to answer the phone from the lift and offered to call when he returned to town but it has now been 2 years and we have no resolution, no plans and no refund. In the 2 years since we sat down together there has not been a single call or email to inquire as to progress of the build out. They took the $5000 but we have not gotten any drawings from them to use. Your experience may be different if you live in a more affluent town or area as it appears these are the towns where this company prefers to work. We don't have a small house or budget but the town is not as affluent as surrounding towns where this company does most of their work.

I made a cold call about a project in Somerville. I appreciate Lee explaining the process to me…read morevery patiently. He laid out the steps moving forward. I appreciate his professionalism and patience while I am just getting started and things seem overwhelming to me.

The prestigious architect firm with heart to support other small business in the neighborhood.read more

Working with Tom made a challenging project seem easy! Tom helped us really consider all of our…read moreoptions. I am not good at picturing what "can" be and he did a great job of "drawing" the vision for me. Awesome response time and constant communications. I highly recommend. Our project was a full raising of the roof and total transformation of our existing main floor. We added 1200 sq. ft above our existing house, moved the kitchen and created a full open floor plan. We have officially taken our 1970's home into the 21st Century. Thanks Tom!

From the owner: Specializing in the preparation of permit and construction plans for your new home, home addition,…read moreremodel or garage. A full set of plans that will allow you to submit for the building permit as well as provide the contractors with a clear understanding of what your vision is. One on one service at the location of your choice. Up front cost disclosure. I will not charge extra for most design changes unless extreme. Cost saving construction tips during the design process. I will present multiple ideas during the floor plan design process

Neil was amazing helping me put my vision on paper. I would recommend him to anyone that is…read moreinterested in building a custom home. His fees are very reasonable and his willingness to do something outside the box made us very happy

From the owner: 8TFive Studio is a full-service architecture and interior design studio centered around your visual…read moredesign experience. From the start of schematic design through construction documents, we utilize 3D BIM to help improve productivity and enhance our services to better assist you.