We're not big spenders. Last time I redid a bathroom (in my single-girl condo) I just hired a…read morecontractor. But if you want to add a bathroom, and you live in a town with strict requirements, you're going to need an architect. We interviewed four and chose to work with Frank. It was a great experience (and he was very tolerant of me nitpicking and memorizing every last thing)--I never would have done it if not forced, but he made things run so much more smoothly. Despite paying his fee, his expertise was well worth it not only for the detailed plans, but for taking care of the permitting process, getting bids from multiple contractors and meeting with us & the contractor weekly to review progress. Not to mention the reduced stress, since if the contractor had a question or wanted to charge us extra for something (or even wanted to get paid) it went through Frank first. We ended up having him do the plans for our existing bathroom redo as well. We don't have anything else to remodel in our house, but if I did I would definitely give Frank a call.

He was responsive, fast, and reliable. I have already recommended him to several people I know that…read moreneeds architectural plans. So easy to work with.

My family hired the Martin family to do some work on my aunt's house in the suburbs. They were a…read morepleasure to deal with. Reliable and honest. Phone calls were returned and we always felt we were in the best hands. We remodeled our aunt's basement down to the studs and when the job was done, it was AMAZING. Highly recommended for remodeling jobs!

We were in London when Martins did the rennovations on our home. We didn't know exactly what we…read morewere coming back to. We opened the door . . . and walked into paradise. We felt like we were in someone else's home. Someone who had a lot more money than us! Martins isn't just a builder, or a designer. He's an artist. When you bring someone into your home to change it forever, you have to trust that person. When Martins came by for our first free consultation (something other people had charged us for), he stayed for two hours. He wanted to get to know us, and figure out exactly what kind of home we wanted. To say he cares about his work is an understatement! Other people we looked at charged us for that first visit, came in, took measurements, were out in 30 minutes, and then provided some cookie-cutter recommendations. Besides his off-the-charts talent, he is honest, flexible, responsive and easy and fun to work with... not to mention reasonable. He even provided us with guidance and recommendations to bring the overall costs down. If you're looking to do renovations on your home, that not only are beautiful, but also unique and specific to you and your family, your search is over. Martins Buka will not only deliver, but exceed your expectations!

Steve is wonderful. He was the third architect I hired to help me redesign a complete gut rehab of…read more3 story plus basement SFH. Having already failed to get a workable design twice, working with Steve was so easy. During our first meeting his off-the-top-of-head ideas were both logical and architectually appropriate. His design drawings were even better. And nothing like either of the previous designs! Steve worked closely with the City of Chicago to make sure that our plans met code. I credit his knowledge of CofC building codes to place new dormers, not where I suggested but where they would still give me the required space and be approved by the City. Plus, they provide a better view! Everytime I think 'oh, no, I didn't think of . . .' I check the plans and Steve did think of that! Steve is quick to understand what you want/need, is responsive to questions, and explains the whys and hows. His plans are thorough, detailed, thoughtful. The kitchen space he created for us without an addition is alone worth 5 stars. Now that he is finished with the heavy lifting on my project talk to him about yours

Steve did a great job on designing our addition. He was easy to communicate with and listened to…read moreour needs. He had some great ideas and was able to get exactly what we wanted while still working within our budget. The drawings were thorough, which reduced confusion with the contractor and made the permit process very quick. Would definately recommend.

After interviewing many architectural firms, Bill was the only architect that asked us what we…read morewanted in our home and listened. That immediately impressed us. We knew what we wanted, we just did not know how to incorporate it in the existing home. We were not looking for an architect to control the entire project. We have been doing the general contracting on our own and Studio 21 was the perfect firm for us. They drew out the plans and submitted for permits once that was all approved we took off flying with it. We did run into a unforeseen bump on the road with the crawl space foundation where and an existing addition was done in the 1940's, three cinder blocks deep. Gregg was able to amend the blueprints for us to get us back up and running. We now have a 100% full basement instead of 5% crawl space for the addition that was existing. We have yet to finish our total gut rehab/addition but we could not have envisioned working with any other architect firm other than Studio 21. As busy as they are, they took the time to answer our questions and go above and beyond anything we could have imagined possible in our home. Words cannot express their attention to detail, knowledge and creative minds. Bill and Gregg did an excellent job. We cannot wait to move in and finally enjoy the home. Studio 21 can tailor the project for your needs. They can go as much as doing everything for you to letting you fly on your own. If you are looking for an architectural firm definitely add them to the list of the potential candidates. We highly recommend them.

From the owner: A one-stop-shop process led by our expert architects, from design through construction. We don't…read moreoutsource design, ever! Our architects are involved at every step of your project. One team manages your project; a team that keeps your interests in mind and one that you can trust to deliver your dream home.

After 2 kids, we outgrew our 2 bedroom, 1 bath ranch-style home. Knowing that we wanted to stay in…read morethe neighborhood, we decided to add a second floor. When we initially met with Mark Klancic of Klancic Architect, we were pleased with the questions he asked to get a feel for what we were looking to accomplish. Mark is such a pleasure to work with -- he has extremely creative ideas and always has an open ear. I really enjoyed that he engaged us in his design process - that made decision-making so much easier for us. He helped guide us through the whole process and worked to keep us within our budget. His attention to details impressed us so much. One of the best features in our bedroom is a gorgeous inverted open "cut out" square in the ceiling of our bedroom. (I couldn't tell you the architectural term for it so I hope my description is enough to visualize!) In the center of the cut out square is our ceiling fan and around the perimeter is some very romantic lighting. It truly is a beautiful feature and every time someone enters the room for the first time, I usually see them looking up and ALWAYS comment on it. I had never seen anything like this before and absolutely love it. It truly is our "wow" factor! When it came time to redesign our first floor, we didn't hesitate to contact Mark for this next project. We had a galley kitchen that was too small and very outdated. We blew out some walls and opened up the floorplan. Again, Mark listened to our needs and the final result is beyond what I could have imagined! We have a wonderful open space to entertain with plenty of storage. He introduced us to a wonderful cabinet-maker company to get the perfect cabinets. Our kitchen island gives me plenty of space to spread out when baking. What felt like a chore because we had no counter space, has become something I enjoy. I love that there is room enough to get the whole family involved in making meals. We totally hit the jackpot by having Mark involved in our home designs and would highly recommend Klancic Architect in a heartbeat!

Mark was recommended to me by a trusted friend. We contracted with him to create plans for a…read morekitchen remodel and a new deck with a pricetag roughly half the value of our house. Weird, right? I think Mark was amused but he is a complete professional. I came to the table with some very strong ideas (translation: tough customer). Mark came up with far better ideas, staying focused on our goals of high functionality, easy to clean and a great space for entertaining. We now huge, functional kitchen that is the envy of all our friends and neighbors. Everything is nicely at hand and even though our house and kitchen are small, there's counter space for miles and more pantry and storage than we have stuff. There is no way we could have navigated the whole process without Mark's plans, insight and guidance. Pretty sure we'd have ended up with the back half of our house falling into the yard if Mark hadn't shown us the necessary structural amendments. Best of all? Mark helped us maintain marital harmony.

My husband and I hired Nate Kipnis and his firm after interviewing several architects about the…read moredesign of our vacation property. Our wish was to build a second home with green features, and the Kipnis firm was without question up to the task. He educated us about the options for building materials, helped us select a contractor, then worked closely with the contractor to make sure he understood all of the innovative design features. Other members of his staff were equally professional. Nate was highly knowledgable, yet he listened to our input and designed a home that remains today a huge source of pride for our family. He was a pleasure to work with every step of the way!

I have been working with Nate for years. I first met him when I bought an office building and…read morewanted it completely redone. Nate is beyond creative and has to be top 3 green architect in the state. Since our meeting I have done several projects with Nate and couldnt be more pleased. I am very picky who I send people to but would recommend Nate to anyone. He really is excellent!!!

always Ready to help. Does great work, a lot of attention to…read moredetail. Will use again for sure.

At the suggestion of my cousin, I contacted CH Architects Ltd. to construct our dream home. We were…read moreimpressed after meeting their highly talented and experienced team. They were highly polite with us and designed the perfect home layout for our place after considering our family's requests and needs. The construction process was smooth and completed within the estimated time. We are satisfied with their trustworthy team and efficient operations and will advise everyone to hire these experts for their home design and construction requirements......

How many words are we allowed in a Yelp review? I don't know where to start. I had the good…read morefortune of having Matt Nardella referred to me by a mutual friend when I was desperately looking for an architect to turn the sow's ear of a building I bought on Milwaukee to turn into artist live/work space (Basa Building, 2912 N. Milwaukee). I will spare you the gory details, but we worked together for over a year and a half. He turned the most disgusting dump into a solid, clean, sleek, innovative, inspiring, energy-efficient, light-filled floor of studio spaces. Directly because of Matt's design, I'm having no problem renting the spaces. Matt's not a prima donna designer, either. He would go get in line at the Building Department at 6 AM -- and he did this as many times as it took -- so that he could personally shepherd my unusual project through the wringer of the City's approval process. We had some tricky stuff pulled on us by Zoning that ended up involving the Alderman's intervention, but through it all Matt told me exactly what I needed to do -- and it worked. When my first contractor got put in jail (another story), he found me another one who is outstanding, Helios Design. They saved my butt. It's because of Matt that I didn't have a nervous breakdown and lose my shirt with this project.

The Dill Pickle Food Co-op has Moss Design to thank for transforming a dark and dingy disaster of a…read moreformer printshop into the beautiful, eco-friendly, food-filled community haven it is today. From planning the store's layout to navigating the city's byzantine zoning and permitting processes to finding all kinds of creative ways to use reclaimed materials and fulfill the Co-op's commitment to environmental sustainability, Matt's expertise, professionalism, flexibility and attention to detail were essential to moving our project forward. He immediately grasped what we were going for and did a great job of working around our needs, to the extent that it felt more like he was a part of our team than merely an outside service we had hired. It was a great joy to work with somebody whose reliability and capabilities were never in question--highly recommended! Billy Burdett Board of Directors Dill Pickle Food Co-op dillpickle.coop

Working with these guys was a pleasure. Dan, Eric and Bill did an amazing job on our basement…read morerenovation last Fall. They seemed genuinely excited about some of our harebrained ideas (a cat door to the laundry room, for example), and Dan did a great job of transferring our needs into a workable design. We were very happy with the execution, which included lots of different teams coming in and out, all very well organized by Eric. Bill's finishing touches were much appreciated, and included a custom built bookcase instead of a railing and small shelves embedded into our workspace. Incredibly, the whole project was completed almost to the penny we were quoted, except for a few extras we decided to add along the way. Eighty eight was not our lowest quote, but it was by far the most meticulous and thorough. Thanks for making our soggy, cold, drafty basement into an amazing and comfortable studio, complete with sump pump, radiant floor heat, and cat door! We also really appreciated having guys that we trusted completely sharing our living space for 2 months and being able to communicate freely with them. Can't wait for the next project together.

Eighty Eight When we set out to replace our 30 year old…read moredeck, our first priority was to find a dependable contractor. The traits we looked for were; dependability, punctuality, reasonable pricing, and creativity. While this seems like a reasonable list, it's difficult to find all of these attributes in one place, but we did. Eighty-Eight Inc. responded to our bid request within two days. The quotation was very competitive, and they were able to start the project within our timeframe. The carpenters were VERY prompt, needed no supervision, and left the area immaculate. While they were more than happy to follow our ideas, they offered some alternatives that made the final project much more useful and attractive. Would I recommend these guys? - In a heartbeat. - (Thanks Eric, Bill & Justin!!)

Fantastic Construction Project Managers. Quick, efficient, and always on budget. Will honestly…read morehandle any remodel or new build needs, everything from the permit to build to punching the project out at the end. If you have a rollout for your company on the horizon then this is the company you should use! Love working with them every second!