Bill designed a complete renovation of our 1914 home and his designs were impeccable. Throughout…read morethe process, Bill was readily available, conscious of our budget, and involved with the contractor to ensure the design plans were being properly followed. He is kind, cares deeply about his work, and has a great attention to detail. I would to hire Bill again.

We worked with Bill Engelhardt on a new house design in an environmentally sensitive area in San…read moreRafael. Bill is a thoughtful and detail-oriented architect. These qualities were very helpful in the long and contentious approval process we had to deal with over nearly 2 years. We always found him very responsive and a pleasure to work with. While we ultimately decided not to proceed with the project for various reasons, we have no doubt that he would have applied the same attention to detail during the construction process. We are happy to recommend him.

I can't recommend Stacy Raymond enough! She is absolutely awesome, incredibly helpful, and always…read morewilling to go the extra mile. She makes everything so much easier and is responsive, professional, and a pleasure to work with. I truly appreciate her supprt and the peace of mind she provides. If you're looking for a reliable, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful bookkeeper, I highly recommend Stacy!

We've been working with Mike and his team to keep the books for our small business for many years…read morenow, and they do a great job. They're always quick to respond, smart and organized, and very patient with any questions I have. Super glad we found them - highly recommend!

Scott R at Energy Calc Co is a invaluable resource for sorting through the complex Title 24…read morerequirements and reports that are required for Bay Area building permit submissions. As architects, we rely on his expertise and working knowledge of different building and HVAC systems, and he never fails to help us deliver excellence on behalf of our clients. Highly recommend them!

I've worked with Energy Calc Co on several projects and they are an invaluable resource to our…read moreworkflow. As T24 requirements tighten further over time, their knowledge of the code-related building performance saves my team time and helps build better-performing buildings. As a bonus, they have always been there to pick up the phone should I have any questions. Highly recommend.

M&M Construction remodeled our bathroom we couldn't be any happier…read more everything was done per schedule and quoted cost. Thank you very much for a wonderful job. Highly recommended:)

M&M Constraction Have remodel many things in my house. New windows, they built a gazebo in my…read morebackyard, they put hardwood floors, tiles and the last one was a complete remodel of my kitchen, as always They have done an amazing job, I love my new kitchen so much. They were very professional they gave me time frame from start to finish, everything was just ticking like a Swiss clock I highly recommended them to anyone. Thank you,

Keith is an exceptional architect with an incredible eye. I've partnered with Keith on a number of…read moreprojects and am continually impressed by his professionalism and depth of knowledge. His attention to detail is paramount. I cannot recommend Kirley+ Architecture highly enough.

I recently renovated my home in Sonoma. And Kirley Plus Architecture did an amazing job planning…read moreand producing our drawings! They were fast and easy to communicate with. They had a lot of great design ideas. I'd highly recommend this team to anyone looking for a reliable architect.

I have hired this team twice now and have been impressed twice! Very prompt and professional…read morecommunication, detail oriented, perfect design and great with problem solving. I have run into issues with the City but Romain was quick to create a solution, and I have heard other accolades from fellow business owners that have used this firm. Definitely recommend and will work with them again.

Overall, we've found Romain to be very reliable--not only in the quality of his work but also in…read morehis professional attitude. We've had his architectural designs reviewed by friends who majored in architecture as well as several interior and landscape designers. Everyone gave very positive feedback and encouraged me to move forward with finalizing the plan. If there is any "downside," it's simply that Romain moves quickly. You'll want to share your thoughts and feedback promptly, otherwise he may be a step ahead of you. Personally, I really appreciate his energy, fast turnaround, and thoughtful consideration of details. We highly recommend Romain.

I am a general contractor based in San Rafael (Salamandra Associates) and have just completed a…read more3,200 sf new home in San Anselmo with Hank Bruce Architects. I have enjoyed working with this firm immensely. The plans were excellent, and well-conceived. The home was placed in a way that took full advantage of the site and views, and they worked with me to refine even the smallest of details. The resulting home is a work of beauty and the owners tell me how happy they are with their new home every time I speak with them.

We have been involved in a major remodel in Tiburon and hired Hank Bruce as his office is located…read morethere and we assumed that he would know the local planning and building departments. During construction, we engaged the services of multiple subcontractors, some being better than others. However Hank Bruce was at the bottom of our list. We found his architectural drawings to be woefully lacking in detail causing delays in construction and resulting cost overruns. One comment we received from one of our subcontractors was the we paid $60,000 for $15,000 drawings.

I hired City Garden Studio to help design and install a kitchen garden in our backyard in Oakland,…read moreCA. I knew of Helmina's work from the Berkeley Edible Schoolyard and the Berkeley New School garden and wanted to create an edible garden for my own use since I love to cook. I knew I wanted to support a woman-owned local business and am happy I chose City Garden Studio for our project which included soil testing, building and installing a raised bed, wine barrel planters, irrigation, and planting. I'd like to address the comments below about pricing to share my experience since it differs dramatically from the other reviewer. From our initial consultation through the completion of the job, Helmina was extremely communicative in regard to pricing and what was included in scope for the job. Her SOW included a detailed breakdown of pricing for materials and labor, noting that the price of lumber and plants can fluctuate. The final price ended up being $287 under the highest estimated amount. It took me several months to figure out exactly which design I wanted to move forward with, and Helmina was patient with guiding me through the various options based on our project goals. As another reviewer mentioned, Helmina is extremely detail-oriented and thorough, which are qualities that I appreciate. I've attached photos of our beautiful urban garden so you can see the great work that Helmina and her team did!

Through the recommendation of our contractor, we hired Helmina to help us with design and landscape…read morework, however, she ended up putting herself in the role of doing builds even though she knew we had our contractor lined up. Further to that, the contractor wouldn't provide estimates on the items she has quoted which gave her a monopoly on the pricing on the project. We were placed in a very awkward situation as it almost appeared as if the designer and contractor had been colluding. Further to that, working with Helmina has been the epitome of hidden surcharges. She overthinks everything and pays attention to detail that doesn't matter or add value. She went out of her way to ask questions with the contractor, however, she subsequently surprised us with an additional bill without any previous communication that she was going to charge us for each and every phone call, email and text message she sends to either us or the contractor. She did the same for asking questions to the City of Berkeley. Considering she's based in Berkeley, which I thought was the benefit to hiring someone local, she should be more familiar with city policy and even if she didn't, we shouldn't be charged for her to learn on the job. It was quite incredible to see that Helmina was not willing to accept there's a cost to doing business. The time for her to complete phase one, which is to design the overall schematic, was done in a rather timely fashion. However, when it came time for phase two, it took her 5 months to complete the finishing details and drawings we needed for the build. Aside from being frustrated over how long it took to complete phase 2, I received the final deliverable and invoice on a Friday. I acknowledged receipt of the completed work and asked a question about the invoice the day after. On the following Monday, she then harassed me for payment and wrote this ridiculously long email explaining how much unpaid time she spent in providing us with proposals (not even the designs themselves!), a matter which completely came out of the blue considering it was less than a business day since I had been invoiced. Apparently Helmina spent all her unpaid time pulling together proposals and overthinking things so when it came time to actually reviewing her work, we were already working at a time deficit. At almost every stage in working with her, she kept badgering us on how we've technically run out of hours before we were even able to provide feedback for the first round of reviews. If you're willing to be patient in working with someone who likes to overthink the details and be told what your design should be without you providing much input, perhaps Helmina can do the job for you, but be careful of all the hidden charges she'll likely spring on you. Make sure to have pricing sorted out upfront!