Four young professionals move into the closest thing to a McMansion that San Francisco has to…read moreoffer. Most of their furniture was painstakingly old, and the budget for new things was close to nonexistent. In comes Tom, glances at the space, which seems dauntingly large to the new residents, arranges the stuff they already owned so that it actually looks nice, researches other accessories and furniture, figures out where to get it for the lowest price, and completes furnishing and accessorizing of a giant 4 bedroom house with cash to spare. The master suite is ready for a photo shoot with Luxury Living magazine and we are all in love with the new place. Tom's enthusiasm is contagious, attention to detail is flawless and ideas are fantastic. In brief, he is the best.

We could NOT have done without Tom's sharp eye for color and keen design sense! We bought a new…read morehouse last year with good bones and expansion potential, but were going back and forth on how much we wanted to take on upfront. In comes Tom and he wows us with his vision for the dank, unfinished basement: make it into a family room with open doors that open out onto a large, wide deck. That is just one example of advice he gave that we did take and have no regrets. He absolutely inspired our ideas from beginning to end even though we could only afford him as a consultant. Not only is Tom a great designer who understood our budget constraints, but he could always provide an articulate and non-jargony rationale for why this light/paint color/cabinet color etc. worked or didn't. Our house wouldn't be what it is without Tom's input. he came with us to pick furniture, tiles, colors, and all the little things that make a difference, even the subtle paint colors of our bedrooms which we would not have thought to choose but really do enjoy the way they bring calm.

Neal and team did an amazing job when we completely remodeled our home in Noe Valley (completed in…read more2016). My wife and I truly enjoyed the design process that SaA took us through. We described certain features and how we intend to use the space as a family (as opposed to exactly telling them what the layout was supposed to look like) and they surprised us with a design that by far exceeded our expectations. Our house is modern & cozy at the same time and it provides privacy while still being flooded with tons of natural light. The experience of SaA became even more obvious when they navigated the city's planning process for us. We got through the entire planning process in record time (incl. neighborhood notification, etc.) as Neal & team ensured that every little detail was within the planning code and fully documented. They also helped us change a number of features in order to meet our budget requirements. The firm also supported us through the construction process by working very closely with our contractor. I have recommended Schwartz and Architecture to numerous friends and neighbors.

I hired Schwartz and Architecture to design the remodel a newly purchased single-family home. We…read moreinvolved them when we were still in the process of buying the house to make sure the remodel we envisioned could happen in a price range we could afford. Everything started out great, and I wished we'd stopped with the $2,500 "masterplan" contract where they measure your house and provide preliminary, hand-drawn concept design sketches. Instead, we proceeded to the next phase ... where you quickly begin to feel like the most important part of the relationship is how much Schwartz and Architecture can make off you. They get paid a percentage of the overall construction cost so I felt like they were trying to keep those costs as high as possible. It was crazy because adding anything to the design exponentially increased price while removing things doesn't have the same effect. Still scratching my head over the accounting. Like most SF homes, ours is small so efficient utilization of space was important to us. My husband also - repeatedly - told them not to show us designs that would be outside our budget. We reached an impasse where we felt the designs we were being shown weren't worth the money it would cost to build. We terminated our contract with Schwartz and Architecture after spending $23K and only having unusable hand-drawn concept sketches (shame on us for not calling a stop to it earlier). I wouldn't recommend using Schwartz and Architecture unless your construction budget is *at least* $2M. Seriously. They do have good ideas, so you're best off hiring them for the "masterplan," then taking those ideas to an architect who can execute on them in an efficient and affordable way.

Not happy with the lighting. He had his own way to set up the switches and poo poohed my choices…read morewhich I would have vastly preferred.

This was a big waste of money and time and it's still on going because I have to sue him. I didn't…read moreget what I wanted and I got a charged a lot. MMD has disrespected me and my hard earned money and now I have filed a complaint in superior court for the balance due on my account. I hired this man because I thought he was experienced. I'm a very busy physician and I didn't have time to look for samples for flooring, fabrics and window treatments. All easy projects. He didn't really listen to the style I was going for and brought me all kinds of fabrics, colors and samples I didn't like. For example, I got charged for a 4 hour phone call to FRANCE to order fabric for pillow covers! They were ridiculously expensive and not at all what I wanted. He hardly gave me any options and charged me for a ridiculous amount of time. He should have given me a proposal and should have given it to me in WRITING. He should have told me in the proposal he would charge me 10 hours of his time AND his assistants time to get pillows! In addition I got redundant charges for when his assistants would come along or if they helped him pick some fabrics out or when they talked about what they were going to show me. When we discussed a project he would come one day to talk about = charge, one day to measure = another charge, look into options = another charge, he would talk to me about the options = another charge, he would bring by samples = another charge. If is assistants helped him with anything or came along add the additional charges. And this was the inefficiency that went into everything. Just framing and hanging ordinary pictures cost me 5k. He was very inefficient and this way he did his best to squeeze the most money out for doing very little. PLEASE never give him a deposit if you want to see your money again. Needless to say, I terminated his services. Now he owes me a return on my deposit because he deposited the check the next day, even before any work was done. I even agreed to pay him for the time he took to show me all the stuff I didn't like and was too costly. He still owes me a few thousand dollars after I have terminated is work for over a YEAR NOW. Now he WONT RETURN MY CALLS, EMAILS or My MONEY. He does a great job of sending you his bills and depositing your money then next day. He sends bills on the finest, embossed paper. You are paying for that paper and when the time comes, he will not give you your money back that he owes you, so be very careful with him!!! I have filed a complaint with ASCID in Washington DC. Now I have to go to court to get him to pay my deposit. I have filed in superior court of SF and just got a judgement in my favor. Please don't patronize this designer. Call GREEN COUGH INSTEAD! Now I have to prepare for my court date and further waste more of my time and money. I think he has serious financial problems. His professional practices are so bad as you can see by the other reviews. There is very little regulation of this industry. HIRE GREEN COUCH DESIGN they are the best group of designers. They are fresh, cool, modern and classic, and the style is exactly what I wanted. I got my entire project done in half the time Michael took to do one part and I got even more than I wanted with them. I got all new furniture, great pillows, flooring, windows, bedding -- all in my budget. They gave me a wonderful binder with a proposal that was given to me before any deposit. They never even cashed my deposit until the project was over. I told them how much I was willing to spend and they told me exactly how much the entire project would cost before we even started and THEY DELIVERED. The place look amazing. My friends and family rave about how beautiful it looks and I can't stop enjoying what they have done. I can't say enough good things about the work they did. It was exactly the style I wanted, with great quality pieces, and the most organized business. I LOVE them. Please don't hire MMD unless you like to burn your cash.

The folks at Jarvis Archtects are a group of outstanding, dedicated professionals who provide top…read morenotch service to their customers. We recently completed an *extensive* home remodel and addition to our 1912 Craftsman Bunglalow. Jarvis Architects guided us from initial design through completion! When we initiallly contacted Jarvis we had an idea of what we wanted, but were not set on a specific design or plan. Our only requirement was to maintain the character and charm of the original home - to ensure when our "new" home was complete it did not look like an old home on the bottom with a new box on the top. We discovered throughout the process this is exactly the high standards Jarvis sets - maintaining the "soul" of the home while designing a visually and structurally beautiful space. Thoughout the design phase our architect, Cindy, came up with excellent ideas to preserve the character of our home. Altough she had ideas of her own, she was never stubborn about listening to our input and working with us to come up with a design we truly loved. At times I was utterly amazed at her patience as we fine tuned the design and sometimes changed our minds several times on the same room or area. When we were unsure about what we wanted in a room she would offer suggestions about things to think about that would help us hone in on an idea until we had everything exactly the way we wanted it. Another aspect of Cindy's professionalism was her punctionality for meetings and her timeliness in iterating over changes after we met. The planning and design work for our project was extensive - we completely replaced our foundation, tethered the foundation to the bedrock via helical piers, raised the entire home by a foot due to a spring under our house, converted two bedrooms into a large kitchen/family room, demoed the entire upper story and replaced it with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a laundry room! Once the design was complete Cindy submitted the plans in person to the city and they were accepted the first time. Another way that Cindy in particular, and Jarvis in general, exceeded our expectations was the recommendations they provided for building professionals once the building phase actually started. Not only did they recommend people, but when the building phase started they worked seamlessly with these professionals - the foundation contractor and the general contractor. It was apparent the team of architect, foundation and general contractor had completed many successful projects before. When any complex issues came up they worked as a team, without dissent, to come up with a solution that was always in our best interest. It was never one against each other with us stuck in the middle. It took a leap of faith and a lot of trust to demo our existing home to the studs except for 3 rooms. The trust we placed in Cindy Chan and Jarvis Architects to remake our home into our dream home was deep. Our completed home is above and beyone what we ever expected it could be. We love it and are forever grateful for their guidance and professionalism throughout the project. As I reflect on the lifecycle of our project from start to finish and what was most important and invaluable about choosing the architect we hired, these are the qualities I valued most, and where Jarvis came through with flying colors: 1) Dedication to maintaining the "soul" of the home and visual and structural integration of old and new parts of the house, interior and exterior 2) Quality of completed work 3) Responsiveness to requests 4) Access to high quality builders and other building professionals 5) Team approach between us, the architect and the builders and all involved I very heartily endorse Jarvis Architects! - Susan

Glenn Jarvis designed the re-build of my house in Walnut Creek. I now realize how important having…read morea good architect is. This was my first time using one. The results were excellent in all respects . Glenn was very patient with my various anxieties about the project. The pricing was fair considering the good results. And you really don't want low cost architects. He fully understood what I wanted and put it to paper in a way that exceeded my expectations.

I have worked with Douglas Burnham of Envelope A+D for the past 15 years, I believe I was his first…read moreclient. He designed two incredible personal homes in California (both published) for our family. He listened to everything we asked for and came up with the perfect plan both functionally and aesthetically, pushing us just the right amount out side of our comfort zone. He paid attention to every detail and didn't stop until everything was just right.. I think the fact that when we did our second house we hired Douglas says it all. I have also hired Douglas for several very creative commercial projects with equally satisfying results. He made the design process enjoyable and exciting as he is a pleasure to work with. Please feel free to call me. jeff k 503-575-5320

I'm so happy to be able to share some thoughts about NSD. I'm lucky enough to have had them as a…read moreresource for my sellers for nearly 15 years. In order to promote the mission of getting the best return for my clients, great house preparation is crucial. Gary and the team keep their finger on the pulse of the market to understand what excites the buyers and show the house to best effect. They are very focused on making sure that all spending is done strategically to get the best return, and that superfluous work is not done. The work is done quickly and conscientiously. NurtureSource is a key part of my team and helps me be successful in my real estate career. Good for me, good for my clients!

We were referred to Nurturesource by a Realtor friend who had firsthand experience with their work,…read moreand we couldn't be happier that we took the recommendation. We hired them to remodel our primary home with an ambitious goal: complete the majority of the work within two months before moving in--all while staying mindful of our budget. From start to finish, the entire team was exceptional. We received three bids, and Nurturesource's stood out immediately as the most detailed and transparent. Rodell was clear, thorough, and easy to work with throughout the bidding process, which gave us confidence from day one. This was a full-scale remodel--we touched nearly every surface: building new walls, adding a fourth bonus room, completely renovating the kitchen and bathrooms, upgrading all electrical and plumbing systems, and installing new hardwood floors. As anyone who's been through a remodel knows, it can be challenging--especially when my partner and I didn't always see eye-to-eye on design decisions. That's where Alex, our program manager, and Alejandra, our designer, truly shined. They were patient, collaborative, and incredibly skilled at guiding us toward solutions that balanced our vision, budget, and timeline. Thanks to them, we now have a home we are genuinely excited to live in. What also sets Nurturesource apart is their efficiency. Their experienced team, in-house construction crew, and strong network of subcontractors allowed them to keep the project moving with minimal delays--something that's rare in this industry. We highly recommend Nurturesource as a design-build firm and would gladly work with them again on future projects.

Brian is AMAZING! Simply amazing. A) he's a super kind human who is incredibly easy to talk to and…read morework with. B) he has an amazing eye for decoration! He totally transformed my condo and I totally give his staging full credit for getting multiple offers over asking! C) I received 3 quotes for this service and Brian was almost HALF what the other stagers quoted. Brian also did a listing for my dad and again totally transformed the place. Can't say enough good things about my experience. Highly recommend. Photos of my property here: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Concord/1420-Bel-Air-Dr-94521/unit-305/home/590306

Brian styled my house for Christmas and did a fantastic job. I beg him every year to come do my…read morehouse again but I live halfway across the country now. If I was rich, I'd fly him out to do my house every year!

We had a great experience working with Seth Brookshire of PORRO Design on our home remodel project…read more He helped us to transform our ugly duckling of a house into something beautiful - on time and on budget. We bought a 1950's fixer in Palo Alto that we thought had a lot of potential, and then had buyer's remorse, overwhelmed by what needed to be done before we could move in. We engaged Seth and he immediately recognized the home's potential, and guided us through the design and construction process. He had great ideas, and we quickly developed a shared vision (a clean modern aesthetic, that played up the mid-century architecture). I'd call him an 'interior architect' - he fully understands construction and provided plans for structural changes (knocking down walls and the like). Seth helped us to work within our budget, which was modest. He provided great advice on where to spend our money (things that would have a big impact), and where to go cheap or leave things as they were. The end result was a radically transformed house. It is gorgeous now. If we had tried to do the remodel on our own without a designer, we would have been much more timid, stressed out, and would have ended up with a less-great house. If we had gone with another architect, we could have easily spent 3x as much on the project. We love living in our new house! And we love Seth Brookshire of PORRO Design for helping make it what it is.