Carey Dodson

Carey Dodson helped us out on many small improvements and eventually a large remodel of our home. We first worked with Carey to advise us on a new garage door. We were considering a very modern all-glass door. She suggested an all wood door that would both fit with the current house and be adaptable/modern looking for a future remodel. We are thankfully we took her advice as both came true. We engaged Carey for that extensive remodel and she delivered beyond our expectations. She allowed us to be part of the process and nudged us toward better decisions as she understood how we currently lived, would like to live in the future, as well as our design preferences. She also worked with a new contractor that wasn't totally sold on the idea of our architect being between him and us - she won him over quickly and it turned out to be a great relationship all around. We couldn't be happier the end result or the process that got us there.

Carey Dodson did an amazing job working with us to create a new master suite and reconfigure and update the interior design of our house to make it a comfortable and fun home for our blended family. We felt like she truly understood us and our goals and involved us creatively which made it a much more enjoyable process than it otherwise would have been. She blends her artistry and creative eye with a thoroughness that we valued. There were so many nuances within her design — many that we could not visualize until they came to fruition — that make our addition feel like a work of art. She is also a pleasure to work with and in a project of this scope, that is important! The results are beautiful and we couldn't be happier. We recommend Carey wholeheartedly!

I do not have enough superlative words to describe how thrilled we are with Carey Dodson. Our house is now our HOME thanks to her brilliant work and recommendations. Our home is so nice now we feel like we have to explain to people when they come over, "we're not actually this tasteful - Carey helped us out!" Here's how it worked: We told her what rooms we'd want help with. My wife and I both separately completed her in depth questionnaire so she could a feel for our preferences. It was really fun to each have our own space to be unique. Then we created a shared "houzz" folder and we all saved things we liked and shared what we liked about them. Then Carey came and stayed with us in our home for a few days to get a feel for the space and how we actually use it. While she was here she measured everything and made recommendations to us for what size furniture we needed. As straight-forward as that might sound - it made a huge difference for us. Left to our own devices, we would have made thousands of dollars of purchases in furniture that was too big or too small, especially for our kitchen table and our living room sofa. Then she went shopping on our behalf. Since we live in Los Angeles, the traffic was a bit of an impediment. Luckily, Carey is a brilliant online shopper and knew of shops we had never even heard of, with really nice, tasteful furniture that was in our budget. She presented us with a photoshopped recommendation that had our actual house with pictures of the furniture photoshopped in. We could see it and say, "ooh! keep this - ditch that - can we get that in blue or would that be weird?" And she made some revisions. Once we settled on what we liked, she gave us an excel spreadsheet that had links to the exact item we should purchase, with the price, so we could sort and prioritize our purchases. The most amazing thing is that Carey somehow managed to find options that both me and my wife LOVE. Trust me - this is on the verge of miraculous because we have quite different preferences, but what Carey recommended was truly pleasing to us both. Now that she has all our home's measurements and knows how we roll, we still reach out to Carey for smaller projects and advice for a reasonable fee. We might send her a link and say, "do you think this fixture is right for our kitchen table?" and she'll write back - yes but in chrome not brass and get 36" not 24" - which we would have totally gotten wrong. She's truly amazing. Best of all, Carey is a lovely, deep, beautiful human being who we very much enjoyed having in our home and collaborating on this creative project with. She's not free - what she does IS work and it costs real money, but the way we think about it is we plan on this being our "forever home" and in terms of sustainability and not buying the wrong piece of furniture and getting sick of it in 2 years - we bought right the first time - and we never would have done that without Carey's expertise. So we see it as a phenomenal investment and recommend her with a million stars if we could.

Carey Dodson is an amazing architect. My husband and I gave her a long list of 'wants' for our 1100' sq ft home addition. We assumed she could include some, but not all, of our wishes. To our surprise she listened closely and came back with two plans that included our entire wish list. We chose our favorite and worked with her to make it a reality. The space is dreamy to live in and the addition looks like it has always been there! I highly recommend Carey Dodson for your design and remodel needs.

Carey was the architect for the renovation of my home. She worked with me so that my home is a place that is not only beautiful, but also comfortable and welcoming. She was extremely helpful during all phases of planning and construction, and helped me with the smallest details when I was out of my comfort zone. She worked well with the engineer and builder. The entire project went smoothly.

We worked with Carey on a kitchen redesign first and then hired her again to do a master bedroom addition. Both experiences were extremely positive. Carey is a joy to work with -- she listens carefully to the needs, she is attuned to personal aesthetics, and she delivers well thought out designs and communicates them clearly to contractors. We are picky and she delivered options and made design decisions that met our high standards. We very much appreciated her clean, modern, functional, environmentally sensitive designs. I'd recommend her most highly.

We hired Carey Dodson to design a remodel/addition to our house and my studio/workshop behind my house. After meeting with us and discussing the features and changes that we wished for, she developed drawings of tentative plans that we might implement. She came up with a few different versions or iterations of the plans and we met to discuss them. She hired someone to take measurements and create as-built drawings for us. She developed elevation sketches of the plan. Carey also coordinated a meeting with a contractor/builder to discuss estimates. She's had great ideas and has been a pleasure to work with. She has been readily available through phone and email. She has furnished us with all the information we have requested in a timely manner. She is innovative and is sensitive to the needs of those with modest and limited space. Carey emphasizes creating or maintaining optimal light to enhance living space and comfort and is truly motivated to develop a plan that is a great fit for her clients. She was strongly recommended to us and we have been incredibly pleased working with her.

Carey did a wonderful job with the architecture and design work on our attic finish out. We had a handful of tough problems to solve--put in a staircase, add a bathroom to the former attic, etc. In the end our attic finish out feels so natural I can't imagine our house as a single story. Her design vision is wonderful. I would 100% recommend working with her.

Melde Construction Company has collaborated with Carey Dodson on multiple projects. Carey has a unique and wonderful approach to each client and the space they inhabit. We have loved being able to collaborate with her in achieving her vision for thoughtful and healthy spaces, both large and small. Carey is very easy to work with and we recommend her to anyone looking for a great experience transforming their home. We look forward to many future projects with Carey!

Carey does it all. From the architectural side of moving walls, adding windows to create beautiful living spaces, to extensive material selections all the way down to hardware, window treatments, carpeting and paint colors. She advised us on furniture selections too!! She's always professional and did exactly what she set out to do! The whole house was renovated, including an extensive kitchen and master bath remodel and an extension of all 4 bedrooms. She is currently helping us on the exterior entrance/front of our house to increase curb appeal. Awesome job!

Loved working with Carey. She was knowledgeable, personable, and met her deadlines. we loved her vision and the end result was more than we had hoped for. we love our home and would hire Carey again with no hesitation.

I purchased one unit in a triplex designed by Harwell Hamilton Harris. I hired Carey to update the interior unit. Carey selected a combination of materials and paint scheme that truly matches the space, which was designed in 1958. I've had people come by and comment that the design of the space does not conflict with the style of architecture of that time. It was done in such a way, that it looks original. No easy task. She did a wonderful job to integrate color and a modern material into my apartment.