Nelson Edwards Company Architects, LLC

I have worked with Sara Nelson on several projects over the past 10-15 years, ranging from the complete rehab of a small house in Branford to a porch and bath room remodel to my own house in the Guilford Historic District. I appreciate her ability to incorporate insightful design in an historic context. She is knowledgeable in her field, easy to work with and a consummate professional.

We hired Nelson Edwards to help us decide whether to renovate or build new on a waterfront property. We had worked with 2 other architects before, but their plans reflected their tastes and aesthetics, not ours. I asked a friend who had done several build and renovate projects whom she had used, and she recommended Tom Edwards of Nelson Edwards Company. She said he was easy to work with and very talented. After one meeting, I knew we had made a great decision. Tom listened to me and my husband carefully and asked about our life in our current space and our hopes for the new house. He provided floor plans a couple of weeks later that reflected our needs and exceded our expectations. He further developed those with feedback from us until they were exactly what we wanted, but so much more. The house he designed not only plays homage to the location and history of the neighborhood (100 year old waterfront houses) but also has incredibly innovative and beautiful modern touches blended in with the traditional. The rooms flow and open up to allow the individual to appreciate the blend of wood and stone, windows, light, ocean views and architectural elements, including clerestory windows, octagons, curves, and nautical inspired details. The entry and the appearance of the house from the street was made to fit into the neighborhood of smaller, more modest homes, while still providing a sense of welcome and quiet luxury. Tom recommended a few builders and supervised the bidding process. We chose a builder who had worked with Tom previously, and were very happy with his work. Tom supervised the building project from concept through demolition of the existing house, construction, and finish work. He provided on site help at every stage of the project, showing carpenters how details should be put together, and solving challenges as they arose. He was incredibly knowledgable and went beyond our expectations, even with landscaping plans, interior design, and maintenance issues. Our project had a budget, and Tom was always sensitive to our wishes as well as our limitations. I personally spent many many hours with him choosing fixtures, paint colors, furniture and more, and he was always agreeable and easy to work with. He was right by my side when we asked for changes or the introduction of playful elements to parts of the house, and they transformed the process of one of work to one of creativity and fun. We have lived in this home for several years and believe it is the most beautiful home we have ever seen. It is hard to leave it to go on vacation, although every once in a while we do! Our project was finished according to our expectations and within a reasonable time frame for such a complex house. If you choose to work with Tom Edwards, you will find him to be a great choice, and very different from most ego-centric, ordinary architects. He is a fine artist as well as an architect, and a very easygoing, brilliant and creative individual who will design a home to meet your needs and not his own.

Sara and her team were a delight to work with.. they took the time to understand more about our lifestyle and proposed great solutions. Our project was well organized, on time and we actually did more work than planned as there were savings along the way. Sara kept the contractor organized and did some of his work to keep the 'team' going... We enjoyed and learned from working with Sara and her whole team-- we are forever grateful for the much improved lifestyle we've enjoyed after our addition.

We worked most directly with Sara Nelson and could not have had a better experience. Sara and her firm were responsive, resourceful and highly creative with great attention to important and meaningful details that are a trademark of their work.