“James was the third architect we interviewed when we made a decision to build our dream home. After meeting him we cancelled all the rest. I am a real estate professional and I have come across some great works of art in the form of houses and have met their creators. What impressed me about James McDonald was his ability to listen carefully and understand our needs, It's like we told him our dream and he put it on paper even better than we had dreamt it. Throughout the building process he was available and willing to make any changes big or small, if practically possible. We trusted him completely and he never let us down. He has the highest work ethics and a stellar team to help him through extremely busy periods too. We would highly recommend him to anyone thinking of building a custom home or even remodeling an existing one.”

“I have used Design Depictions for multiple projects. They have always been very professional and responsive. Their ideas and engineering practices have been very helpful. I look forward to my next project.”

“We hired RLA to design our custom house which was recently completed in March 2015. We couldn't be happier with the results and would recommend them to any prospective home builder. From the beginning, we knew we did not want the standard cookie cutter two story colonial that is everywhere in our area, we wanted a custom house with a modern esthetic, not an existing builder plan with a few modifications. Builders will typically tell you that you do not need an architect, and that may be true from a construction perspective, but by forgoing an architect, you lose the opportunity to build a really special house, customized exactly to your needs. It does not add that much extra to the cost. From the beginning, RLA listened to our ideas, paid attention to our budget and designed our home to our exact specifications. While there are many illustrations of how this benefited us, here are three examples: Orientation - we wanted a house that would take the best advantage of natural light and available views. RLA worked hard to orient our house properly on the site and we now have great light, great views and privacy where we want it. The room layout also makes maximum usage of available light and each room has a great view. A builder will just plop your house on the site facing the street, regardless of the orientation of sunlight or privacy. Details - RLA incorporated details in our house that give it that custom, personalized look. Our deep soffitt details, rock stair wall and porch are really unique. Proportions - This is a hard one to describe, but RLA did a great job with sizing details, the proportions including room sizes, trim details, etc. Everything in the house flows beautifully and feels balanced and gracious. Architects understand how big rooms should be! Not to big or too small. My advice to prospective home builders is to forgo more square footage for better advice, materials and design. An architect will ensure you have a really unique home that fits your lifestyle”

“Working with Jonathan Rivera on our custom home has been an incredible experience. We have worked with other architects, but Jonathan has exceeded our expectations in that he understood our direction, but improved upon it tremendously. His passion for our home, and his understanding of how to take all the facets of our project (our unique lot, our budget, our likes) and sketch out the home of our dreams is amazing! Jonathan's experience in all facets of custom home design has made what could be an incredibly over-whelming process truly delightful. Highly recommend!”

“Karen at Transforming Architecture was reccoemnded by my real estate agent as she had done work on his home. At our first meeting she gave us an idea of the scope of the projects she has accomplished and the fee structure. She really listened to our ideas and concerns for our kitchen renovation. Karen presented 3 visions for our renovation, one with exactly what we asked for and then two other options. The third design presented involved moving our kitchen and creating an open floor plan. This was beyond anything we could have imagined o our own and made the best use of the space and our renovation dollars. We are currently under construction but Karen is readily available to answer questions and make edits to the design. It is a pleasure to work with her and I can't wait to see her vision come to fruition.”

“Jeff is a terrific visionary -- he is a wonderful listener and makes sure that the project reflects what the client wants, not what he wants. His artistry, creativity and ingenuity is put to the service of figuring out what is best for the client and their needs. He is very patient and great helping families find the right solution for them. He is a terrific advocate with contractors and helps keep projects on schedule.”

“Working with Workshop11 to build our dream home was a dream come true! Never having done a project of this scale and after hearing horror stories from people who used architects to design houses they couldn't afford to build, we were nervous about such a massive undertaking. Stephen worked collaboratively with us to make sure we designed a home that was modern and also practical for our family. He worked within our project budget, and always came up with creative ways to design something or build something that went beyond our expectations. We quickly learned to trust Stephen and his crew implicitly. And, despite his laid-back demeanor, Stephen is a closet-perfectionist that thinks carefully about how things look and function, and made sure everything was well-designed and well-built. Given Workshop11's ability to do metal design in addition to home design/build, everything in our home is custom and beautiful. After living in the house for almost two years, we still can't believe we get to live in this amazing modern home!”

“I was living in a dated condo made up of a series of rooms complete with a totally enclosed kitchen. When the dishwasher failed, I finally decided to take on a renovation that would transform my condo into more of an open concept arrangement. I hired Runningdog Architects to explore what could be done with the space. The result was a wonderful modernization of my home. With smart but simple moves, the entire character of my home was transformed from a series of enclosed rooms to a sequence of open spaces and captured views. The new arrangement is simultaneously set up for formal entertaining and easy living. Runningdog Architects was there from the initial concept sketches all the way through construction, always making the process as easy as possible for me. I couldn't be happier with the work of Eric Carle and Runningdog Architects.”

“As a high-end general contractor who focuses on architect-driven projects, I truly appreciate an architect whose plans are comprehensive, clear and precise. Additionally, I also appreciate an architect who has a hands-on approach, who communicates well and who is takes a tremendous amount of pride in what they do. All of these characteristics are evident at Randall Mars Architects. Randall's reputation and body of work has cemented him as being one of the best architects the Washington, D.C. area has to offer.”

“Scott was incredibly helpful, he explained a lot to me and gave me advice even after he knew I was not going to use him as an architect, he still took the time to make sure I was on the right track and told me things to ask the architect I was using instead to make sure my project was done right. The only reason I did not go with him was because the architect I originally got a quote from was less expensive because I was tweaking a design they had already created, versus starting from scratch. Otherwise I would have chosen Scott. He is a good person, very helpful and seems like an incredibly knowledgeable architect. I would recommend him for sure.”