Design42 Architecture, LLC

Dan was recommended by a friend, and we liked him right away and hired him to renovate our apartment in an old upper westside prewar building. On a scale of 1 - 10, I'd give him an 11. He transformed our apartment into a spacious, welcoming, it's good to be home place. He optimized its potential with a stunning design that never occurred to us, relocating the kitchen and bathroom, but maintaining the wet over wet that our co-op requires. He was on time with everything, and introduced us to a contractor who did a fabulous job. At least once a week I wish I was rich so I could buy another apartment and have Dan do it all over again. Our project was completed in February of 2023.

We are just wrapping up renovation in our apartment in the city. Never done a renovation in our lives before. Pretty stressful! When we look back, one thing that we can say with no hesitation is how happy we are we went with Design42. Choosing an architect is not easy, but these guys are fantastic. Not only did they make happen what we had envisioned, but they also went above and beyond with providing suggestions and ideas, helping us compare bids, etc and being there for us whenever we needed something or when we were having doubts. Dan and Tom, are knowledgeably and resourceful; easy to talk to and always listened to us; always reachable and they work great with our contractor and interior designer. If we ever renovate again (hopefully not for a long time), Design42 team is our choice of architects!

Extremely talented, easy to work with and delivery of great design. They provide ideas along the way, help guide their clients through the process at every step, including post design/architecture stage such as the build and final review stages which we found very helpful.

My wife and I decided to fully renovate a 4,500sf 1928 English Tudor style home. We were afraid that raising the clay tile roof to obtain a minimum of 8' high ceilings and dig down for a "really usable" lower level at 8'-6", would change the look of exterior of the house. It would be impossible to see any changes made to the house from the outside, unless you saw the house in construction. As a result, we increased the usable space by about 1,000 sf. Amazing value. In addition he created an open lay-out and worked around many other structural issues without compromising space. Just an amazing job! I strongly recommend Dan to any one individual who is renovating a home and cares about the character of the house and only hires the best professionals.

Design42 designed and oversaw the renovation of our loft apartment, and in every way it was a satisfying and successful experience. My husband and I came to Dan Henkel and Design42 with very specific ideas about how we envisioned our new home, from how we imagined our functionality in the space down to the tiniest design details. Dan and his staff incisively sorted through all of our ideas to create a thoughtful and comprehensive design, and we believe that the charm, beauty, and serviceability of the space speak to his tremendous accomplishment with our project. When it came to managing the actual renovation effort from the very beginning of the bid process to the completion of the punchlist, again Dan proved more than up to the task. He was attentive to every aspect and stage of the construction effort and was comfortable collaborating with and/or directing our contractor to achieve the best and most efficient results. When unforeseen complications arose (as they will in every renovation), Dan was able to provide quick solutions, limit our exposure to change orders, and keep us on budget. When one considers hiring an architect, skill and style are certainly the primary criteria in making the final decision. But one should never discount the architect him/herself, their personal qualities. On that front, Design42 truly excels. They are He is incredibly personable and intelligent, funny and focused. Even when we had setbacks – and we really didn't experience those – Dan he was fun to work with and ever open to our questions and suggestions toward the goal of creating our perfect home. It has now been 3 years since we moved back into our apartment, and we can confirm that goal was more than surpassed.

Design42 completed a project with us to do an addition and renovation. Our house is located in an urban environment adding to the complexity of working in a small living space. Our town also has strict rules when it comes to additions and renovations. Design42’s staff were easy to work with, filled with smart ideas and eager to listen to our vision and concerns. Every step of the way, they were customer focused and went out of their way to help create a great living space for our growing family. We look forward to working with them again and would not hesitate to recommend them.

Design42 made our dream home come true. Consummate professionals, our Design42 team worked tirelessly and creatively, and from beginning to end, to transform a pre-war wreck into a light-filled, spacious and modernized apartment. They were also a true pleasure to work with, and we recommend them wholeheartedly.