Miljövänligt byggande i Harris County, TX.

“The short version of my review is: Sam is FANTASTIC, and I highly recommend him to everyone I know! The long version is.... I currently live in an old 2 bed / 2 bath 1920 Heights cottage. While preparing for the birth of our first baby, we realized that we would need more space before we had a second (at least one modern-sized closet would be nice!). Alas, our new home search began. I wanted to stay in the Heights, and after actively looking for >1 year, I realized that there was nothing on the market that would fit our growing family's needs - in our price range, that is. I eventually found a 1920 bungalow on Harvard Street in need of some serious TLC. I interviewed a few designers and decided to go with Creole. Sam (the owner) came and walked the space with us and had some great ideas already (this was all before we chose him as our designer or paid him one cent). I also liked that he lives in an old 1915 Woodland Heights home and has been in the Heights since the 1970's. He used to do combo design/build, but now focuses on just designing. He has done hundreds, if not thousands?, of home designs - both rehabilitation/additions and new construction. Over the years, I have seen his signs all over the neighborhood, and I always liked the look of his properties and his attention to historic detail vs other neighborhood designers. I also liked that he charges based on a fixed fee (per framed foot), when other designers charge by the hour. With all of the unknown costs associated with a 1920 rehabilitation, having as many costs certain vs unknown was very important to me!! Also, because Sam has been on both the design and construction side of things with these old houses for so long, he is very aware of how much building things actually costs. Therefore, it was very comforting to me that while going through the design process, if I wanted to add something, he could tell me if that was something expensive or not a big deal. As someone who's never done this before, at least I knew with eyes-wide-open what I was designing! How the process works: You do all of the design sessions with Sam - in his cool, old house, interactively sketching by-hand on see-through tissue paper, on top of an autocad drawing of the existing house (to me, this was: "practical free-handing"). This was FUN, and a very effective way to do it b/c you can easily make changes and/or start over as you discuss through making your needs/wants possible. Then he hands off the sketches to one of his 5 or 6 employees that work on autocad (they all sit in the garage apartment of the house, 15 ft away). You have one of them specifically assigned to you, which works more efficiently than not having a specific individual (another designer we interviewed said we'd have access to everyone, which sounds good in theory, but likely wouldn't have worked as well when I changed my mind back and forth more than I ever thought possible). Throughout the process, Sam was very proactive in communication and setting up design sessions with us. He always reinforced how important it was to get the designs as-right-as-possible on paper and didn't make me feel bad when I went back and forth, changing things big or small several times - "it's much easier/cheaper to change it on paper NOW than when you are under construction." He listens very well and was the perfect balance of providing suggestions and listening to our needs/wants - which resulted in something better than I ever could have ever come up with. Also, he met with us after our workday ended, which was very important when you have a small baby and both parents work! So LONG STORY LONG, I couldn't be happier with the plans of my "new" 1920 dream home! We are currently in the City permitting process and will start construction when that is done soon. I am so excited to see my dreams become a reality and have been recommending Sam to friends left and right!”

“I hired Charles to design a single-family residence and couldn't be happier. He was very thoughtful, responsive, and innovative. He's a superb listener and really took the time to figure out exactly what I wanted and how to make that happen. This was a real collaboration and Charles made me a partner in achieving the design I wanted. He's wonderfully attentive and personable and has been such a joy to work with. He's also a wealth of knowledge and very tactfully pointed me back in the right direction every time I made a suggestion that wasn't so practical or affordable.”

“We worked with Kennedy Architecture to build our home. From day 1, Troy was always available to answer questions, make changes, help with design and decor decisions, basically everything I needed. He would help me with ideas, color choices, etc. He created 3D renderings so that we could better understand what he was creating. He is a top notch professional and I highly recommend him for your home design! Thanks so much Troy for everything! Andrea”

“I cannot give enough praise to Hellenbeck Architects. Brad and Karen have helped us design our dream home. Brad can actually design a "feeling". Karen has the most impeccable taste. We searched for the right Architects for over a year; going to every open house, every Architectural tour available. Every time we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the design it would be a creation by Hollenbeck. They are down to earth, easy to work with and extraordinary knowledgeable. I would recommend them to anyone wanting to design their dream home.”

“We hired Brickmoon Design to draw plans for our small 1920 bungalow to add a 2nd bath and were hoping to get the washer/dryer into the house (from the garage). They came up with 2 main ideas, took dimensions and we had the survey done, but we have not made a decision on whether to 1) stay within our small 1350 sf footprint, or 2) add onto the house at a substantially higher cost. My husband doesn't want to spend the extra money to add on but I like the addition idea the best, so we have not gone any further. So far, we are out about $5,000 for plans and survey but are stalled. Brickmoon gave us exactly what we asked for, but I still think there has got to be a cost effective way to add an additional 200-300 square feet. Am I dreaming?”

“Allen Gryphon did a phenomenal job on the design of our condo. It was a huge project and he was with us every step of the way.”

“Loved working with her. Very professional with a lot of amazing and original ideas. She always tried to understand my wants and needs of the space... Very happy with the project and how it turned out at the end”

“ATS Design has completed a number of residential and commercial drawing and design project for my firm and has done all of them in a timely and professional manner. His computer design skills are above average, with a special knowledge and ability in residential house plans and project management. If you are looking for a small firm that can design, manage and deliver a project on time and in budget, contact ATS Designs.”

“We were extremely pleased with the work Camilo and his operation did for us. The price quoted was very exact and the work came in on budget and once the permits were secured the time frame was very close to that quoted given unavoidable delays due to weather etc.”

“Origin architects is an amazing architecture firm, focusing on detail and creativity that makes every project unique! As an interior designer I loved the amount of detail that went into this home. Not only the interiors but exteriors as well. Also the fact that they take "the views" heavily in consideration masked all the difference. The luxury home has beautiful golf course views from nearly every room / window in the home. The outcome was georgeous and the homeowners couldn't have been happier! I believe that Javier and his team truly captured their dream home!”