Need an architect for bath/kitchen remodel
My wife and I are planning to completely remodel our old kitchen and nearby bathroom next year and would very much appreciate any recommendations for an architect who is talented in this type of project. He/she should be friendly, reliable, creative, have a positive attitude and put the clients preferences first without being "pushy" for their own. We would prefer someone who is self-employed or with a very small firm rather than a large office and would charge by the hour in the range of $100-$150/ hour. Our house is in Oakland so it would require a knowledge of the local building codes. Many thanks for your assistance as it is appreciated.
Aug 23, 2019
Parent Replies
Hi
We’ve worked with Ian MacLeod- MacLeod Design and Construction in Berkeley for a large scale remodel of our home and strongly recommend him to all of our friends and families in the Bay Area looking to remodel.
Best of luck,
Farrah
I don't recall her exact rate, but I think it's in your range, and I can't recommend Rebecca Amato highly enough. We remodeled the back portion of our downstairs, which included kitchen, bathroom, and study, and we are absolutely thrilled with the result (we're in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland and our kitchen was on the Rockridge Kitchen Tour shortly after the remodel, to much acclaim). Rebecca lives in Oakland and her office is in Emeryville. https://www.amatoarchitecture.com/ (ours is the 61st St. kitchen). She's pretty busy because she's so good, but it's worth it because she has such an amazing talent for utilizing space in a beautiful way.
We've been using Andrew Lee (https://www.alee-arch.com/) for our bathroom remodel needs and he's been great. Not pushy at all and had a lot of creative ideas for our odd sized space. The remodel hasn't been started yet but we have all of the drawings ready to go (so I can't speak to completed work just yet).
Tim Larkin is fantastic. We have done two major home improvement projects with him and his expertise was worth every penny. He is self-employed.
Larkin Design1405 Josephine St.Berkeley, CA 94703ph: 510.847.7751tlarkin.berkeley [at] gmail.com (tlarkin[dot]berkeley[at]gmail[dot]com)
Annette Diniz did the design for my husband's office space and she did a terrific job! She is a freelancer and a fellow working mom who does amazing work. She can be reached at dinizannette [at] gmail.com (dinizannette[at]gmail[dot]com).
Omg I cant say enough good things about Aimee! She is reliable, helpful and very creative! She helped to design one hell of a kitchen for us! Check out her website https://www.paragonkbstudio.com/
you can also reach out to her at aimee [at] paragonkbstudio.com (aimee[at]paragonkbstudio[dot]com)
hope this helps!
We used Laura Boutelle who recently left Fernau and Hartman in Berkeley to start her own architecture business. I can't recommend her highly enough. She is meticulous, pragmatic, creative, solution-oriented, with an instinct for style. We did an entire gut reno on our 1921 Craftsman kitchen. Everything she recommended turned out great, including a widened doorway to the dining room, removing a chimney, and adding a really awesome floor-to-ceiling spice cabinet. Also a wall of windows. She is no-nonsense with contractors and since she's starting out, her rate is extremely reasonable. laura [at] boutellearchitecture.com (laura[at]boutellearchitecture[dot]com)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-boutelle-3465266b
I would absolutely recommend Laura Natkins, a one-woman office. Laura designed the major remodel of our house, transforming the original warren of dark rooms to create a light-filled kitchen-living-dining area well connected to the outdoors She took our concerns and preferences to heart and added her own special sauce. I know that she has completed many projects in Oakland and knows the drill there. She does, as you prefer, charge by the hour, last I heard it was $135 per hour. Her phone number is 415.519.4302. Her website is laura [at] natkinsarchitect.com (laura[at]natkinsarchitect[dot]com).
Peter