Heritage Building Conservation Services in Brandeis, CA

“The process of designing and building a home on the west coast while we lived on the east coast would have been a challenge. Tom made it easy and fun. He was available whenever we needed him throughout the design and build process. Best of all, Tom is now one of our good friends.”

“I grew up with a father who is a master contractor. In my adult life, I have been involved in countless home renovations, so I've always thought architects are a waste of time & money. They always seem to be writing checks with the customers' money, and have no basis in reality or practicality: they seem so frivolous. Hubby and I bought a mid-century modern home that had been turned into a tuscan style by the previous owners. (can you imagine?) We needed help getting approval from the local city planning board who are a NIGHTMARE to deal with (average of 8-10 plan checks, most cities do 2-3!?) We hired Glen with EZPlans to help us. Glen handled acrimonious city officials, seeming design impossibilities (and even a few vastly different design ideas between hubby and I) with tact, professionalism, and good humor. Dealing with EZ Plans was a breeze. I am so impressed with their vision, their professionalism, and the very talented, creative (and practical) architects they hire. They are exceptional communicators, and are as intuitive as they are talented. EZ Plans turned a simple contractor grade design we could have come up with ourselves, to a design that respected the mid-century bones of our home, and brought it to the practical standards we needed the home to suit. The design they came up with easily increased the value of our renovation tenfold. the only direction they had from me was "I want to respect the home's bones with materials in their natural element, nothing frivolous, but we need the house to be super specialized for our dogs." (maybe that's a bit frivolous....) They took this and ran with it. Incidentally, they are AVID dog lovers (almost as nutty as hubby and I are, ) so they came up with such cool suggestions that will make our old dogs' lives (and our lives) easier. As someone who has scoffed at the need for an architect, (come on, my dad is a contractor!) I can assure anyone: the design of a talented architect is worlds apart from what a contractor, or even designer, could come up with. They take things to another level. Glen increased the value of the renovation by making the design in line with architectural design elements, not current trends that would be outdated quickly after installation. More importantly, they made changes to the home to fit OUR lifestyle and needs, instead of us changing our needs and lifestyles to accommodate the home. This is the difference: architects build homes, contractors build houses. Hubby and I are so pleased with our experience at EZPlans. They make incredible planning, design and architecture...easy. :)”

“Dennis Thompson worked closely with us to design a new home on our land, after our house was destroyed by a wildfire. He was sensitive and cognizant of the emotional factors going into the design process, given our circumstances. Dennis took us through the entire process, from design concept through City approval, from choosing a contractor through managing on-site building issues. Ultimately, we ended up with a beautiful, energy efficient home.”

“Lisa Little worked wonders in our smallish Venice space. We had complicated needs and she found elegant solutions within a tight budget. We redid a kitchen from the walls out, extended it a bit, added a bar, added in a huge walk-in closet and staircase in the master bedroom, and reconfigured a guest loft. The latter involved enclosing a half-wall for privacy via rotating shutters that Lisa dreamed up and designed. The shutters rotate open when the loft is not in use and closed when we have company up there. This was a brilliant idea, brilliantly executed at not much cost. Lisa helped with fixture choice, color choice, and furniture choice, and worked closely with the general contractor and his subs. She exhibited great taste, a firm hand, and a keen eye on the budget. Recommended without reservation.”

“My experience with Audrey Sato was outstanding. She truly is a talented architect who has both great vision and is detail oriented; making the process of designing and constructing my fitness studio a fun and seamless one. I appreciated that she kept in constant contact with me, and was very hands on from design through construction. I felt comfortable asking questions and giving input, and am was very satisfied with the results. Pictures of the studio can be found on Facebook under 'The Dailey Method Calabasas'. Its a beautiful space. Clients of the studio rave about how beautiful, well lit, and comfortable the space is. And we owe it all to Audrey Sato Design Studio!”

“Chris and Peggy are the perfect team to build your dream house. They turned our traditional styled home into an amazing modern home without gutting out the entire house. I loved how extremely detailed and meticulous they were in designing every corner of the house and guiding our contractor along the process. Extremely professional and passionate about their work which reflects in the home I live now. People are constantly "wowed" by our house.”

“very professional, EZ to work with, get the job very fast and clean. very good communicator with all trades. over all am very happy.”

“Giovanni is creative, original, careful and considerate. I cannot imagine a better choice for your architecture needs. He did the plans for an apartment over our garage. When people open the door they literally gasp with surprise at the light, feeling of spaciousness (it's just over 450 sq ft), and unity of presentation. It's all down to him.”

“We started with a nice house in the Hollywood Hills then GLYNN made it shine; GLYNNdesign was stellar! Their taste, advice, and counsel are second-to-none. If you want a job done well, not some Home Depot-like spit and shine, consult then hire this talented team! There were several issues with my job, but they worked their way around the problems to magically create a masterpiece. Excellent work. I am thrilled with the house, the quality of the job, and the compliments I get. They morphed my average house into the best home in the block! Thanks!”

“Koffka Phakos designed our 3,400 square foot home from blueprints to finish. They were with us every step of the way. We believed them to be collaborative, creative, helpful and such nice people. We are thrilled with the way our home turned out and thoroughly enjoyed the process of working with Adrian, Cynthia and their staff.”