Architects in Carmel Hamlet, NY

“Hudson Design designed and provided construction management for our 3,500 sq. ft. house in Cold Spring, NY. The design process was an iterative one with many revisions resulting in a modern, loft-like weekend getaway that we use almost every week. We have become friends with the principal of Hudson Design.”

“My husband and I were interested in a house, but saw some things that needed to be changed that were a deal breaker for us. I reached out to Stephanie and she fit it in her busy schedule to meet with us. Stephanie came to the house we were interested in and took a great amount of time walking through taking measurements and discussing all our options. She was very helpful , knowledgeable and full of insight.”

“We had a complete renovation done of our bedroom wing with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and a hallway under Heike's guidance. This was the 2nd project we have done with her, and we are once more thrilled with the result! What we like about Heike is that, she is a nice person to work with, she listens well, does extra research, has a lot of knowledge of materials and where to get them, and last but not least the fact that she comes from Europe and understands our modern European taste well. She introduced a number of nice touches in the overall design and paid attention to the overall energy efficiency of the renovation. She also worked with our contractor and the building department of our town. We can full-heartedly recommend her.”

“My home is one of the exhibits listed here. This architect was easy to work with and gave appropriate and timely advice when needed. She is currently working another project for me, a renovation of a Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentice work in the Berkshires.”

“Boaz Golani, principal of BMG Design/Build designed and project managed an extensive renovation of our 1920s Tudor-revival house, focussing on kitchen and bathroom. The work required fully demolishing the spaces, to the studs, replacing wiring and plumbing, and executing a redesign which was true to the period details of the house, but kicked the whole place up a couple of levels in convenience and elegance. Golani was brilliant in his aesthetic and practical creative problem solving. He sourced and managed fine craftsmen, and was onsite everyday, keeping the job on time and budget. Few clients are as fortunate as we were in achieving all and more than we expected without any pains except the inevitable one of writing checks.”

“LEAP designed our modern and green home addition. They handled much of the creative work on the project, as well as detailed renderings, bid consultations, and construction supervision. LEAP's work was very creative and responded directly to our needs. They found ways to get energy efficiency and modern design details into a "buildable" and cost-conscious project. They are humble, hardworking, and consistent. I would choose to work with LEAP Architecture again without hesitation.”

“My husband and I, after perusing about 500 house plans this winter, finally decided on one to build. We contacted Joel Davis, and we purchased the plan. Because we intended to make several changes, he forwarded the PDF file to the company which provides modification services for them. I asked Joel whether the house had ever been built, and he researched and found the information for me. The nearest family who had built the house that we had chosen was located only a 6-hour drive from us. I contacted them, spoke with the wife at length, and she invited us to come down and actually see "our house". This was really a great opportunity, as you can imagine. They were kind enough to host us for 4 hours; we got the opportunity to look at every cubby and closet, to ask them endless questions - and we got a slide show of the construction process as their home was being built. Well, a long story shortened... we knew this house was not for us! It was immensely larger than we had envisioned. We had simply liked the floor plan, but had really not had an accurate vision for how large the rooms would be. I contacted Joel and explained our dilemma. He really went to bat for us, contacting the architect and explaining the whole thing. Because we had never actually received anything - no plans or PDF files, he was able to refund our purchase. We were really pleased that he also sold our "second choice" plan - another architect's work. He really cared that we were happy with our choice and that we were building a house we would be thrilled to move into. I can't say enough good things about this company! I would guess that most businessmen in Joel Davis' position would simply tell us, "tough luck!" and be more concerned about keeping their architects happy. I would highly recommend using their service when choosing your house plan.”

“I can count on several fingers the times I have found a local business partner that I'd describe as a rockstar, and Brian Hopkins is on that short list. On Christmas Eve, my wife and I were out doing errands. We got a call from our teenage son, telling us that water was raining down from the upstairs bathroom, through our microwave and stove, into the basement, onto the furnace and water heater. There was some once-in-a-century rapid drop in temperature, we had some poorly insulated pipes, and one of those pipes ruptured in the floor of that second floor bathroom resulting in that disaster. Total nightmare. Thankfully, one of the other rockstars on our short list of local business partners is our general contractor. We already had a plan on the shelf to renovate that bathroom, our contractor was available, we were able to get all our tile and bathroom fixtures picked out and procured in record time, and shortly after New Year's our GC started the repairs and creating the bathroom of our dreams. Salvation! Everything was going awesome, until the building department showed up. In a rush, we neglected to get a building permit. We weren't being shady or playing games. We were just hasty and ignorant and didn't do the things we needed to do. We got an immediate stop-work order. And the only way to get back on track was to find an architect to do proper code-compliant architectal drawings for our already-in-progress bathroom renovation. I quickly learned that there are not a lot of residential architects hurting for business, certainly not at that time of year. I literally called at least 15 different places. Either people were too busy, or weren't interested in the project. I finally found one who couldn't take the job, but said "hey, we know this other guy in the area who is super good, that we refer people to when we're busy. His name is Brian Hopkins." Somebody directing business to a competitor?? I now understand why they referred me. Brian is only the second architect I've ever worked with, but as far as I can tell, he's as good as it gets. I was able to get in touch with him immediately, and he agreed to take on the work. He was incredibly transparent and clear about what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and what it would cost. Throughout the process he was super responsive, empathetic, organized, patient, professional, and enjoyable to work with. He didn't nickel and dime us or play games; he was clearly focused on good customer service and outcomes. And from what I can tell, both the building department and my GC were very happy with the quality of his work. The entire ordeal we went through, particularly involving the building department and fines and delays was horrible. Had we not found Brian, had he not been so excellent, the situation might have been unbearable. He literally was our savior. It's absurd not to want to work with someone like this.”

“Lanny Lerner is an outstanding architect who listens carefully and observes astutely to produce design that is beautiful and functional. He recently worked with us on our Manhattan apartment--we are delighted. I highly recommend Lanny Lerner.”

“Michael Lewis is a consummate designer with years of experience, talent, and organizational ability. We felt supported by Michael and his able firm throughout our project. There was a culture of sensitivity to our needs throughout the firm and skillful handling of issues as they inevitably cropped up. The firm worked with our century old house to bring it into the modern age, by retrofitting an amazing kitchen into limited space and converting an unusable attic space into a dream master bedroom suite with dormers, increasing our living space significantly. We highly recommend this firm!”