Heritage Building Conservation Services in La Verne, CA

“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.”

“We have a mid-century one story home built in 1959. We hired TOLO Architecture to update the home. We worked with architect Peter Tolkin who transformed both the interior and exterior making it a fine example of contemporary design while being conscious of both budget and the integrity of the original design. Our living room, kitchen and dinning room were enlarged visually by exterior mounted "barn doors" which open the spaces to the outside, and by raising the exterior walkway elevation with wood decking to the level of the interior floor elevation. Peter's design added 5 feet to the master bedroom, designed a wall of built-in cabinetry of closets and drawers. The design placed barn doors on two adjacent corners of the room which transformed an ordinary bedroom into an extraordinary space which opens to the outside wood deck and pool beyond. He also resigned the circa 1959 "lava rock" free-form swimming pool. Peter used the pools existing footprint to create a new rectangular pool with spa which has a continuous spillway into the pool. It really is a water sculpture with sound! He secured our hillside with a 50' long horizontal white wall (5' tall) which not only keeps the landscape in place, but gives beautiful definition to the pool area. He designed a 400 sq ft pool house, perfect with shower right from pool. Barn doors at the corners makes the pool house an indoor/outdoor space. And last, but not least as the saying goes, Peter created an outdoor living room which steps down from the wood deck. It is complete with a cushion covered concrete banquette and a large fireplace within a concrete base. The house was featured in Pasadena Magazine (cover and inside) in an issue showcasing indoor/outdoor living. It was a pleasure working with TOLO Architecture!! They are creative, cost conscious, and responsive.”

“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.”

“This was my first kitchen remodel and Ben made the process as easy as possible. Because of contractor issues, I needed more than one re-order, and Ben was incredibly easy to work with. He laid out all the options for me, and guided me in choosing what was best for my space. Also, he's just a really nice guy.”

“I love Meredith and Mariam at MAAM. My husband and I hired them to design our home, he then hired them again for his office and we hired them a third time for a pool design. No reason to mess with a good thing! Impeccable tastes. Incredibly smart. Super trustworthy. They are the best!”

“I hired Franco Noravian for a room addition, but I was also looking to change the exterior of my house from a traditional look to a more contemporary feel. Franco has very insightful. He hit the right balance between listening to what I wanted to making suggestions when I'd get stuck. He was profession, thorough, nice.”

“Aaron has been helping me build my dream house for the past 3-4 years. He has been a crucial part in getting the design right, the plans approved, all the way down to the final finishes and door knobs. His design sense honors a healthy balance of progressive ideas and functional living.”

“I was looking for an architect that would be able to transform my galley kitchen into a kitchen/great room combination without having to bump out any areas of the home. When Kurt presented his plan I was amazed at his ingenuity, creativity and the plans' ease of execution. Moreover, as a newbie home renovator, Kurt assisted in patiently answering my endless questions and helped me with the endless design decisions. In addition, he deftly and professionally handled some "interesting" personalities on the job. He also returned my calls and emails promptly. I am so thankful for his help and plan on using him for my next project, phase #2, the exterior!”

“We would like to express our appreciation for the dedicated effort, craftsmanship, and attention to detail during the design and construction of our home. We feel that the team assembled was instrumental in presenting us with a very pleasing and highly functional home that will serve our family for many years to come. Dave and Lynne Press Homeowners”

“Wow! Stratos Form not only met our expectations but greatly exceeded them! I can not say enough about Carol and the positive role she played in our entire project. She not only was brilliant in the concept and design of our home, but she was always professional and gave us perfect advise through the entire Design Review process with the City of Laguna Beach (always a tough one). Our architectural plans were beyond thorough, our builder said he had never seen such detailed drawings. During the conceptual process Carol listened to our needs and incorporated all of our requests, while maintaining the highest of design standards. I would eagerly refer Carol and Stratos Form to anyone who asked!”