Custom Home Services in Tacoma, WA

“Sketched up some ideas for our future home and got exactly what we were looking for. The drawings turned out great. Gabe was very easy to work with and supportive of all our ideas and little changes to make this our perfect forever home.. I would highly recommend him.”

“We engaged the services of Don Larkin, Architect, to design our new custom home in Manchester, Washington. We selected Don after reviewing and interviewing several other architects because of his previous experience in construction, his design style, and his easy-going manner. We were not disappointed. We brought Don a conceptual layout, discussed with him our priorities -- needs, wants and desires -- and after a site visit, he flipped our concept 180 degrees which resulted in a far superior layout for the site. I guess that's why you hire a professional. His initial exterior design so captivated my wife and me by delivering on our tastes and styles that we hardly made changes to his exterior concept. Throughout the design process, Don brought us excellent ideas, and as we suggested changes or modifications, he was always good natured in dealing with our ignorances by pointing out why what we suggested would not work, but offering alternatives that blended our vision with reality. Once we settled on a design, he was there with us throughout the permitting process and the construction phase, making necessary or desired changes as requested. He has remained in contact after we completed construction to ensure we are satisfied with the home he designed based on our vision and our lifestyle. Throughout the process, both Don, and my wife and I learned a lot about the architectural design process. Don recognized some of our spatial visualization issues and developed some 3-D depictions of his 2-D drawings. These 3-D renderings helped tremendously in our ability to visualize the finished product, and to communicate with our contractor and trades people on the desired finished look. If Don does not offer these to you, I recommend that you ask him about them. They were an excellent aid in our design and build process. I absolutely and without hesitation commend and recommend Don Larkin for anyone who is interested in new or remodel construction architectural services. He listens to what you want, brings to you what he heard, and works with you to refine the product to meet your dreams. Don certainly delivered on our dream. Dave Pabst”

“I was looking for someone deeply experienced in technical domains, (architecture, construction, and fabrication) to fit the requirements of my custom home, the Galer Street House. Thomas was tasked with production of the interior custom cabinetry and associated custom woodworking. From our first meeting, Thomas’s communication, experience and broad background gave me confidence that he would understand the complex geometries and be able to deliver the high-end quality needed for this application. From the custom handmade walnut cabinets, custom furniture-like features and being always available to help me when the details needed his attention, he delivered. I was not disappointed. In addition, when challenged by architectural details and budget constraints on the exterior of the home, Thomas, owner of Studio Walker Architects, Inc., was able to take a large burden off my shoulders with his durable design/build approach, which was substantially less expensive and also resulted in a better overall appearance. Thanks, Thomas!”

“I have know Jared now for over a decade. He has great attention to detail and communication. I have worked with Jared on a couple of projects now and always enjoy his company. If you are looking for a quality designer then Jared is your man.”

“My wife and I have a difficult lot to build a house on due to its irregular slope, steep in some areas. In order to have a view of Puget Sound the main floor had to be as high as possible. Before hiring Rhodes Architecture + Light we met with a few builders who do their own design work. They were unable to come up with an acceptable way to achieve the floor height we need. This drove us to look for an architect. We selected Tim Rhodes because we liked his portfolio of completed projects and after meeting him felt we could trust him to do the job. Tim came up with a very clever design that incorporated all our requirements. We've been living in the house 14 months and are quite pleased. Tim's design gets many compliments from first time visitors. The only reason I didn't give Rhodes Architecture + Light five stars is cost estimation and control. Our construction cost ended up 40% above my desired target. To be fair this is common when building a house.”

“We recently worked with Mike Garza to design and ultimately build our new home. Initially, we worked with him only on the design phase and were amazed at how he was able to take our meager scribbles and drawings of the ideas in our minds, and transform them into a house plan that was exactly what we had envisioned. His understanding of proportion, sight lines and light is exceptional and he was able to incorporate each of those aspects where it mattered most. After leaving a previous contractor in disappointment, we were delighted to know that Elevate Design+Construct would also be able to build our home for us as well. Having confidence in knowing that the architect who designed the house was now going to be building it, we were relieved by how much Mike understood our needs to build a robust house for three small boys and two puppies. And, he did exactly that. Now, after living in the house for two months, it feels like us. It was made for us. Thank you Mike and Elevate Design+Construct for all your hard work in making our dream a reality. The Smith Family”

“Working with Lotte (Abita Studio Architecture & Design) on our kitchen remodel was a good match for us. She listened carefully and provided a design that showed she paid attention to what we said was important. Through several iterations, she worked like a valued team member...challenging us when needed and supporting our modifications-- all while keeping us focused on our goal. We would not hesitate to work with her again.”

“We've toured the residential and commercial projects created on Bainbridge Island by Coates Design, and have followed their work for years. Our office was in the same building, and we often stopped in to learn more about their projects. We've always been impressed by their great architectural sense of aesthetics, and their ability to create innovative work that blends well into the surroundings of the project location. Very professional, very pleasant and very accomplished.”

“Larry is very easy to work with, and has a lot of great ideas and helpful suggestion's. This is a first house that we have started from the ground up and he treated each of our questions with respect even if it wasn't something that could be done. He would then explain why it would or wouldn't work.”

“WE LOVE OUR HOME: The idea of designing the perfect house is a daunting task. There are dozens of thought and ideas rolling around in your head that have to be captured and translated into a final plan. On top of this, you don’t get the immediate satisfaction from these design ideas due to the many months it takes to turn them into a physical reality. This is where your Architect comes in. Having this magic ability to translate your dreams into an actionable design and then a physical dwelling is a gift. Darren of Coyote design has this gift. We have lived in our home for over 5 years now and I can honestly say I would NOT change a thing! Noting I was spending a few million dollars on my project, you can probably imagine my tensions were high as we started out with an empty lot and blank slate. Very quickly I could see that Darren got it. In no time the process became fun for my wife and I. We were able to bounce ideas and find pictures similar to samples from this website and Darren would make these ideas reality. Even the “chances” we took turned out to be some of the most satisfying features of our home. The end result was our project came in on time, on budget and most importantly right on the mark. WE LOVE OUR HOME…The Fox Island Haven.... ”