Architects in West Olive, MI

“Holly helped my fiancé and me design our dream home over the course of fall/winter 2022. She was so open to all of our ideas and put our minds to rest when we had thoughts that seemed "out there". She also had great feedback and ideas of her own to include that she thought would go along with our aesthetic of the home. One of our favorite parts was being able to do a virtual walk-through of the layout to review the smaller details that would not show up in a basic house plan. We added several little details at that stage that we are very excited to see when building begins. It was also wonderful that she drafted a basic electrical plan and included notes on the plan about future things we wanted to account for. We would absolutely recommend Holly and her team!”

“From start to finish Amy was amazing to work with. She took the time to enter fully into our project, listening to how we wanted to live in and use our home and then coming up with renovation plans that far surpassed what we could have hoped for. She will do whatever it takes to meet a deadline and is attentive to every detail. She works exceptionally well with others, always eager to work with and meet contractors and sub-contractors. She understands construction well, which is a great asset as you are going through a renovation. We could not say enough about the quality of our experience with AeH Designs. And the final product, our renovated home, is more beautiful and more well-suited to our needs and wants than we ever thought it could be.”

“Brock Hesselsweet is a great problem solver when it comes to home renovations. He has imaginative ideas that give his clients a new way of looking at their property. His work is rigorously precise, thorough and exacting. I hired him for a second, smaller project in 2012 and expect to rehire him for a third project in 2013-14 which will be for additional work on our home.”

“Patti and Jerry were very detailed and timely. They had great patience with the design process. I would recommend them to anyone looking to build a customer home.”

“Dan listened to our wishes and worked up possible alternatives. Then he met with us to discuss the options and trade-offs. He was very accommodating and resourceful. We have already recommended him to others. He personally visited our building site to get the full picture. Great job, Dan.”

“I have worked with Via Design as an Owner Representative and have referred them to multiple shared clients who have had very good experiences with Via Design.”

“My architecture firm, Allegretti Architects, has appreciated the quality of work and professionalism shown by Glenn Kunkel and George Holmes of Parkside Builders. We had the opportunity to work with them on the renovation of a home on Lake Michigan, and have a number of projects we are currently working with them on. They strive to develop a good relationship with the homeowner and architect, which helps to keep the projects on track and efficient. The most compelling advantage we have found though, is their attention to quality on a budget. We would highly recommend Parkside Builders as a good, quality contractor.”

“Sears Architect designed a 3100 sq house for us in East Grand Rapids, MI. We have never built a home previously. We found the design process to be very efficient which resulted in a home that matches our needs and wants. The Sears project manager was very responsive and Rob Sears seemed to be full informed and involved at all times. Having said this there were many heartaches that occurred that could in part be mitigated with up front client education. In talking with another friend who build a house with Sears last year, our experience was similar to theirs. 1. Architectural costs - designing a custom build house is more expensive and has more components than one would expect. Multiple site surveys, structural engineers, each set of more detailed plans add to the final cost. We spent $xxxxx for plans - which were the refinement of a plan presented to us in a design build proposal by the builder. In addition we used an interior designer recommended by the architect another $xxxx. We would have been happier if we had a fixed predefined budget as the builder led us to believe the costs would be about $25,000. Having said this, Rob Sears was very responsive to financial questions and happily and promptly provided the billing records that justified their billings. In addition I felt Rob made a strong effort to follow the project to completion and did quite a bit after delivery of the plans, uncompensated, to finish the job. In the end we are very happy with Sears Architects - but wiser for the experience. 2. Cost of building. We learned that there was essentially no communication between our builder and the architect regarding the building allowances and the costs of the developed plan. Our home ended up xx% over budget, despite most components falling within allowances - the builder just underbid to get the work. What I learned from the process is that is not the architects job, rather the home owners sole responsibility, to verify all components are accuately costed prior to contracting a builder. 3. Interior designer. We did not expect how important the interior designer would be in implementing the design of the home - guiding interior and exterior materials, designing lighting schemes, plumbing, etc as well as planning for furniture layout. Sears recommended Christine DiMaria. We separately retained her. My wife and I thought she did a great job - design, providing perspective from other project, helping sort priorities, communicating with the architect and in general holding our hands through the up and downs of the 10 month process. We were glad we used a designer who had worked with the architect before. 4. Landscape design. This was a separate contract and budget through a landscape architect. Sears coordinated well re the placement of the house on the lot, grade decisions needed so proper retention walls could be planned and built by the Landscape team. So overall, I feel that Sears Architecture is a terrific firm that does good work. We are very happy with the completed product of our home. We would recommend them to other home buyers.”

“The team at AMDG Architects is who have an understanding of the client's needs. They bring a wealth of experience and insight into how spaces can best perform and they're a great team to work with!”

“We contracted Cottage Home to build our new lake home in 2009. This was the first time we had gone through a new construction project. After several meetings with the builder, providing our own ideas on what we hoped for in our home, he then added his design thoughts. The resulting plan was everything we could have imagined. We agreed on a set price, standards, and completion date. The project went as promised, with no deviation from our original agreement on price or standards, and it was completed exactly on time. Compared to other negative experiences we have heard about from friends about other builders, we felt extremely fortunate to have contracted Cottage Home for our project. They have an incredibly stable group of regular subcontractors, who were most professional, highly skilled and competent in their specialties. Icing on the cake, is the fact that this builder "stays with you" long after the project. For any subsequent needs, or repairs, they are immediately available to support our requests. The whole process continues to be one professional story, even after the successful completion of our retirement home on Lake Michigan.”