Scott Grunst is our architect for our custom home build in Poway. He is not only incredible at…read morewhat he does, but he is very reasonable, friendly and professional..... and he puts up with my constant changes, questions and emails - with a smile on his face :) I could not recommend Scott more! Will post pictures once our house is built, so you can see his amazing design work. A+++++

Commercial Job for a juice/smoothie bar. Jason exceeded our expectations on the design and concept…read moreand has been a joy to collaborate with. He is a straight shooter and doesn't tell you what you want to hear, but gives it straight and honest. We have hired him on and cannot wait to get the project going!

Where to start... I was referred Jason, by a high end builder in SD for a custom deck I needed…read moredesigned and built in Carlsbad. I am a local house flipper, so I have had some interesting experiences with other architects, but was ready to try someone new. From the start, I could tell Jason had more knowledge and ideas then all of the other architects I have worked with before combined. The project was completed without any complications and the buyer of the home actually told me that him and his wife were buying the home because of the deck..thanks Jason! Anyways, I was so impressed that I had him over to my personal house on Mt. Soledad to give me some ideas on my upcoming remodel. Again, blew me away with ideas, designs and concepts..so he was hired...again. He produced such great ideas and results, that even my wife and I agreed on the concepts...a first. Not one person walks into my home without complementing me on the design and original concepts. Jason always comes up with solutions to any situation and he is very honest and reliable, which is tough to find in this industry. He is now a staple for any custom projects I work on and have referred him to the highest of critics and all have thanked me repetitively for the referral. There are options when it comes to choosing in architect, but I guarantee you will be beyond glad that you had Jason over to give his insight.

I am a general contractor and I have worked with Max over the last five years. We have done several…read moreprojects together and I have always been pleased with his work. Highly recommend!

I rarely do these reviews but as a 1st time homeowner, I cannot tell you how helpful Maximo was…read morethroughout the whole process that I have to share it. I met with many architects to discuss a new-build project and out of everyone I met, and spoke with, he was hands down the BEST. He was able to take my vision and put it on paper while addressing all the needed legalities/setbacks/change/etc that the city and county require. I always felt that I was given the proper status updates and as well as any changes to our design so as to keep the project moving forward and on track. I never felt like I was left out of any pertinent information and always felt like I could talk to Maximo about anything I didn't like or wanted changed. I recommend Studio Borkosky Design, and particularly Maximo, for anyone is looking to have a stress-free, well-informed and timely experience with any addition/new-build/design for your home!! I plan to work with Studio Borkosky Design for any and all improvements to my home.

I have a simple single family home near Windansea beach. It was built in the early 90's, and has…read morerequired, up to now, very little maintenance. But it needs some work now. I visited Mark Bucon's office, as I walk by nearly every day, thinking as long as I was going to fix the broken things, maybe I could improve some things that are outdated, or that were designed inefficiently to begin with. I made a career in commercial real estate development, and felt confident of my ability to assess the needs of updating my home myself. However, very quickly, evaluating my own home became overwhelming. I knew I needed a second set of eyes. Mark has a real eye for detail. With my permission, and total disclosure of his fees, etc.... he measured up my house, shot grades, all that kind of groundwork that is needed to make smart decisions regarding building changes. Just having that information alone kept me from making expensive mistakes. After that groudwork was done, he, again with my permission and knowledge of his costs, drew up some easy to read concept designs to address all of the broken things, and various ideas to update the look and functionality of the property, and didn't waste time designing things outside my budget. He has tremendous knowledge of the suitability of the materials that will endure in the environment they'll be built in (here a marine environment). He has an excellent eye for what will look and function well, as well as just being practical. He never tried to upsell me, or marry me to any particular product or contractor, or anything like that... just design ideas and options. I was also able to get a handle on the costs for the various options... very helpful in prioritizing what will likely be a multi year project; one thing at a time, as I am working with a small budget for an expensive neighborhood I do not want to leave. Before calling Mark, I did call other architects and contractors prominent in the area, who all left me feeling a little abused. Like they did to my neighbor... just drew up some outlandish plan covering every square inch of their property.. costing millions to build, and charging my neighbor a lot doing so... Neighbor ended up just moving. In addition to being a damn good designer and architect, Mark was just friendly and low, low pressure. He came out to my home several times to dig around himself looking for details on the foundation, the property line markers, stuff in the crawlspace, condition of the roof, etc... Normally, I would have been asked to find that information out on my own and deliver it to him, which is costly and problematic. So now, I have solid ideas, options, information on costs and materials, and time to decide what to do while looking for the funds to renovate. Bottom line, Mark approached this project with a holistic, "multi-generational" view. His best idea, although the most expensive, would allow my family, my grown children, and their families to live at the property after I'm gone (or, even if I am here). Mark lives in the area, and knows the rules as well as anyone I've spoken with. It's nice to know I can house my whole family if times get rough (I didn't think that would be possible before). And, probably the most important point, if you are still reading this novella, Mark won the trust of my highly skeptical wife, who generally distrusts anyone proclaiming to be able to help with renovation of the house... That is her purview, and she is protective as hell... it's one reason maintenance is deferred... She would just chase away the people I would hire to fix even the simplest thing. When the time comes for actual drawings, I will absolutely stick with Mark. He knows the staff at the City.. he knows the rules, he is a good advocate, and has given me a lot of peace of mind that I won't screw this project up, like I have seen in so many other renovation projects. I highly recommend Mark Bucon, well above the other local arrogant professionals who really do just want to draw up a random set of plans for an overbuilt project, charge you $30k, and not even bothering to ask what you really want, which in my case, is to live here comfortably and affordably for decades to come.... everyone else wanted to look at what I can do to improve the property and sell it for a big profit... they didn't understand that is not what I am seeking.. Mark did. Thank you Mark Bucon!

Mark was fantastic at giving me some initial information and assistance as I am looking at doing a…read moreCustom Home. I have not started the project yet, but Mark invested the time to provide assistance and his expertise as he met with me and my General Contractor. Very professional.

Hi Doug, I hope that…read moreall is well. I've been admiring your designs and work for quite some time. Feel free to reach out to me if you ever have an ORCO Block questions, or request. Hennesys Hernandez Architectural Sales 760-799-4925 hennesys.hernandez@orco.com

I wanted to remodel my home but found "design build" type companies lacking in any real depth of…read morearchitecture and art history. I'm a bit of an academic type and a history buff and wanted to work with someone with similar interest and knowledge who could not just help me bring my ideas into reality, but could introduce me to new ones as well. Douglas exceeded my expectations!! He made a fixed price for what he called the "Design Phase" and then proceeded to take took me through as many ideas and versions of plans that I could ever have dream of, and then some!! He was extremely sensitive to not just functional things like sizes of rooms and circulation, but also had a great sense of natural lighting, proportions and architectural style. Working with Douglas was a pleasure. He was patient, generous with his time, and together we came up with a plan that I'm very proud of. Of course doing a remodel can be scary, but I was so confident with our final design that bringing it into reality was actually fun and exciting!!! I can truly say that, if you want to work with a highly skilled, creative, patient and generous architect, choose Doug Simon Architecture!!

Chris Varond has been great helping us with the architectural plans and modifications of our house…read more We will be adding a room inside our house and Chris is the architect that created the house's blue prints as well as the newly modifications. Chris is been easy to work with, he came over to see the space very fast, he listened to what I/we had in mind and made lots of useful suggestions that helped with the functionality of the space. Chris made it easy enough for me and my husband to understand and visualize all the architectural detailing. When the plan was 90% complete he walked us through all the drawings, that way, when we had to go in front of the HOA, we knew what we were talking about and the project was successfully approved in the same meeting. Chris was very professional and helpful with any problems or questions we had. I would recommend him to any of my friends. Affordable, prompt, and professional.

We wanted to remodel our two bathrooms so we hired a crew to help with it. At the time we did not…read morerealize that the remodel required a building permit. To our surprise half way through the construction we received a citation from the City. The City required us to hire an Architect to draw the plans and submit a non-conformance drawing for a plan check and a building permit. We hired Chris Varond of Varond Design Group who is a local architect to do the drawings for us. Since we had to go through the submittal process for the bathroom remodel we decided to change the look of our 60 year old house exterior to a more modern and up-to-date look. Chris guided us through different options for the new design which included a new covered entrance. The whole design process with Chris was painless and pleasant. The plans/drawings he provided were very detailed and thorough. We received the City's sign-off and the building permit speedily and without any hitches. Our house looks great and now has a very inviting entrance. We are so happy we hired Chris and realize now that we should have hired him in the first place we would have saved time and money. We highly recommend him. David J.

I was referred to Reyes Architecture by an engineer that is working on my house project. My…read moreproject required serious attention from the best architect and engineer that could be found in Southern California. Phil Reyes expertise was the reason that my project is now moving forward with the City of San Diego. Reyes Architecture developed the design and plans that the city required. Phil Reyes has been very successful at getting the plans approved. His efforts and expertise saved me a large amount of money, that I would have had to pay, if not for Phil. I highly recommend Reyes Architecture and would definitely use his firm again. Carson Estes San Diego, CA

We recently moved into our new Mission Hills house. Phil Reyes designed it. We were referred to…read morePhil by the former head of City Planning. He said Phil could solve difficult problems. Mission Hills lots are sometimes tricky to build on--with quirky angles, canyons, problematic soils and tempermental zoning. Phil did a superb job. He is very good at three things: (1) Listening to clients and coming up with good, simple, elegant designs; (2) Patiently working with the city to obtain permits and get through inspections; (3) quickly and accurately answering questions raised by the structural engineer, contractor, site supervisor and framer. We love our house. It is one of the best built in the entire neighborhood. It is simple yet spacious. It is brand new but has the warm feel of a Craftsman or Spanish home from the 1920's.

We were becoming totally frustrated in our search for an architect and a general contractor to…read moreguide an extensive remodel of our home. What we needed and seemingly could not find was an honest estimate of costs, an architect who could help us design our project and drive the permit process, and a contractor to build the project. Finally we happened upon STEL Builders. Cory, a walking advertisement for why you need to contract with STEL, jumped on our project and quickly gave us a realistic idea of costs. He introduced us to Frank, who is an awesome person and STEL's in-house architect. Frank gave us three options of drawings to choose from. Each option met our basic requirements and also outlined possible upgrades. Based on our budget, we committed to a plan. Within two months we had permits and construction began. We were assigned a dedicated project manager with whom we met weekly to assess progress in demo and ultimately new construction. Even before demo began, we met our design angel in Ivette. She guided us through selection of fixtures, cabinetry, tile, wall coverings, flooring; all the aspects of a remodel that keeps novices like us up at night. Her calm demeanor combined with her creative ideas made this an amazingly pleasurable experience! Ivette led us to our dream design outcome, and all within the budget we worked out with savant Cory in the beginning. STEL has great relationships with all the best subcontractors & receives priority on their projects, keeping the downtime in construction to a minimum. Midway through construction, our project manager left STEL. They hired a super pro replacement in Roberto. His many years of experience enabled us to stay on track for completion and enhanced the quality of the final product. Roberto is already a tremendous asset to STEL! And all along, even as he continued to take on new projects, Cory stayed in touch and treated us as if we were his only client. No question or inquiry we had was too small or insignificant for him to address nearly as quickly as it was expressed. We moved back into our home after six months and felt like every dream we had dreamt for our forever home had come true. The outcome has exceeded our very high expectations. In Cory's introduction, he touted STEL as a small, family oriented and local Design & Build Company. He was right about that. However, we think he understated how committed to these values Seth Larson and STEL Builders really are. They get it! For people like us, this is the largest and last big expenditure we'll ever make. They treated us with respect, congeniality, honesty and integrity. Our lives and our home from now on are forever enhanced from having met and worked with Cory, Frank, Ivette and Roberto. Thank you Seth Larson for the team you've built. Thank you STEL Builders, our new extended family!

After carefully rsearching the best design-build firms, we picked Stel Builders because they are a…read morelocal, right-sized, family-owned company who could personalize a design just for us. Jason and Frank patiently created the perfect building plans, and Brian expertly managed the project. We are very pleased with our newly remodeled home.