We hired Kahn Design Associates to design a single-family 3-bedroom family home in the Berkeley…read morehills where we could live out our retirement years. I cannot find enough superlatives to describe our experience in working with both Charles and his associate, Halle, both of whom helped us with all the planning and decisions involved in building a house from the ground up. As the senior member of the firm, Charles not only guided us through the architectural challenges of building on a hillside, but he also gave us the emotional support we sometimes needed as obstacles and frustrations with the process presented themselves. Charles and Halle helped us stay within our budget, keeping spreadsheets about costs updated, and designed a home for us that met all of our expectations. As good listeners, they turned our ideas into practical plans and designs that worked. When guests come by now that the house is finished, their first comment is almost always, "Wow -- who was your architect? This is just beautiful. . . love the high celings -- and the windows frame the view in virtually every room. Someone really had vision." Yes, these architects have both vision and common sense. They turned an architectural vision into our reality. We could not be happier with the result. We would recommend KDA to anyone who is looking for competence, fairness, and integrity in the process of making a building dream come true.

From the owner: Studio KDA provides a full range of architectural services including:…read more Feasibility Analysis Site Planning & Programming Conceptual Design Interior Design Construction Documents & Permitting Bid Assistance Construction Administration Prototype/Identity Development Graphic Design Post Occupancy Assistance

Unfortunately, we are very disappointed with Fireclay customer service. Our order has been delayed…read morepast the original estimate and we have not received consistent updates. This has been a huge inconvenience. Wish we had known this when choosing Fireclay. In the future, we will take our business elsewhere.

We did a whole house remodel and I chose Fireclay Tile for our kids' bathroom. I went to the…read moreshowroom in Berkeley and worked with Anastasia. I cannot say enough good things. She was so patient, knowledgable and invested (excited even!) about my project. She thought through a bunch of options with me and even had her design team mock up renderings so I could visualize the installed tile. There was a 6-8 week lead time on the tile but it was worth the wait. She also introduced me to the Fireclay installation team and they ended up doing the tile installation for our whole house (including rooms that did not utilize Fireclay brand tiles). The installation team was professional, thorough, communicative and friendly. They consulted me about every preference and option and didn't do anything without my enthusiastic approval. We used a lot of antique tiles and uneven natural stones and they installed it all with care and precision. They were truly some of my favorite subcontractors of our whole project! Our kids' bathroom still isn't done...still waiting on cabinetry and paint but the tile is perfect and I was excited to post this review. Will try to add pics later :)

I ordered a beautiful custom made coffee table from Matthew Donovan at Joshua Tree for my office…read more It is his yin yang design, which means I can use it as one round coffee table or each side of the design functions as its own table as well. The wood is gorgeous, with subtle lines and a warm reddish tone. His detailing was beautiful with an elegant three legged design. It is, however, somewhat unstable due to the three legged design. If you put something heavy on one side it can topple, so I see it as a design piece that is functional, within reason. I thought the price was reasonable given the artistry ($350) and he was a joy to work with in developing the measurements I needed.

I cannot comment on the overall respectability of the Joshua Tree Collective as my experience was…read morelimited to one of the members. What this implies for the collective as a whole I leave to the reader. Long story short: I had plans/blueprints and sent them to the Joshua Tree Collective. I was contacted a few days later (07-31-13) by Mr. Jonathan Perkins. He agreed to build the shelf and assured me that he "can finish it with in a couple of weeks for you." I contacted him several times, but nothing happened. When I emailed him and the Collective six months later, he finally said he would refund my money. Long story long: After I initially contacted the Collective, one of the Collective, a Mr. Jonathan Perkins, and I exchanged a few emails about this shelf, and he assured me that he "can finish it with in a couple of weeks for you." Some things in his life went badly, I was told, so he could/would not follow through with the commitments he made to do his job to build this shelf. That would have been nice to know, but Mr. Perkins did not acknowledge that and offer to refund of my deposit immediately. Instead, he maintained that he would build the shelf. As I would have preferred to have a shelf to a refund, I acquiesced. Before I unexpectedly moved back to Seattle in September 2013, I notified Jonathan Perkins about that I would be moving and that I was concerned about the yet-to-be-seen shelf. On September 1, he wrote "your CD shelf will be in your home soon." Well, I moved to Seattle without the shelf and told Mr. Perkins I would be returning in late November to move the rest of our stuff. On October 22, he wrote back, in part, "I expect you will have your CD shelf by Turkey day." That never happened. On December 4, over five months after contracting Mr. Perkins to build the shelf, I was foolishly still hoping to get this shelf. I assumed it was near completion, so I emailed Jonathan Perkins. The next day he wrote "I will get the cd shelf to your home Seattle, shipping at my expense asap." Apparently ASAP does not mean what I think it means. December 23 I email him (and the Collective) that "I expect a full refund or a shipping confirmation number within two weeks." By his own estimation, I should have had this shelf by mid-August, not early January. At this point, it would have been glaringly obvious to him that it was just not going to happen and that he should refund my down payment post haste. Um, no. He wrote on January 6 that "I'm sending out a refund check today." After almost exactly two weeks, taking it right to the brink, just like a good, honorable man. Magically, it did not get post-marked for two more days. Yet again, his integrity remains "intact." That a "person" of this sort is a member of the Joshua Tree Collective causes me to deeply question this organization. If I still lived in Mountain View, I would happily look ANYWHERE else for woodworking services (or any other services or products). This Jonathan Perkins is a liar who cannot be trusted, is despicable, brings only shame to those who knowingly affiliate themselves with him, and (if the collective is of decent people) should be cast-out from said collective (and stoned).

This berkeley design firm is not subtle about their affinity with horticultureread more

We loved working with Mc Cutcheon on our complete remodel in North Berkeley ! Hello from the Tuttle…read morefamily ! We especially love our kitchen and bathroom which are so easy to move around in and behold the fantastic appliances surfaces and well planned storage and cabinets ! Years later it's still a dream come true !!

This company is out of touch with reality! We got a bid for two small bathrooms and a powder room…read morein a house in San Francisco--$300,000!!!!!! We will use someone else because we aren't insane.

Redmond Aldrich Design is a wonderful design studio. I've worked with their team on a few projects…read moreand they are consistently thoughtful, organized, and collaborative. I've followed their work for years and often save their spaces for inspiration - they are aspirational but still warm and livable. Working with them has been a great experience. It's clear how much care and creativity they bring to everything they do!

Chloe Warner committed to working with me fully 5 months ago; it was her suggestion that we engage…read morethrough the service Decorist she is a part of. I was assured, by both Decorist and by Chloe herself, with whom I communicated personally over email, that she would take my job in June. I would wait 5 months. I spent dozens of hours preparing mood boards, drawings, ground plan with exact measurements (I was a designer 20 years ago) to professional standards, only today to be told that Chloe is too busy with her other projects, and is declining to make good on her word and work with me. This leaves me in the position of reviewing the work of hundreds of designers, as I have done before, to find another, because Ms. Warner has not kept her word, and this speaks to her integrity. There is a hidden review on Yelp from another disappointed individual; read that and decide if you will work with this firm.

I am so happy I hired Helena to help me organize my house and home office. Unlike some organizers,…read moreshe is non-judgmental, and she accommodates to your wishes. Helena is very dependable- arrives on time and works diligently with you. She is honest and reasonably priced. For my home office, she devised an easily remembered filing system with index. Now, I can easily find documents where before I wasted a lot of time searching for things. In my kitchen, I had way too many spices, some were outdated, and I couldn't easily locate what I needed for a particular dish I was cooking. Helena helped me find appropriate spice bottle, labels and spice organizers so now finding what I need is a breeze and the spices don't take up unnecessary space. I also had boxes and boxes of old family pictures and mementoes which, of course, were just stowed away in the garage. With Helena's help, I now have beautiful rows of organized albums and, in addition, Helena digitalized the family photos so they will last and I won't lose them in the event of a fire or other catastrophe. Because Helena also is an artist and color specialist, she helped me redecorate some of my rooms and they look fabulous because of her good taste. Also, she will stay within your budget. For instance, she recommended some websites and helped me pick out furniture, window coverings, etc. that were very reasonably priced- so I feel like I saved a lot of money while also getting good quality furniture and decorating pieces. I highly recommend Helena. You will be so pleased with your newly organized home.

I have known Helena for at least ten years as my go-to organizer and interior designer. I have…read morefound her to be exceedingly talented and easy to work with. She rises to the occasion with whatever my current organizing task is, and there have been many over the years. As overwhelmed as I feel at the beginning, I always feel pleased and relieved at the outcome. She helps me get rid of things and find places for the things I keep. Her design sense is impeccable and she is able to adapt to my own aesthetic. I highly recommend her.