Chris is thoughtful, and insightful. He offered creative solutions and ensured accountability to…read moredeadlines and milestones.. Chris is a collaborative partner and is always reachable by phone. ,,Added more Sq.Feet ,Bigger Rooms ,but came in on budget.Thanks again Chris.!Photos to come Later.!!

We used Chris for our renovation/addition in the old North End in Burlington, VT and were…read moreincredibly pleased with all of the work he performed throughout the entire process. Because our rental property is in an historic district with very strict zoning and building requirements, we had to understand and adhere to these standards and conditions in order to permit the project. Chris was great in this phase of the renovation, as he knew the regulations, how to work within them, and how to properly relay this to my team and to the town to permit as planned. The actual design was great! Not only did it solve a lot of our issues with the space, but it incorporated other small, smart details in the form and function of the space, all while being aesthetically pleasing. In addition, the design and the finished material recommendations for the exterior were in line with the city's historic zoning rules by both working with the look and feel of the original building, and clearly being a new addition/renovation. Even thought we designed and began the permitting process, literally years before starting construction, Chris was there ready for the final phase when we were finally ready to build (after our tenant moved out). He recommended us an amazing structural engineer for the final engineering drawings, truss design and load/foundation needs, and then helped us troubleshoot a few details once the project began. All in all, i would absolutetly work with Chris again on a future project, and have already recommended him to others in Burlington who have used him and were also extremely satisfied.

Kristin was referred to us by friends. We sat down with her back in 2016 and she came up with a…read morefabulous plan for pop-out and remodel of our kitchen. It was everything we wanted, large center island, no upper cabinets so we could have windows all around the kitchen area, walk-in pantry and a wine cellar. It just took us 1-1/2 years to get started....not sure what we were doing in that time because our kitchen is absolutely stunning! We chose one of her contractor referrals, W.A.Jackson Construction, and they were great to work with and did a fabulous job.

Kristin designed our master bath remodel and acted as the general contractor for the job. She made…read morethe whole thing so easy, from helping us decide what we wanted, to making sure the job got done on time. I would highly recommend her and look forward to working with her in the future on other house projects.

Our expectations when offering referrals are very high. I'm only going to refer my friends and…read morefamily to people whom I know and trust. Seth Larsen is one of those people. He's more about building relationships than structures, and he realizes that every project is about the customer and not him nor his company. Another great thing is that Stel studies the markets and understands where the return on investments are going to be in any particular area and type of project. I recommend Stel Builders for your remodeling project... 100%.

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!

Allan and his team listened to me and was attentive to my wants and ideas. They were creative,…read moreprofessional and positive, always trying to find creative solutions to my ideas. They were patient as I changed my whole plan and we started over with new plans. TRE was GREAT with the city! I could not be more pleased and highly recommend TRE!

Allan is an amazing architect! He is very creative with design and trouble shooting issues that…read morecome up. We met multiple times to plan our home remodel and he was very accommodating with time AND was punctual and ready for business. Hire him! You'll be so glad you did!!

T7 Architecture was great to work with! Their architectural style was very compatible with…read moreours--contemporary with lots of clean lines and natural materials. We always enjoyed our meetings with them. They got excited about our ideas and inspirational pictures and designed spaces that reflected what we needed and wanted. They are also practical and let us know if something we liked might push the cost of our project up a lot. They have a strong understanding of building codes, and work very well with City staff. They also worked really well with our contractor, who appreciated that their plans were implementable. We found T7's services to be a great value and are very happy with how our addition turned out!

T7 was amazing to work with! Andrew Crocker and his team worked with us to make our house exactly…read morehow we envisioned. They are very responsive and helped throughout the project when we had questions. Highly recommended!

Dean Meredith designed a house to replace our 60 year old home in Olde Del Mar. The plans are…read morestunning! He carefully took advantage of the best views of the ocean from each area of the lot. The new Home will be bigger, but will blend in with the land beautifully. Dean and his wife Monica are such a pleasure to work with! Both are very talented in their own areas and make a fantastic team!

Eco Minded Solutions built a detached ADU at my property in San Diego. Their team did a great job…read moredespite the challenges and difficulties of the site. They were able to work promptly with the City and adjusted the work as necessary. EMS managed to complete my project within the desired timeframe and the ADU is now a wonderful addition to my house. I was impressed with the design and construction teams. Their expertise, professionalism and prompt communication make EMS one of the most excellent in the industry. I'm very happy with their work and would wholeheartedly recommend EMS to anyone with a similar project. Thank you, Eco Minded Solutions!

Eco Minded did our entire backyard in 2025. This was our first home (new construction), and the…read morebackyard was a blank canvas on just over a quarter acre lot. We didn't know where to start. That all changed when we called Eco Minded. They made the construction/landscaping process seamless and easy from start to finish. It only took 3 months to do our entire .2 acre backyard. Everything from plants, our deck, pergola, turf, putting green, fruit tree grove, pavers, built in grill, and walkways! They also provided the drafting plans to submit to our HOA, 3D designs, assistance for plant selection meetings, and a direct line of communication where they responded every time within the hour. We also had the same crew working on our project from start to finish. They also didn't pause our job to work another job and come back, it was nonstop progress! The crew always showed up on time or early and even worked through heavy winter / spring rains to make sure the project stay on track. Even with our budget, Todd and Dave used their personal connections and discounts to save us money while not taking a cut. For example, we saved 20% off the total amount of the turf saving us a few thousand dollars. If you're looking for a full service contractor that gets the job done on time with amazing quality, communication, and transparency for all budgets, please go with Eco Minded! It'll be the best decision you've ever made!

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.