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 :)

Alright. The silver lining ... we are happy with the end product. Was it an ordeal? Yes. Did it…read moretake forever? Yes. Would we recommend.... Depends on your timeline. Here is the timeline: Feb 18: We called and got a virtual appointment on the last week of Feb 2024. Carlos was good. We had our dimensions and he gave us options with his fancy 3D software. Mar 4: walk through at our house. March 29: Closet install Apr 18: Return to correct issues identified March 29 w/ installer. Note, we wanted the same installer. We even waited a week later for the same installer bc we want to limit the number of strangers in our home. Yep, you guessed it. Some random installer came. He fixed one of two issues. He didn't even have the part for the second issue. Need to schedule another appointment. May 17: Third and final visit. All is well. As you can see, it took awhile. Customer service was good. I have no complaints. My only issue is it took FOREVER to get this done. As for price, it was cheaper than the Costco folks by a few hundred. Honestly, we probably would have went with Costco if the seller was not so pushy. It's that sellers pushy and rude attitude that made us come here. Carlos was awesome and not pushy at all.

We worked with the California Closet Roseville store just east of Sacramento. We wanted to install…read morea Murphy bed in a studio apartment above a garage. Murphy beds are expensive and we also understood from a neighbor that "self assembly/install" options could take upwards of a day. We checked into a variety of options, many of which didn't seem to have California Closet's quality or ability to customize. Our consultant was extraordinarily patient with our agonizing over costs and options. We were at first put off that even getting an estimate required an in-home estimate. Fast forward: Our California Closets Murphy bed is installed and about a year old. It's quality is amazing and the bed itself is very comfortable (we went with their mattress as well). The built in side tables are very functional. Our consultant and installation team was very accommodating about including "non-California Closet" details like handles, lights and grommets for outlets/USB ports (we just had to provide them, including the right size drill bit). In short we got exactly what we wanted and needed. The installers were very professional, accommodating and skilled. It was an investment, but we couldn't be happier with the results. We were glad we went with California Closets.

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.