Austin has a lot of talented designers but Element 5 is a favorite of ours for lots of reasons…read more Nick and his team are true professionals. Our collaborations on specs and customs always produce amazing results. Architecture is form and function and Element 5 nails both. They are multi-faceted, excelling at infill and suburban/rural design-build, modern and craftsman. Element 5 does a great job of keeping up with rapidly changing trends, building code, and green building/building science. Their expertise, passion, and thoughtful design always makes for great projects that serve our homeowners well. Element 5 always does a good job listening to and incorporating their client's feedback. They aim to understand how the client really lives in their home and their lifestyle.

My wife and I worked with Nick Mehl at Element 5 on the design of our new 4BR / 3BA house. Nick was…read moregreat to work with, very thoughtful and full of great ideas, like using the space under our stairs to make the pantry space in our kitchen as large as possible. He also paid very close attention to detail, like how the window trim should be framed and communicated his vision clearly with our builder. This house construction project was the largest personal expense I've ever incurred and so many things could have gone wrong at multiple points along the way. None of them did, and I give Nick & Element 5 much of the credit for our success.

I don't even know where to begin. Except Coming to Natalie was hands down the best decision I've…read moremade for me and my Mrs. We got our dream house built and for a reasonable price too. Natalie was absolutely phenomenal every single step of the way. She was very honest. Her communication was off the charts. She worked her ass off. I would much rather a thorough time taking job than a half assed job where there might be issues. I ask this question, would you rather a corporate branch where they might screw you over? Or Would you rather someone who will become like your family like Natalie was? Who will work hard, be 100 percent honest and will be by your side every step Of the way? I rest my case. Well done Natalie. We will be coming to you again and I strongly Recommend the rest of you should too. Especially if you're in the Austin area

We do NOT recommend Natalie Thomas. She has no concept of time. Deadlines mean nothing to her…read more We have been working with her for a year and a half and still have not received set 2/3 builder's construction plans. We finally fired her which we should've done a year ago! She is not professional. She was supposed to give us what she had completed to date...we paid her for it...and we never received it. Very disappointed in her and this whole process. We wasted almost two years and are having to start from scratch!

Engaging Barley|Pfeiffer to design our retirement home was one of the smartest things we've ever…read moredone. The build of our house is far superior to typical construction in our area. More important, though, this house fits us like a glove. Their comprehensive design process incorporated not just our taste, but how we live, from the room flow to the allocation of HVAC components, etc. Living and building four hours from their Austin office was a bit of a challenge, but we coordinated well and they were on site at all critical junctures. The level of detail in the plans and specifications far exceeded what one typically gets, even in a full custom build. This was critical to ensuring the energy efficiency of our home. We've been in the home for two years and continue to be impressed with how little we spend to heat and cool it. We highly recommend the team at Barley|Pfeiffer Architecture.

You only live once. Strive to make part of that time in a Barley and Pfeiffer design. Practical,…read morebeautiful, ergonomic...and I have one of the smaller B&P designs! Go big, go smaller, go Barley and Pfeiffer!

Mickey is awesome! I called to get information on construction and although Micky did not do our…read moreplans I really appriciate him taking the time to offer help while not asking for anything in return. Stand up guy!

Mickey and his team at ATX Architects are top-notch. I have no hesitation about recommending them…read more He met with us in person to discuss plans to add a two-story addition onto our house. We discussed objectives and he showed us his portfolio. He quoted us a price on-the-spot and then allowed us time to think about it. He was easy to talk to and seemed to intuitively grasp what we were going for. This, combined with his transparency around price, terms, and his cool portfolio are why we hired him. This turned out to be a really smart idea on our part. Mickey and team over-performed in terms of design and work. He sent us a bunch of initial iterations - a few "big" variants, then several had small variations on the theme. We actually had a tough time narrowing and Mickey said, "tell me what you like or don't about the ones you're deciding between." Boom: he came back with the perfect plan. Mickey provided referrals and expert guidance throughout. He's thorough and very to-the-point - qualities I appreciate. His pricing was fair and his work top-notch (when shopping for a contractor, they all commented on how thorough and sensible the plans were). I rarely give 5 stars (check out my reviews). For me, "good job" is really 3 or 4 - I mean, I expect a business to do their job. ATXA and MIckey are rare 5-star people. If we have need for an architect in the future, ATXA will be the first (and only - if available) team I contact.

We worked with local, family-owned CG&S on an exterior renovation - updating our 1940s home to…read moreCraftsman style. Our home had no original details, but did have a lot of the original exterior materials. The team had to meticulously remove our particle board siding in sections and reseal as there were no exterior walls/wrap and our insulation was just under the siding; shim the roof level while regarding interior drywall as we don't have attic space; shim walls to align with varying depths of windows hung by another company; re-run electrical; and then add wood siding, two new decks with detailed craftsman woodwork, a custom front door, and other finishes. Working on our older home was harder than starting fresh and they handled it with care. Handling permitting was also in their remit and we were glad it was. Our architect handled forms for historical buildings/neighborhoods, city arborists, easements, and other zoning debacles. When we were limited by the city's requirements for expanding our porch, our architect adjusted our plans as best she could to still have a beautiful outcome. We also appreciated most of the subcontractors selected for the job. While the budget was hard to talk about up front, we didn't have any change orders due to surprises - unlike our interior reno project. With any long term renovation project it was important to stay in communication, keep notes, and ask questions and most stressful moments were quickly addressed by the team. The CG&S owners still invite us to their annual tamale dinner and treat us like family. We hope to do another project with them some day!

My wife and I highly recommend CG&S for any home renovation project.  We hired them to do a total…read morerenovation to our 20 year old home and both the process and the final product were outstanding.  Very highly qualified, friendly personnel and great communication from day one through the end of the project.  We moved out for nine months so that we could take the house back to a new starting point and then build it back the way that we wanted it. We couldn't be happier with the quality people and the smooth process.  The project was delivered on time and on budget - a rarity in today's crazy world!

After receiving a quote from another draftsman connected to the landscaper we are using, I called…read moreJohn to get his take on the quoted price. He was kind, easy to get in touch with, professional, and offered genuine, industry-informed feedback on the quote. The info he provided was so helpful. I was very impressed with him and his knowledge and definitely recommend his services!!

Chris and John provided excellent quick development of CAD files for a new home addition. We hired…read moreATX Drafting Services to prepare As Builts for an existing home we recently purchased. Their team came out and completed the survey within the estimated time and were professional while on site. The CAD files prepared were to a high quality and we used them to develop the architectural plans for an addition. They are competitively priced, responsive and worked within our schedule. I plan to work with them in future projects!

Blue Diamond did a terrific job…read more We had spoken to many contractors, but too many either did not return calls, or wanted to make cosmetic changes but not fix the basics, or wanted to do work without city permits and inspections. Our small 1958 house needed all the basics. Sewer lines needed replacement, water line needed replacement, interior galvanized plumbing lines needed replacement. Unsafe ungrounded electrical wiring needed replacement. We needed more outlets, better lighting, outside outlets. HVAC was in attic, old, not up to code and ripped ducting. Needed to be replaced and relocated. Roof needed replacement, old aluminum single glazed windows needed to go. Cream shag carpet and ugly hard to clean floor tile (which was on counter and backsplash too) had to go. We needed insulation. A proper vent for the stove. New backsplash and counters, new toilet and sinks. We left our fifties single bath and cupboards to save money. In only a little over two months from start of work, working with city inspectors and all up to code, they took our house down to the bare concrete floors, the ceilings down, the bare bones exposed, and built it back up, new, improved, everything safe and working, and much more beautiful. With a working kitchen and finally a dishwasher and disposal and washer dryer! The bones are 1958 but the house is 2020. Shout outs to Hayk the electricIan, Zach the plumber, David the carpenter, all the drywall guys and everyone else for doing a great job. Max addressed any issues promptly, and was very responsive. The team accommodated us staying on site with the cats, and there were no escapes. Having the in-house Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing made all the difference. Sometimes we had multiple crews working simultaneously. Everyone was courteous and wonderful to work with. The whole house was brought up to code and passed all the needed inspections. and even the inspectors commented on the quality work that was being done. We still have a small, three bedroom one bath house, but it's now the house we dreamed it could be. In fact, we had everyone sign the house as they finished! Quality craftsmanship is an art form, and we are delighted with the results. Blue Diamond worked well with outside contractors, too. To save some bucks, we had Window World do the windows and a neighbor did a great job paintIng. This caused no problems. On time, at budget (yes there were a few unforeseen items that brought it up but nothing serious)). And now we have a beautiful home we can retire in. Kudos to Blue Diamond, one and all! Thanks for the terrific house!

They came back and changed the hinges on the corner cabinet and added a piece of filler to make the…read moregaps less noticable.

Daniel designed our custom home in a gated community outside of Austin in the Hill Country. We was…read moreimpressed with his architectural vision from the beginning and after 10 in-person meetings ( 3 in person and 6 via zoom ) we had a fully developed architectural 3D model that we give you from all sides. Daniel was very generous with his time and since we have quite a few impressive views we wanted to capture all of the views perfeand all of the Hill Country ambiance

5 star Architect for a reason!…read more Daniel has an architectural approach that I believe people will find very rare and refreshing these days. He is very giving of his time, knowledge, and is the most collaborative of the 3 Architects we have used on the 2 other custom homes we have built. As an example, even before we signed a contract he made multiple site visits to give us his friendly professional insight about several lots we were considering before we selected the property we ultimately purchased. He was extremely accommodating and friendly throughout the entire process. Collaboration is his priority from the beginning and he made it very convenient through the use of screen share as we designed the home together. We were really impressed with the architectural 3D model that Daniel created. It was amazing that we were able to have a computer-generated 3D model to visualize the complete exterior as well as the outdoor entertaining, outdoor kitchen, and the pool and spa area. We were able to have the majority of our meetings in the evenings after we got off work and we even did a screen share to collaborate on our laptop while we were out of town visiting family. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable about both the architectural and contractual aspects of building, but he seems to have a great instinct for what the client is looking achieve. He also had the desire to study alternatives and create several layouts that might make the most sense for the lifestyle we described. Our custom home is amazing and we would definitely recommend him to our friends. We enjoyed the process of the architectural design of our custom home and even more surprisingly we enjoyed the building process that is often stressful. Instrumental in our smooth building process was Daniel's custom home building budget that he accurately laid out from the beginning giving us many options and associated costs. Daniel's project management and selection of the builder really took confusion out of the process and stress off of our lap. Other critical details that made build successful was his guidance and assistance with the interior design, kitchen, and bath design, and selection of all of our interior finishes and fixtures. Our kitchen and bathrooms really stand out with exceptional design and we are very grateful for that. All in all the 3% that he charged to be a complete steward of our project was an easy decision. We will definitely be using him in the future and so will our friends that are very impressed with our the result as well as our highly detailed and accurate design and building process.