As a first-time homebuyer in the US with zero prior experience in single-family home renovations --…read moreand honestly, not even knowing most of the construction terminology in English -- I am so lucky to have found Allen as our designer here in the Bay Area. We first met at my new place -- an old house built in 1957. While it's in a great location, the house itself, both inside and out, was extremely outdated and needed a full overhaul. Allen arrived right on time, warm and professional, immediately putting me at ease. At the time, I didn't have a clear and complete vision and could only give a vague description of the feel I wanted. Allen listened to me with tremendous patience, answered all my questions in detail, and proactively brought up many potential issues and risks I hadn't even thought of. Within just two days, I received his initial design sketches. Over the next month or so, Allen guided me through the selection process step-by-step -- much like helping a kid build with LEGO blocks. He frequently traveled with me to various building material and decor showrooms across the Bay Area, helping me pick out everything from custom cabinets and tiles to tub, vanities, kitchen island marble countertops, and hardwood flooring for the bedrooms and living areas. What I appreciated most was that Allen never forced or pressured me into making any decisions. Instead, he quietly safeguarded the entire project, helping me steer clear of all kinds of unexpected pitfalls. Thanks to his thoughtful design and full support throughout, the entire renovation process went remarkably smoothly. The transformed home exudes a sense of quiet, livable beauty while still feeling modern and refined. Every friend and guest who has visited since has been full of praise. I couldn't be happier with the final result, and I wholeheartedly recommend Sofiov, especially Allen and his team to anyone planning a home renovation!

Allen was professional and easy to work with. The render was stunning and didn't need much…read moremodification during construction. The bathroom came out beautiful.

Kyle designed my new house from a SB9 subdivision in San Jose. He is very patient and courteous,…read morevery knowledgeable about the city codes, and always responds in time. His design is elegant and efficient, he oversaw the project and answered all the questions promptly even after the project is well into the late stage. Highly recommend!

This is a very long overdue review. We was lucky to came across Kyle's service at the beginning of…read moreCOVID when we wanted to remodel our home in Santa Clara. I don't know how to express our sincere thanks for everything he did for us. Kyle is very professional and super nice. He patiently work with us over 6 months to come up with the most economical and yet practical design and great flow of the space. He tirelessly met us constantly to make sure we were comfortable throughout the process. His experience and knowledge was integral of our project. His price was very reasonable. I would have pay much more for the experience I have with him. I highly recommend Kyle service to anyone.

We were delighted with the work Topos did for us. Peter is a great listener and presented us with…read moredifferent options, made revisions to the initial mock ups per our requests and helped execute on the option we selected. He helped us find an excellent contractor and his team managed our build. We are very happy with the results and the level of service.

I'm happy to strongly endorse Peter Baltay and his crew at Topos Architects as both a design firm…read moreand as a project management service. When my wife I are were contemplating building a home, we approached Topos as we had seen a previous spec project they had done and loved it. Design elements include maximizing space utilization, minimizing hallways, lots of light and windows, beautiful wood accents, high quality trim and attention to detail all appealed to us. During our first meeting when I complained about not finding any good lots for sale, Peter pointed out a few, including one particular lot that was not yet on MLS. The location was perfect for us and I ended up buying it 7 days later. The take home is that Peter has contacts in the area that give his clients access to info not always publicly available. We interviewed many architects and came back to Topos. I didn't like how some wanted to deliver a set of plans and walk away, leaving the builder to struggle with implementation. I also didn't like how some were 'out-dated' - I wanted computer-based models so I could visualize my home before it was built. As an engineer type, Peter and Topos were a great fit. I also wanted a firm who would help oversee the process from start to end and not and not pass the potato as soon as things went wrong (without paying through the nose for a personal assistant). I knew from previous contractor experience that building a home wasn't a cake walk and I wanted someone with integrity who I would work with through the entire process - Peter gave me that impression. Perhaps most of all, I wanted to know I was paying a fair price. I hated the standard fixed bid way of building houses where you're always combatting the general contractor over quality and price. I wanted complete transparency. Topos was prepared to offer this and had multiple previous projects to illustrate how this could be done and what I should expect. I want to address some of the negative comments in one review on this site directly. Building a house is not like Extreme Makeover where you go on vacation, return home and say 'Move that Bus' and have the house of your dreams. It is a process with literally thousands of decisions and over a dozen sub contractors. Mistakes are going to happen. Some people are going to do poor work some days. The city is probably going to say you can't do something essential to your design. Some tiles look great in the store but don't work in your house. Bad things happen. If you don't like a design element, it isn't Peter's fault, it is your fault. What you want on your team is someone that will work with you to effectively manage these things, prevent them when possible and deal with them when unavoidable. I can't imagine Peter and Topos doing a much better on this front. I'm willing to bet the negative reviewer never gave Topos a chance to fix what bothered her. In our case Peter and Topos were very up-front about what services they offer and where we might consider augmenting with our own consultants. Many people hire a lighting designer, interior designer, landscape design, etc.. We only hired a landscape guy and did the rest with Topos to save money. It is up to you. Look at previous homes and see what meets your standards and what doesn't. Oh, the comment about not working hard is absurd. Peter is there 8-7 most days. And, when things do go wrong, Topos stands behind the job. In our case a tile sub messed up the master bath. Peter made them tear out thousands in tile and redo it from scratch. While the sub provided the labor, Peter paid for all the tile out of pocket claiming they should have caught it earlier. This is someone who admits a mistake and takes responsibility for fixing it. For a bonus-factor, Peter is an amazing diplomat. He worked with some frustrated neighbors to make them advocates for our project, he worked with the city to find a way top get our gutters and design approved, and most of all he worked with me (which is no easy task) for 18 months to build a beautiful home. One other thing I'll add - in retrospect I undervalued the importance of working with subs that are beholden to the general contractor for their next job. While Topos let me select which contractor to use, there is an advantage to going with ones that they have used in the past and will use again. Because Topos builds a number of projects each year, many of the best subs work from one project to the next (provided you elect to go with them). Because of this dependence, they are incentivized to finish through 110% on your project. There were a few cases where a sub has had to come back many times (often fixing someone else's problems) and they have done so without complaint and without additional 'change orders'. They do it because it is right and they want to stay on Topos' good side.

Back in September, I found Craftsmen's Guild at the San Jose Home and Garden Show. I sent a request…read morefor a bid proposal with my architect draft and proposal details. Over a course of 3 weeks, I followed up with 2 emails and only received 1 reply. I did not get a proposal and Mike never emailed to say that they are unavailable, etc. Feedback: unresponsive

High quality work with great attention to detail. Competitive and honest. Highly recommended.read more

I recently had the pleasure of working with Eyal. He demonstrated incredible skill and expertise…read moreand went above and beyond to deliver an outstanding result which got me access to an over the counter permit with SF's building department - which saved a lot of headache! His attention to detail and ability to understand and translate my vision into reality was truly remarkable. He took the time to listen to my ideas and requirements, and then used their expertise to create a design that got though the approval process without any delay. Throughout the entire process, he maintained a high level of professionalism and communication and kept me informed every step of the way Eyal's work truly speaks for itself, and I loved working with such a skilled, talented and reliable architect!

Working with Prestin Ravid Architects on our home addition and renovation has been amazing…read more Navigating the City of Palo Alto's complex permit process could have been stressful, but Eyal and his team made it smooth and enjoyable. With Eyal's extensive experience, his strategic, efficient approach and clear communication helped us get our permit in about half the expected time. His designs are thoughtful, detail-oriented, and perfectly balance aesthetics and practicality. Highly recommend!

Acton just finished our home remodel of our Master bedroom suite, and 2 bedrooms, a study and a…read morebathroom. The crew of Acton did a great job for 6 months while we also stayed in the house. All the staff and contractors were great - they showed up every morning on time, worked hard, and cleaned up before going home. And each contractor was very talented at his craft. Jenn, our project advisor, and Enrique, our onsite supervisor, were always immediately available for our concerns, and went above and beyond to take any needed action in a very timely manner. They were such a pleasure to work with, listened to our wishes and concerns, and made every effort to make them happen. We have heard of many bad contractor experiences from friends, but we had a great overall experience working with Acton!

Acton ADU is a streamlined, personal organization that leaves you with a high quality building…read morepersonalized to your needs. We found their planning, communication, permit navigation, and building to be very high quality. Planning with Acton was very simple. They have a suite of choices both for the structural design, but also for nearly every aspect you could want. We even made some modifications ourselves that fit our needs and they were more than accommodating. We ended with a project plan we were fully behind and excited to see to completion. The team at Acton showed themselves to be high level communicators. They anticipated questions, gave frequent updates, and took the time necessary to answer all of our questions throughout. They also utilized an app called Buildertrend that gave us daily updates, calendars, photos, invoices, and any other information we could need from the project. It worked well and keep us constantly in the loop. One of the most daunting aspects of building an ADU is understanding and correctly following all of the permit requirements. Acton ADU handled all of that as part of the build. They know the codes and how to best expedite processes toward a positive conclusion. Acton even has pre-approved building plans that can be approved in a couple weeks rather than several months, which is one thing that drew us to their company in the first place. Finally, and most importantly, the build is fantastic. We watched our ADU come to life as we had planned and the crew working on the structure were amazing. From concrete to framing, drywall, and stucco, the team at Acton clearly knows how to do their work at a high quality. We could not be happier with the outcome and are excited to see our family and friends enjoy the ADU for years to come. If you are looking for an ADU builder to be on your shortlist, I highly recommend Acton ADU.

Ashish and his team have been great with our remodeling needs and overall management of the…read moreproject. We have done 2 designs with him, and both have been very smooth and at the right pace. The team is easy to reach out to and has been very responsive with communication and updates. The design team is very accommodating to the needs and very knowledgeable about the latest trends in design and material options. Highly recommend them as they are providing high-quality services at a reasonable price.

Had very good experience working with OR homes. Ahsutosh was very helpful. Came up with good…read moresuggestions to meet our needs. Shweta and Ashish made sure getting through city was smooth.

I called Ayesha before I even purchase my house and she spent a lot of time going over a lot of…read morestuff with me. When I finally purchased my house, I hired Ayesha to do a full remodel to make it look more modern. She was very easy to work with, answered a bunch of my questions and walked me through every step of the way and helped coordinate everything. She was also very responsive to emails and text. I told her what I wanted and she came up with several designs and worked with me to make several revisions. My contractor even complimented on her amazing work and how it was very easy to follow her architectural drawings. It was a fun project. Would definitely use Ayesha again for future remodels and would recommend her to anyone!

We worked with Ayesha Sikandar on a remodel in San Mateo to update kitchen and baths, creating an…read moreopen floor plan between dining room and kitchen, reconfiguring the existing baths for better space and function, and electrical upgrade. Ayesha has good communication skills, is very responsive to questions or changes along the way. She works well with our GC, structural engineer and helped us with the permit process. Her guidance really made a difference in getting the project done. Highly recommended.