Zebra Group

We retained Zebra to do both architectural and interior design on a major rebuild and addition to our property. Their creativity, advice and support over an 18 month long process was invaluable. Some highlights include - plans that clearly reflected what we wanted while addressing building code requirements; a permitting process that went without a hitch; ideas and suggestions for interior designs that are practical and beautiful; recommendations for materials that mix splashes of high impact with economical workhorses; schedules for everything to keep us organized. Instead of a process that many describe as extremely stressful, I was sad to see it end!

We retained Zebra Group for the design, interiors and construction of our home. They were a pleasure to work with. They fully understood our requirements and developed creative design solutions. Their attention to detail during design and construction resulted in a great family home.

I have had the privilege to be a supplier to many of the houses that Zebra has built over the past few years. A fantastic group of people who are always a pleasure to work with

Zebra Design did a wonderful job on the plans for my new home. They have been super helpful and very professional to deal with. a special thanks to Kathryn who has been excellent. I highly recommend Zebra Design.

Lorin Turner did an amazing job of choosing exterior building colours. We have also hired Lorin in the past for our building reno and for our house. She has a keen eye for colour, texture and design. Plus she is awesome to work with.

The Zebra team is a lovely group of talented professionals with whom DDA has had the pleasure of working with over the past several years. Projects big and small, we look forward to continuing to work with Zebra Group in the future!

Rus designed our new build home in Fairfield two years ago and we are thrilled with the results. The process was made easy by his great understanding and experience and we were able to get just what we were looking for by giving him a few simple ideas. Our home is a "westcoast mid century modern", he nailed it!

I asked two of the Zebra designers to help me work out a new floor plan for the bathroom and closet area of a 1904 house, which had been awkwardly carved out of the former butler's pantry in the 1970s. I was also considering asking them to manage the project but only asked for help with the design. The house is a heritage property designed by a famous architect who did very few residential projects (most were for businesses or the BC government). Most of the house retains the original features and layout, and this is one reason that I bought it. Unexpectedly, the lead designer floated a plan to demolish the fireplace in the front entryway to make the space easier to remodel. I thanked him for his creative advice but told him that I valued the fact that the house had retained much of its original character and rejected this proposal. A few weeks later I got a lecture via an email sent by the other member of the design team (whose work I very much like) about how I needed to be more open-minded about making major changes to the floor plan (I assume they meant demolishing the fireplace). Not surprisingly, the redrawn plans that they finally sent me offered little improvement over what I had already come up with working with another designer. I have since worked out a much better floor plan with my carpenter, who came up with the solution to one problem (where to put the washer and dryer) that helped us come up with a good layout for this area of the house. I know people who have been happy working with this company and I am sure that they can do outstanding work. But the Zebra designers did not give me any new ideas for the renovation work and their services were not free. Meanwhile, the lead designer responded with what I only describe as contempt when I told them that I needed to contain costs. I am remodeling a two and a half story house that has been neglected for forty years and have spent a lot of money restoring stained glass windows, putting in a drain system, installing storm windows to make the house more energy efficient, and I have many projects to come, including finishing the attic. Meanwhile, any designer worth their $120/hour should know that there is a tremendous range of beautiful materials available at all price ranges and adapt to the client's budget. I used white subway tile that cost $2.25/square foot in the bathroom. It's not travertine but it looks beautiful. After this discouraging experience I finally decided to act as my own contractor, and although it has been time-consuming, I am happy with the results, and I am getting what I want. Meanwhile, I think that the lead designer needs to work on cultivating greater respect for others.

We had the pleasure of working with Lorin Turner at Zebra on a complete home design. Three things that were key 1) a professional and organized approach 2) a strong sense of design with opinions 3) an ability to see our vision so we had the benefit of opinion without beng told what to do. In all areas Lorin met these criteria and delivered much more. The contacts and suppliers that she referred delivered on options and budget. She maintained a great relationship with our builder so the design and products selected integrated into the process seemlesly. Each stage was well planned and we were kept informed. One of the key process we enjoyed was the final deliverables that laid out precisely what the design included and complete specs with pictures on each product or material to be used. Very easy for us and great for the builder to source and implement, Overall she exceeded our expectations, was extremely pleasant and professional to deal with and we would recommend highly! Scott S

We have met with Zebra a number of times to discuss renos and they have always been prompt, engaging and professional. When we hired them to do a small reno of a older home, they came up with great ideas on simple changes to make things more efficient or cost effective (e.g. moving the door to the kitchen to give room for a pantry - to this day, I love this change). They also took into account the needs of our family (4 kids/dog) and chose products that were durable