Donna Riley Architect

Donna Riley is an excellent choice for your project. My husband's parents wanted to build an addition to our home which would serve as an Additional Dwelling Unit (in this case a one-bedroom apartment) so that they would have their own space when they come to Colorado to spend two months with us each summer. We live in a a renovated historic brick schoolhouse which was originally built in 1895. From start to finish, Donna was easy to communicate with and her knowledge and expertise was vital for the completion of this project. An important goal for us was for the addition to look as if it had always been there. We wanted the build to be seamless in its design and appearance. Donna's design and plan achieved this goal perfectly. We were so grateful for her understanding and ability to meet our needs while creating a beautiful space for my in-laws. There were a couple of difficult challenges that we encountered along the way and Donna met these with grace and confidence. This was another opportunity for us to witness first-hand, Donna's competence and aptitude. Donna enabled us to fulfill our dream of creating a incredible space that our family is fully enjoying while they are here. The addition does indeed appear to have always been a part of the schoolhouse and this a testament to Donna's phenomenal abilities as a highly skilled architect. We highly recommend Donna for any type of project you are considering.

Donna Riley helped complete two projects: an interior kitchen/bath remodel and a new free standing garage. In both projects Donna listened carefully to our objectives and opinions. Donna provided highly professional development and oversight. We are totally pleased with the outcomes and would not hesitate to choose Donna for any project in the future.

This was our 1st time building a house, and Donna was fabulous!! She worked with us from start to finish. She asked all members of the family what they'd like to have in the house, and then worked to make sure we could afford it. During construction, we trusted her when the builder encountered 'challenges'. She held our hands until the very end. She's the best!!

Donna Riley served as our architect for approx. one year, for a remodel project that included adding a partial 3rd story (Master suite and office) to our home in Carbondale, CO. Donna guided us through a complete redesign of the home, both inside and out. She was excellent at assessing the site, the existing home and where we had room to grow. Donna was very attentive to our budget and worked closely with the builder and engineer to design cost-effective solutions that met our goals. The project also included a new entry, new family room and two new/remodeled bathrooms. We have worked with architects before that prioritized design concepts over functionality- Donna finds a way to achieve both. She was always responsive and kept the project moving- we spent 6 months on budget, design and permits and 6 months on construction. Donna also followed through during construction, coming on site to talk to the tradesmen as needed. This is critical because many finish details get worked out in the moment. In general Donna was a pleasure to work with and we would highly recommend her to anyone looking for an architect to provide a high level of personal attention, knowledge and expertise for their remodel or new construction project.

We have now worked with Donna on two very different projects, and couldn't be happier with the results. The first project was a significant remodel of our home, adding two rooms, a workshop, a bathroom and sauna. We liked the house when we bought it, but after the remodel we love it; it fits us like a glove now. The credit for that is due to Donna, who listened closely to our needs and interests, and worked in a collaborative manner that made us feel involved in crafting our dream home. We couldn't have been happier to work with Donna, who helped us end-to-end, from consulting to help us choose our home at the outset, to architecting the remodel, and even helping us choose a contractor. The entire project was smooth, and on-budget. She often brainstormed with the contractor to solve problems, and the contractor went out of his way to compliment her as an architect he respected and worked well with. A few years later our start-up business was busting out of our home office, and we again turned to Donna to help us choose and design our commercial office space. As with our home remodel project, we engaged Donna from the outset, first as a consultant to help us choose a space that would meet our needs, and then as the architect to design the space and choose a contractor. We had a lot of specific needs to make the space work for our business, and Donna again was a pleasure to work with. She carefully listened to our needs, and turned our long list of requirements into an office design we could not be happier with. She also was a key driver of making the project happen on schedule. For example, she created preliminary plans to present to city planning office, and by doing so, was able to expedite our permits since all the tricky issues were already pre-approved based on her earlier work. We also appreciated the fact that Donna involved us in the project by taking very careful notes on our business needs and preferences, but also in providing us design options we could consider and weigh in on. We felt she created a collaborative environment that let us participate, but she also provided us sage input that helped us avoid making decisions we might regret. At each stage in the project, Donna was diligent, organized, and thoughtful in her work. The end result turned out just like our home remodel project, where we feel that our commercial office space fits our business needs like a glove. It has been a year now since we moved in to our new office, and our productivity has never been higher. We could not be happier. We would enthusiastically recommend Donna Riley Architect, and if it isn't obvious already, we would love to work with her again should we have another home or commercial project in the future.

We hired Donna to help us create flow between our indoor and outdoor living spaces. She gave the project her full time and detail and she nailed it! We are now enjoying a new beautiful 12 foot sliding glass door that opens to a renovated covered patio while also maintaining a stunning view of Mt. Sopris. We enjoyed her ideas, her enthusiasm, the multiple tools she used to present her ideas, and her cooperative ethic in working with our contractor. We highly recommend Donna Riley Architect.