Passive houses en Grand Haven, MI

“Visbeen Associates have great vision and unique perspectives that bring a challenging project to a beautiful end. We are very pleased with what Visbeen has accomplished for us!”

“When we decided to build our home, we were pretty naive to the process. We are blessed to have met Ryan and 42º North to help educate us on the process, and point out specific things we never thought of. Ryan has been the single most important asset in our home-build process – not only designing us a house we absolutely love, but also looking out for our best interests when dealing with other parties, such as builders, vendors, etc. The integrity that the guys at 42º North have is rare, and something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. They are swift to hold your hand through the process, and the design work is top-notch. Ryan’s communication is also amazing, making the process with him stress-free and easy going. 42º North is the only architecture firm we will ever recommend and use should we decide to build again. We’re happy to take a friendship out of this year-long process as well, and that is something that you can never put a price on.” Steve & Ashley E, Ada MI”

“Our experience with Lucid Architecture has been 100% spectacular from start to finish. Eric possesses every ideal quality a client would seek in an architect: honesty, intellect, ingenuity, and humor. He excels in the ability to take what is conceptual and transform it to actual. If there were 6 stars to allocate, we would do so for Lucid.”

“Gifted home designer. Understands the role of sustainability in affordability and personalized function. Eric has set a new standard in home design, delivering LEED-Platinum certification at entry level through custom price points. My role as a third-party auditor for a variety of national performance building programs affords me a unique opportunity to see hundreds of architects, designers and builders. Eric Hughes stands out in a very crowded field.”

“Sears Architect designed a 3100 sq house for us in East Grand Rapids, MI. We have never built a home previously. We found the design process to be very efficient which resulted in a home that matches our needs and wants. The Sears project manager was very responsive and Rob Sears seemed to be full informed and involved at all times. Having said this there were many heartaches that occurred that could in part be mitigated with up front client education. In talking with another friend who build a house with Sears last year, our experience was similar to theirs. 1. Architectural costs - designing a custom build house is more expensive and has more components than one would expect. Multiple site surveys, structural engineers, each set of more detailed plans add to the final cost. We spent $xxxxx for plans - which were the refinement of a plan presented to us in a design build proposal by the builder. In addition we used an interior designer recommended by the architect another $xxxx. We would have been happier if we had a fixed predefined budget as the builder led us to believe the costs would be about $25,000. Having said this, Rob Sears was very responsive to financial questions and happily and promptly provided the billing records that justified their billings. In addition I felt Rob made a strong effort to follow the project to completion and did quite a bit after delivery of the plans, uncompensated, to finish the job. In the end we are very happy with Sears Architects - but wiser for the experience. 2. Cost of building. We learned that there was essentially no communication between our builder and the architect regarding the building allowances and the costs of the developed plan. Our home ended up xx% over budget, despite most components falling within allowances - the builder just underbid to get the work. What I learned from the process is that is not the architects job, rather the home owners sole responsibility, to verify all components are accuately costed prior to contracting a builder. 3. Interior designer. We did not expect how important the interior designer would be in implementing the design of the home - guiding interior and exterior materials, designing lighting schemes, plumbing, etc as well as planning for furniture layout. Sears recommended Christine DiMaria. We separately retained her. My wife and I thought she did a great job - design, providing perspective from other project, helping sort priorities, communicating with the architect and in general holding our hands through the up and downs of the 10 month process. We were glad we used a designer who had worked with the architect before. 4. Landscape design. This was a separate contract and budget through a landscape architect. Sears coordinated well re the placement of the house on the lot, grade decisions needed so proper retention walls could be planned and built by the Landscape team. So overall, I feel that Sears Architecture is a terrific firm that does good work. We are very happy with the completed product of our home. We would recommend them to other home buyers.”

“I have worked with Via Design as an Owner Representative and have referred them to multiple shared clients who have had very good experiences with Via Design.”

“MMA designed our home - and it couldn't function better! Evan and the team were creative, listened to our needs, and made great use of a narrow lake lot. They were involved in every detail of the home, making the selection of the final finishes a breeze, and remained involved during the building process to ensure our dream became a reality.”

“From start to finish Amy was amazing to work with. She took the time to enter fully into our project, listening to how we wanted to live in and use our home and then coming up with renovation plans that far surpassed what we could have hoped for. She will do whatever it takes to meet a deadline and is attentive to every detail. She works exceptionally well with others, always eager to work with and meet contractors and sub-contractors. She understands construction well, which is a great asset as you are going through a renovation. We could not say enough about the quality of our experience with AeH Designs. And the final product, our renovated home, is more beautiful and more well-suited to our needs and wants than we ever thought it could be.”

“We contracted Cottage Home to build our new lake home in 2009. This was the first time we had gone through a new construction project. After several meetings with the builder, providing our own ideas on what we hoped for in our home, he then added his design thoughts. The resulting plan was everything we could have imagined. We agreed on a set price, standards, and completion date. The project went as promised, with no deviation from our original agreement on price or standards, and it was completed exactly on time. Compared to other negative experiences we have heard about from friends about other builders, we felt extremely fortunate to have contracted Cottage Home for our project. They have an incredibly stable group of regular subcontractors, who were most professional, highly skilled and competent in their specialties. Icing on the cake, is the fact that this builder "stays with you" long after the project. For any subsequent needs, or repairs, they are immediately available to support our requests. The whole process continues to be one professional story, even after the successful completion of our retirement home on Lake Michigan.”

“Corri is a professional on every level. I hired her to design a small home using principles of sustainability, functionality and feng shui design. With a small budget and big ideas I needed someone who understood me and could deliver in an organized and manageable way. I was not disappointed at any point in our process. I have not yet built the house but she has created my dream.”