Davis Artisan Builders

Remodeling a house can be a very challenging prospect, and requires finding an excellent and innovative designer, and a builder/contractor with experience, integrity, and attention to detail, who has well-established relationships with the subcontractors in the various trades. In our recent remodel project in Davis, we found just that in Lauren Vaage, a long-time Davis designer/builder. Our 50-year-old Central Davis home really needed expansion and updating, and we contacted a number of people, including a highly sought-after designer, a major Davis remodeling firm and another designer/builder. The initial ideas we got from these meetings were relatively standard and straightforward. In Vaage's case, though, we had been aware of some of his other truly unique work in Davis, and contacted him as well. From our initial meeting it became clear we had found someone truly passionate about what he does, who was excited about how he could transform our home into something we truly wanted. He asked us for lists of goals for the project, and our priorities, so that he understood how to design something that really worked for us. As a designer, Vaage is truly an artist, with a keen eye to how the ultimate form should not just be driven by functionality but by what works aesthetically as well, with the chosen materials and methods available. He also knows how to work within the state of the art in the different trades to get the most out of both the material cost and the cost of the labor to construct his vision. And Vaage's vision is unique - his passion is such that he spends great amounts of time visualizing, revising, placing himself mentally in the space which will result, imagining what it would be like to live there himself, while keeping the ideas of his clients in mind. We truly admired this aspect of Vaage's talent and devotion: he was able to create a vision of how we could remodel our home to make it not just larger, but make far better use of the space inside and out, while presenting to the outside a striking architectural expression. We needed to add onto the front of our house, adding a bedroom and bathroom, and his amazing solution was not to basically build a standard "box" on the front (creating a long, dark entryway) but to turn the entire front addition by 45 degrees, opening the front to the morning light and to the street like welcoming arms. The design was capped off with a stunning entryway which floods the house with natural light. As the design phase progressed it became clear we had found the right person. As a builder, Vaage is a true artisan, and has found an amazing group of other artisans with whom to work. He has personally worked in and mastered many of the modern building trades, including framing, roofing, siding, drywall, and so on. He has thus spent years cultivating relationships with many other artisans of the trades, whom he trusts perfectly to do the work professionally. Rest assured that if you were to launch a project with him, you'd get not just Vaage, but an amazing team of people to do the framing, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, tiling...you name it. He works some of the best - and local - people in the business. Vaage has amazing attention to the details of a remodel project, and realizes that as each stage progresses, the success of the previous stage is necessary to ensure the success of the next. This is something we had not appreciated before entering upon the project, but as the project evolved it became clear why Vaage was so keen on getting the smallest details right. Vaage shows up at the project every morning and guides the subcontractors through the next stages, pointing out the details that will make the project special. He does not just leave and do something else, he stays there alongside the workers and anticipates and solves the inevitable problems that arise. He is totally committed to the ultimate integrity of the workmanship in his projects. What he builds will last a very long time and will be done extremely well. In the end we have a striking new home, beautiful and functional, with many impressive artistic touches that you won't find elsewhere, all designed and built to Vaage's very high standards. We feel very lucky to have found him, and we made the right decision to have him design and build our home. If you want a truly unique, high quality, artistic, non-cookie-cutter upgrade to your home, whether a large or small project, we highly recommend you work with Lauren Vaage.

Lauren Vaage has been our "go-to" contractor for more than 10 years. He handles both large and small projects with dare and keeps his clients in-the-loop throughout the process of design and construction. He and the sub-contractors he employs (electrical, flooring, paint, plumbing, sheet rock, tile, etc.) are all craftsmen in their own right and their work is top quality. Also important is the fact that the projects are finished on time. Lauren has worked on our fencing and gates, built outside storage structures and fully remodeled our two beautiful bathrooms. We whole-heartedly recommend Vaage Design Build/Davis Artisan Builders for your residential and commercial endeavors. Joy Fergoda Kathy DeYoung

Lauren is a perfectionist with incredible talent for design and a high standards for quality. From the beginning, he carefully listened to our goals and made a thorough assessment of the possibilities our home held. Along the way, he kept an eye open for old problems that needed addressing, and for opportunities for improvement that occurred during the regular course of construction. He has a team of real craftsmen, all excellent at their work. Other contractors around town hold him in high regard, and his work stands out. The process of renovation and custom construction requires a lot of communication, and Lauren was as conscientious about explaining the process and keeping us involved as he was at his work. Thinking about the project as it has turned out, I simply cannot imagine having the work done by anyone other than Lauren.