JOHNSON ARCHITECTURE INC

Terri was very pleasantly to work with until she received payment. The poor review above is EXACTLY what happened to me. After she had my payment, she stopped returning calls and/ or emails. She gave effusive recommendations to a contractor who she divulged information so he would be the contractor i hired. He was terrible and complicated dishonest. He hired contractors who weren't on the permit, then brought in unrelated contractors to the inspections with the city. Total racket- both Terri and her contractor she pushes on clients. She yelled at me too - just like the review above. Totally unprofessional. Some real anger issues. Steer clear of this person.

Overall it went great. We had a number of preliminary design meetings where Terri worked at our pace and came up with good ideas. She was very responsive to our suggestions and picked up on our priorities and preferences pretty quick. Once the design was complete she was particularly helpful getting it through the permit process with Chicago. We also ended up using a contractor who she recommended and had worked with before. He did a great job and was very competitive with the other bids we received. Terri had more limited involvement during the construction process, primarily because we had a good contractor and very few changes were required to the initial design.

Terri was great - she walked through the entire process of rehabbing our house, something we'd never done before. She provided three full possible layouts for the house, and was very accommodating in figuring out how to merge together the features we loved from each option. She helped us review bids when the time came and then was present regularly throughout construction. She was good in dealing with difficult contractors and with resolving problems that came up unexpectedly. If you are working on a big project like this, I'd highly recommend working with Terri. She answered all our questions and helped us figure out what steps we needed to take next. We've now been living in the house for nearly a year - the layout is fantastic and works for our every need!

From the very first meeting with Terri we started to see our project come to life. She jumped right in and gathered so many details and was able to provide us with solid information about what we could do with our home. The concept drawings that she supplied were incredible and the best part was how quickly she picked up on the fact that my husband and I had a general idea of what we liked yet needed a push just beyond our comfort to build something we would love. Terri was always able to be reached by phone, email or text and was very responsive with us and our builder. She truly was our advocate on the job site, making sure that everything was done right and the way we wanted it. Terri went above and beyond offering design advice that would help compliment the architecture with lighting especially. As stated previously we hope to someday accomplish phase 2 on our home and when we do we will definately use Johnson Architecture Inc.

I gave her a check on July 29th, 2013 for $2000.00 for a design for a 2 flat renovation. The contract I was given listed a total of $5500.00. After giving her the $2000.00 she was difficult to get in touch with by phone or email. I told her it had been several weeks and I wanted to get this project started and she sent an email saying her mother was in hospice and she was behind. Then she faxed me some preliminary drawings that I cannot give to a contractor or to the city to get the permits. I sent her an email saying I wanted to speak with her this morning in regards to her being able to do this work since her mother was dying. I called her around 11 am and got no answer. I said I absolutely needed to speak with her on the phone since she was only wanting communicate via email. She called and left me a voice mail cussing at me and being beyond unprofessional saying she wasn't going to do the work or give me my money back. All I wanted to discuss this morning was to see if the work was going to be completed. I did get her on the phone and she was not letting me talk she was out of control swearing at me and would not let me get a word in. I never said I was firing her I was just wanting to inquire when the work would be done and whether she could do the work. She said she was not going to do any work for me or give my money back.

Due to the size of our project, we thought it would be best to hire an architect to ensure the contractor would have the best guidance during the construction phase. Most people, it seems, don't have the opportunity to hire an architect during the course of home ownership as no family or friends had any recommendations. We turned to Angie's List for suggestions and chose three to provide bids. Johnson Architecture's proposal was the highest priced option of the three bids (though within five-to-ten percent of the two competitors). However, we felt, based on our meetings with proprietor and chief architect Terri Johnson, that she had both the best grasp of our goals for the space and the most collaborative approach. Our instincts were right. Terri did an excellent job ushering us through the whole (sometimes) stressful process. Not only was she patient in teasing out our vision for the space, working at our pace to get the details right (down to trim and molding), her advice was invaluable in selecting both a contractor and a fixtures supplier for the new bathroom, which ultimately saved us considerable money on the project. Her proactive handling of all aspects of permitting while maintaining full transparency into the process gave us the confidence that all tasks were being handled while allowing us to focus on other critical decisions and logistics. (We had to move out of the house for four months.) When necessary, Terri was also a bulldog with the contractor, keeping him on schedule so that the project completed (more or less) on time and ensuring that we were not out of the house for longer than necessary. And she stuck with it right up to the end, when the last five percent of the project threatens to consume 20% of the project time, working with the contractor on ad hoc adjustments in the field and making certain that all of the design flourishes were in place so the final outcome had the full intended impact. Now complete, the new second floor looks amazing, a true standout on our street. It seems to even have prompted a flurry of remodeling up and down the block, so the whole neighborhood is looking a little better today. And we have Terri's talent, persistence, and eye for detail to thank for it. We wouldn't hesitate to hire her again - though, honestly, we hope we don't ever have to do anything on this scale again.

Terri of Johnson Architecture has a collaborative style and is easy to work with, balancing creative solutions while working within a budget. Terri is a good communicator and projects are completed on a timely basis. Working with Terri is truly having an advocate for you project; she worked very well with our contractor and was an invaluable resource. Terri listened to our needs and wants and was able to translate them into design using her experience and creativity. She frequently came up with creative new options that enhanced our project. She was also able to assist with interior design and finish selections, and was instrumental in designing interior touches such as woodwork that blended with the style of our house.

We were very very pleased with Terri's work on our project. Our house was not huge so we were looking for creative ideas to maximize space. Terri met with us and listened to our needs and came back with three different sets of plans for us to look at. We then worked with her to pick the set of plans that worked the best for us. She was very open to our suggestions and let us add ideas from the other plans into the plan we picked. This flexibility let us maximize every inch of our small house which was very important to us. Throughout the design process, Terri was easy to get in touch with, was prompt and met all of her deadlines. Terri was also very familiar with all of the city of Chicago building codes. Once permit time came, Terri was able to get our permits in one day! This was immensely helpful in managing our timeline (and budget). Throughout the construction process, Terri was always available to answer any questions we had. She performed many site visits and found issues in the construction that we would have never noticed. She was great to bounce ideas off of and was also great with making any changes we requested during the build phase. All of these services were budgeted for in her initial proposal so her services came in on budget. We would recommend Terri to anyone. We are very happy with how our home turned out!! We couldn't be more pleased!

Terri was professional and responsive to all my questions and provided me with some great ideas. Even though, in the end, I decided to go with a different architect, it was a very close call and I will certainly think of Terri if I need an architect in the future.

She did a very good job. She was always readily available and right there with all the answer. I enjoyed working with her. She is a personable young woman.

I found Terri on Angie's List, and, after reading her excellent reviews, pulled the trigger. Couldn't be happier. Terri is wonderful. She understood exactly what we were trying to accomplish -- unlike another guy we had tried earlier, but without much success. She spent gobs of time listening to us, answering our questions, walking us through the process. She then drew up the plans. We kept tweaking them, and she just rolled with our punches. We ended up with a great plan, and all the contractors we showed them to remarked how nice they were. She will also be handling the permiting process, which is a plus. She will also be helping watch the contractor -- she lives close by -- to ensure that once the work starts, it is done in accordance with her plan. On top of all this, Terri is just a very cool, very happy person. We very quickly deemed her to be a good friend. I look forward to the next project, so we can work with her again!

I bot immediate response and answers to my myriad questions.

The entire experience was excellent. I am thinking of remodeling my bathroom and I would definitely contact Johnson Architecture to design the interior space.

We were pretty happy with the work. We were very pleased with her. We had a great relationship with her, and we really valued her expertise. Her plans were very thorough. We had very few issues during the construction process. We listened to her suggestions, because they were very good. She tended to run a little bit late, though it never caused problems for us.

We were shopping for a house, and we found one we liked, but we knew we would want a second story addition built on it. But we were concerned about how the addition would make the house look from the street, and how we would fit the rooms we wanted into the space. We decided to hire and architect for consultation, we needed someone quickly. We found Terri on Angie?s List. She charged us for two hours but she went way beyond that. She did a zoning analysis, visited the house, sketched a rough floor plan and spent more than a half hour discussing it on the phone, and sketched one elevation for us that we liked. After this we had more confidence and bought the house. We felt Terri listened and understood what we need her to do. Her attitude was ?I want to help you? instead of ?I?m going to tell you what you should want?. She is very enthusiastic about her work, and went way beyond our expectations. We will strongly consider her to be our architect once we get to that point.

We have used Terri for a number of different projects, from back porch/deck design, to multiple gut rehabs. For the most recent completed project, Terri worked with our general contractor to develop a plan to rehabilitate an old house, including a complete rebuild of the second floor from an attic rooms (not to code) to complete second floor that satisfies the most picky of buildings dept. project managers. We have worked with Terri in getting City of Chicago building permits and she has done well as she has established relationships that make the process smoother (than getting it yourself). She is knowledgeable in Chicago building code as well as international building code, and is a fast worker, responsive, and friendly. Terri is highly skilled and has experience in both residential and commercial, and even has a background in the design of athletic stadiums. I would highly recommend working with Terri for your projects, as her work is quality.

Terri is terrific! We cannot say enough good things about our experience working with her. She's friendly, punctual, professional, and honest. There were even a couple of points when she was willing to advocate on our behalf with our contractors. Hiring her added about 5% to the total cost of our project, but we ended up with a much better design and are pleased with the end results. Anyone considering a home redesign project should definitely hire Terri!

Terri was great, very personable and easy to work with, she was always on time and very professional. The price she quoted me over the phone was the price we paid when the drawings were complete, no sudden extra costs. The whole process could not have gone better. I highly recommend Terri Johnson for all your architectural needs.

Terri was absolutely phenomenal. Her basement design was gorgeous and incorporated all of the elements we asked her to include. Terri came up with great solutions to any problems we encountered such as the original builder's placement of certain mechanicals and duct work. Beyond merely designing the basement, Terri also helped us select finishes and worked directly with the contractor to ensure that the contractor followed her design. On several occasions Terri solved unanticipated problems even though she had completed her portion of the project. She always made herself available should we have any questions or concerns. She was truly a pleasure to work with. I would not hesitate to hire her again.

Overall, this was a very rewarding experience. We got got exactly what we wanted and then some. Terri was always open to suggestions and was very available and on-site whenever questions or issues arose. She got all of the drawings done and got them through the permit and landmarks process, and even though she is a sole practitioner, she provides all of the services that any of the "big guys" would provide, and none of the attitude or B.S.!!! In fact, we plan to employ her talents again soon on a smaller bath project.

The project turned out better than we even had hoped, and Terri was integral to that outcome. She really worked with us on the front end to understand our goals for the completed space, including carrying the design themes of our historic home into the basement and using custom finish work to make a small space live bigger. She also helped expand our ideas in ways that we were very pleased with. After meeting with us and spending time in our unfinished space, she presented us with three possible ways to finish it. We selected our favorite design and incorporated a few things from another design. Her drawings included renderings of finish work that we wanted to have done after construction was complete, like built ins. She then moved on to obtaining our permit and helping us evaluate and negotiate the bids we received from contractors. When we hit the construction stage, she was available for questions from the contractor and stopped by to check on the progress. We love the finished product -- it really adds to our home and we were able to replicate the historic feel of the rest of our house in the new basement space. Having lived with it for two years now, we remain impressed with the beauty and efficiency of her design. The space achieved all of our objectives and lives very well. We would not hesitate to hire Terri for future projects.

My project though small went well because of Terri. We had issues with fitting in all the elements I wanted in a small kitchen, but Terri measured and remeasured and designed a fantastic space which is easy to cook and entertain in, not to mention beautiful. I will definetly use her again in the future.

Terri was fantastic! She did a great job both bringing in great ideas and suggestions along with being very responsive to our wishes. She also worked well with our general contractor/builder for our project, which made the overall project run smoothly.