VRABEL ARCHITECTS

Steve was right on time for our initial estimate appointment. He listened to our ideas, offered suggestions only when solicited, and had emailed me an estimate for his work later that same day. After we were done interviewing a few other candidates, we went with Steve because of how thorough and attentive he was, and quite honestly, you could see the passion he has for his work. He gets excited about projects, and that enthusiasm is great to see. After we settled on Steve, he came by the house twice to do all of his measurements, and once the drawings were done, we sat down and looked them over, made a few changes, and had the final drawings later that day. We're not ready to go ahead with the work yet, but when we do, we'll be sure to keep Steve on as an integral part of the process. He's a straight shooter, and managed to come in below his estimate, which was a pleasant surprise. I would, and will, happily work with Steve again!

We wanted help with ideas for updating the exterior of our 70's split foyer home without getting into structural changes. Steve promptly responded to our initial contact through Angie's List and spent time with us to learn more about what we were interested in. He bounced ideas off us and there was good give and take in our initial discussion. In fact, it was that initial contact that led us to choose him for the work. We were comfortable with him and his ideas. Once those ideas were distilled, he promptly gave us an initial draft plan. He was also open to having us do some of the legwork on the project, such as taking measurements, since we had some experience with doing home improvements, and that saved some time and money. We discussed the pros and cons of a couple of issues and again promptly received revised drawings based on our feedback. Steve is pleasant and professional to work with and I don't hesitate to recommend him.

He has been great to work with. He is very professional and I would be happy to work with him again.

This was the architecture/design phase only (construction forthcoming), but I was pleased with the design, and how well the design works in a limited space. Having someone like Steve who listens carefully, was always prompt, explained the design (and any limitations) quite well, and who put the customer first was a very good experience. His handling of the building permit and quick turnaround and response was most helpful to us, and I would definitely recommend him to anyone, large jobs or small.

Unfortunately, the structural engineer required far more sheer walls and support posts than anticipated, requiring us to gut the main floor bathroom. Because we were living in our garage, this required us to build a bathroom in our basement for our use during construction. The good news is that we now have a four bedroom, 3 bathroom house. The bad news is that we went over budget, but that's to be expected in a remodel. The finished result is absolutely beautiful.

Steve was consistently timely, courteous and professional. He is a great listener. I felt we were in sync with him from the very first time we met. We were drawn to his work by his attention to detail and quality. These are very important qualities to us, and Steve did not disappoint. The plan he produced is both elegant and practical. Although current finances prevent us from going ahead now with this project, we hope to someday complete Steve's vision for our home. We highly recommend Steve Vrabel.

We were planning a large remodeling project with 2 level room expansion.However, due to the scope of the project, we started to be worried about how expensive it could be.When I explained to him about our goal of the remodeling project and the budget concern, heprovided options that I thought was brilliant, which none of the other architects or contractors eventhought or mentioned about. Even though we didn't end up working with him, as my husband find other person who were his distant friend,I will seriously consider working with him on future project, or recommend to other people.

Overall, it went very smoothly. Steve gave us the confidence to proceed with the project. We had previously (2-years ago) taken the retrofit course offerred by the City of Seattle and had some feel for the kind of construction that needed to be done, but did not have a good feel for how to get it done, or how much it would cost, Steve helped us on an ongoing basis by giving us a step-by-step assist. so that we were not overwhelmed by trying to get it all done at once. Find the old drawings for the house - go to the City and get the rest of the old stuff on the -- floor from the --- department. When we had the items that the engineer would work from, he told us we were ready and we contacted an engineer. The cost was significantly lower because we had the necessary material for his work. When the engineering drawings were finished, Steve coached us thru the construction permitting process which required several trips to City Hall. When we had all of the paperwork, Steve supported us in evaluating the bids that we had for the job. In the end, the job was done smoothly and we are most happy with the finished product. Without Steve's input and coaching, we think that the job would have been significantly more expensive, taken longer and caused much more disruption - that is - if we were brave enough to undertake the job we had put off for several years, despite the urgency of earthquake retrofitting.

Steve did the job promptly and provided a very clear design that meets city codes for our contractor to follow.

Since we were not sure how extensive a remodel we really wanted or even needed to do, Vrabel came up with several options. He listened to what we wanted and went to work giving us alternatives. He really maximized the space efficiently. Everything looks great and we are very happy with it. The layout now makes so much more sense.

When originally designed and constructed, our old deck system was not built well and we had to repair much of the work over the years. For example, the previous design firm allowed the bay window that was added next to the large deck to be built over the deck boards rather into the house. Steve's plans addressed all the poor construction issues of the previous deck. Steve's plans sailed through the permitting process at the City of Seattle. The earthquake code is much more rigorous than it was before the Nisqually earthquake in 2001. Steve kept to the previous deck footprint but his design relates much better to our clapboard and brick home built in 1939. It looks as if it really belongs to the home. Steve took out awkward areas and made the stairwell flow much better down to the grass in the backyard. The previous garden shed had deck boards over it and the new shed has a PVC roof and cedar siding, so that we now have a much more useful dry shed. Steve worked hard to ensure the maximum height elevation in the shed (now 6' 3”). Previously, every adult had to duck under the joints in the shed. Because we don't hire contractors often, we asked Steve to help evaluate our top four bids. That was worth doing because he could identify key differences among the bids. Steve also met weekly with the contractor through the project. Steve knows when details can be tweaked as the construction progresses and has kept our best interest in mind as options were discussed. The contractor that we settled on is doing excellent, careful work on our deck system. It is both built well and beautiful, thanks to Steve's design and his excellent knowledge input through the building process. We highly recommend Steve Vrabel Architects and would love to work with Steve again.

The project was very straightforward, and Steve didn't miss a thing. He produced drawings quickly, we tweaked them a tad here and there, and our railings and stairs turned out just the way we had envisioned them when we first met with Steve. We feel we got solid, professional value for our money.

Steve was prompt, professional and able and willing to answer all my questions. He went to considerable effort to get the permit, given that previous contractors had not finalized previous permits, and in spite of the time he took to do this, his bill came in very close to the original bid. I would highly recommend him.

Steve came out and discussed the options and estimated cost. After agreeing to the job, he came out and measured the house and had a set of options within the week. It took us about 10 days to decide between options and he was always very responsive to our questions and e-mails. Once we settled on the design, he had a set of plans within 3 days and even went to the planning department to pull permits. Steve is an easy going, quality guy to work with. I'd definitely recommend his services.

Steve was very professional and we enjoyed working with him. We completed the remodel although we did not follow the plan he drew specifically and adopted some suggestions from the contractor we hired to perform the work. Overall ot was a positive experience and assisted us in putting our remodel plan in action.

Steve was very prompt and professioinal. He was flexible when requested to change. He has good recommendations for suppliers of kitchen hardware and has good knowledge of code requirements. He responded quickly to emails and was prompt to meetings. We are very happy with his work. The kitchen remodel is underway and Steve will be involved throughout the project.

Steve was easy to talk to and very consultative. He understood what we wanted and asked the right questions. I am not sure if it was right timing for me but Steve was VERY fast. He turned around the initial design floor plan the next day after we met for the first time. Once we decided to proceed, he was at the Bellevue City office and got a permit the next morning. He estimated 24 hours for the project and completed it in 21. His design was spot-on and exacty what we wanted and he was easy to work with. We will definitely work with him again.

Steve came over to look at our house and discuss remodel options. He was very knowledgeable and was honest in assessing the cost/benefit in the context of our house's construction. In the end, we opted not to proceed with the project. Steve charged nothing for the hours that he spent with us.

Everything went very well. Steve was very prompt and responsive. He always returned phone calls the same day and made revisions within a week or less. We enjoyed working with him.

Steve was terrific! What I have to admit my favorite thing about working with Steve was that he seemed so very down to earth and normal and I always felt comfortable having him in my home. He was attentive and courteous and was easy to talk to. He looked over the property and interviewed me to determine my "wish list", as well as, determining our financial situation to make the best plan to fit our "proposed" budget. His drawings were insightful and followed my wish list as well as giving us other options that could work. Only a few changes had to be made to the originals. I never felt that he ever put us on a 'back burner', just because we were a 'small' job-- he was responsive to all calls and emails promptly-- and even popped in to check on the project while the renovation was happening-- just to see if we were happy. I couldn't have been more pleased by the whole process. I wouldn't know if the $$ we spent was too low, too high, as this was our first time working with an architect-- I just know that it was $$ well spent. Thanks Steve!!

We were DIYers on a tight timeline (203K rehab loans have a 6-month time limit) to reconfigure the kitchen and bath spaces in our new fixer-upper, and we already had some pretty firm ideas sketched out. We called Steve because we needed plans and permits pronto. In short order Steve visited the house, doublechecked our measurements, confirmed that we had come up with the best arrangement to fit our needs and the existing footprint, and set to work on drawing up our plans. In less than 48 hours we had our plans in hand. We had to visit the permitting office to get clarification on some other issues, so Steve suggested we get the permit ourselves, which saved us money. We definitely found that no job is too small for Steve. He was a great listener, encouraging, respectful of time and budget constraints, and a wealth of information. He has even cheerfully fielded our occasional follow-up questions. I look forward to working with Steve on a larger collaboration down the road.

Steve was very responsive when we called him. We set up an appointment and he came out to the house. After walking around the house and listening to our concerns and wishes, he came up with a recommendation. It entailed moving the kitchen to an adjacent room- currently a den area and moving the laundry room into the garage where the kitchen was. He also came up with a plan to create an office and storage area in the garage. Steve gave us a rough estimate of what it would cost to draw up plans and submit for a building permit. He got the plans to us very quickly . We made some chnages and he made those quickly as well. We were most impressed with Steve's vision. He saw things we never would have seen as options. So, he got us to a place- which we are convinced is the best solution for this house- which we would never have gotten to on our own.

From the first, Steve was punctual, easy to work with and diligent. He and the engineering firm he used turned my sketches and conversations into buildable designs in short order. The plans are back from permitting and currently out for bid.

Steve was just great! He asked us lots of questions and was more than patient when we had a lot of questions of our own. He guided us through the selection process for our contractor, and he held our hand and smoothed everything over for us when the city had a hitch with the plans (they made a mistake). We had never undertaken such a tremendous remodel and Steve was a champ for us all the way through! The total cost was slightly more than he estimated, but not bad at all and completely worth the money. Should we ever need architectural services in the future, we will not hesitate to call Steve, nor will we ever hesitate to recommend him to others!

The main purpose of hiring Steve was that my husband and I wanted to completely gut and remodel our kitchen but couldn't decide on the best way to put it back together again. As our kitchen was, it had several obstacles to being fully useful. We also wanted to remodel our basement to use the space in a better way. It currently has 2 bedrooms, but is definitely large enough for a third. Steve came over and measured our house and then we had several meetings going over the plans he came up with. He was able to see the space differently than we could and come up with a design for our kitchen that everyone absolutely loved; not an easy task. He incorporated into the design a space for our dog, which we thought was pretty awesome! He was also able to come up with a design that only moved a few walls around in the basement, but gave us the space we needed. We definitely enjoyed working with Steve and have recommended him to friends.