Simplified Living Architecture + Design

Leah and Cody, I apologize for the challenges you experienced on your addition. We know all too well what a stressful time this can be for a family and we do our best to make things go as smoothly as possible. We never want a client to walk away feeling as though they had a negative experience. I enjoyed the challenge of working on your complex addition, and I was happy that you loved the plan I created for your family.

You shared that you were unsatisfied with our communication, I never want a client to feel unheard and I am deeply sorry that you felt that way. Family is a pillar of our business, not only do we want to help our clients create the perfect home for their families, we want our staff to have quality family time. Because of this, we only respond to emails during business hours. I did misunderstand one of your emails which caused a delay in your project and that was my mistake.

Here at Simplified Living Architecture, we are known for our creative designs and accurate construction drawings but, as stated in our agreement, we do not draw electrical plans. We find that it is best for those to be done by your electrician. I deeply appreciate you sharing the difficulty this created for your project. Thanks to your feedback, we are now requiring initials on this portion of our agreement to avoid future confusion.

In the construction process, any structural changes are best made before construction begins, because, as you are aware, trying to change things after the fact can be costly. The construction manager met with you on site to walk through the project several weeks before construction and informed you that dropping the beam was necessary and why it couldn’t be raised. If the beam was something you wanted changed, you or your construction manager should have brought it to my attention immediately to see if we could make adjustments to the design.

I do recall your lengthy hold time that was referenced in your review. I agree, that is an unacceptable time for anyone to hold. You were informed that I was unavailable to take your call at that time. When you requested to stay on hold instead of leaving a message, my staff kept you on the line. I understand your frustration of waiting for such an extended amount of time. However, the construction crew should have known that these types of situations take several hours or even days to work through and resolve.

In reference to the windows for your project, it is essential for the new windows to blend seamlessly to the existing home. We provide window sizes based on similar proportions to the existing windows, and knowing that every window manufacturer has slightly different window sizes. The sizes of your windows were within a couple inches of the product sizes for the window manufacturer that your contractor selected. Once they selected the windows, they confirmed with us that the sizes would align with the goals for your project.

Your contractor chose a framing crew that focuses on the construction of production homes, I understand why a team with that level of experience had so many questions and struggled with your custom, complex addition project. Your contractor choosing a commercial construction manager to complete your residential project also created challenges. The construction drawings required for a residential project differ significantly from commercial projects, which is why they noticed the lack of details. The information required for a commercial permit is extensive compared to a residential permit. Had the plans been incomplete or lack information, they would have never been approved for a permit by the city. Residential drawings are abbreviated and are not intended to specify all details necessary for construction. I have worked with your contractor several times in the past, which is why I recommended them to you. I am very disappointed in how your project was handled and based on this experience we will no longer be referring them to avoid having issues like this occur to anyone else in the future.

I hope that once the stress of construction comes to an end, you will enjoy the space we created for your family. I thank you for your feedback, you have given me the opportunity to focus on areas of growth for future projects.

Thank you so much for the review Alicia! I’m so glad that we were able to get your project back on track. It was great to work with you and Dave to create a home that meets all of your wants and needs. I hope you both enjoy your new lake home in Tennessee.

Courtney, thank you for providing a review. It was great to work with you to improve the flow and function of your home, and making the spaces work for your family's lifestyle. I hope you continue to enjoy your home for many years to come.

Thank you so much for the review Vivek. It was wonderful working with you and Vinati to not only select a home that would best meet your goals, though also to help you renovate the home to fit the lifestyle of your young family. I hope you both enjoy Columbus and your home for many years to come!

Thank you so much for the review! We enjoyed working with you to improve how your home fuctions for you and your family. I'm so happy you love it!