Helios Design Group

Our custom cabinet shop has partnered with Helios Design Group numerous times over the last fifteen years. We have always found them to be well prepared and professional. Their collaborative approach helps bring out the best in the entire team, so our work really shines. We look forward to many more years of working with Carol and company.

Our experiences with Helios Design Group have been nothing short of ideal. Their firm is not only easy to work with, but they were also quick at responding to any and all questions we had, and their design work speaks for itself. The end result of a project they assisted us with at a tight-quarters home in Cambridge left the homeowner thrilled. We would wholeheartedly recommend working with Helios Design Group.

I've been working with Carol Marsh, Chris Hosford, and their staff for over 8 years. As a structural engineer, I appreciate their knowledge and diligence to not only create projects that are beautiful but also work structurally. They understand the complexities of construction and what it takes to make their designs work aesthetically, as well as constructible, which yields cost-effective designs, happy clients, and a product that builders can work with. The team approach to the whole process is welcome and well received by all. It is a pleasure working with them.

We had waited years to finally makeover our much loved single family cottage-in-the-city when we finally bit the bullet and hired principal, Carol Marsh, and Alondra Batista of Helios. The design problem we gave them was to bring light and air and a feeling of spaciousness to our worker cottage without losing its original charm. We didn't want cloyingly sweet. We didn't want hard edge modern, though we like a clean line. We didn't want it to match the old exactly, we wanted it to feel fresh and alive, ready for the next century. How did that translate into bones and flesh? We had no idea! Fortunately, Carol and Alondra did. They worked with us in an iterative process from large scale--the framing structure--to small--tile, faucets, etc. They worked with us, refining the drawings, solving problems big and small until we had finished blueprints. At that point, they referred us to several contractors and we had one in mind, too. We narrowed to two GCs and Helios came to both interviews, asked good questions (but didn't dominate) and gave us their recommendations. Sadly, our budget forced us to choose between renovating the kitchen or replacing existing windows and adding new. We chose the latter with fingers crossed. The work began in late November of 2017 (and finished early May 2018), and as promised, Helios met weekly with the us and the GC at our house. This had seemed excessive! But in the living of it, the amount of meetings was perfect. We problem-solved some issues in advance and solved problems that had arisen on the spot. The GC said he had been dubious about the number of meetings, but he too, found them very helpful, time and budget saving. And here is one of my favorite things about Helios. Every single thing Helios touched, they made better than it had been. Every single thing. I could provide loads of examples. Here are two: 1. Our staircase to the 3rd floor was not to code. Helios could have just plunked in a staircase. It's a utilitarian thing, right? But their design is a showstopper. Light pours down from our newly finished attic and fills the second floor. Ascending or descending is a Pleasure that doesn't get old. Who knew a staircase could be lovely, a game-changer??? 2. For another matter, to meet code, they had to steal part of my already tiny office. We were unhappy about the loss of real estate. They found a way to grab back 3 inches of floor, which gave a window room to breathe--a surprisingly big difference in feel--and lowered the wall down to two-feet, which they then converted into a window seat. With can lights overhead and expansive windows in front, I now have a perfect retreat for both writing and reading. They took lemons and made lemonade. What we probably least anticipated was the way our family would function differently due to the renovations. One example: In 19 years of living here, the TV has always been in our bedroom. A royal pain. Now that we have--for the first time--a guest/TV room, our family has a place to gather that is neutral. We find ourselves there a lot. Somebody's playing a game on their phone, somebody's watching the news and somebody is doing a puzzle. Or we're all three watching a movie and eating popcorn. There is less friction. We spend more time together. With a pre-teen that time and ease is precious. And I haven't even talked about having our GORGEOUS 3rd floor aerie in the trees!!! with a tiny, albeit, GLAM bath. Neighbors, friends, family come over and they oo and ah over the new French doors in the dining room. Then they reach the 2nd floor landing, where light Pours in from all the new and additional windows and from the staircase above and pretty much everyone comes to a stop. Wow, they say. They think it can't get better. They stop again at the foot of the 3rd floor stairs and they admire the curve, the proportion, the feeling of expanse (an achievement all by itself in our small house). Then they reach the top and are gob-smacked by the 5 windows in a row!!! with a Vista of trees and rooftops. And they think that's the end. But it's not!! There is the bathroom with 2 skylights and a window with views of nothing but trees and sky and they can't leave. Literally. They just stand there gaping. And that's how we feel. We are gaping and it's GORGEOUS. Helios had the vision. They guided us every step of the way. They listened--even when they thought we should do the kitchen rather than add windows and we disagreed. They got our wishes and Delivered. They worked well with our GC. And they really did solve our design "problem": Light up our vernacular home. Make it fresh and airy. Get it ready for the next 90 years. AND they met our budget and came in within a week or two of our timeframe.

We could not be happier with the kitchen addition / renovation designed by Chris Hosford at Helios. We went into our project with some basic notions about what we wanted, and Chris developed those ideas and brought them to life. He was able to envision what the interior space would look and feel like (when we couldn't), and that was essential for helping us move forward with confidence. The result is beyond anything we could have imagined. Helios's Interior Designer, Ariel, was also a terrific help with interior finish selections. She's creative, enthusiastic, and patient -- really a joy to work with. We give her a lot of credit for keeping us on track toward a consistent design, and we absolutely love every inch of our new kitchen.

Our firm, Precision Built Inc., has had the pleasure of working with Helios Design on multiple projects over the past 10 years. Chris Hosford lead the project design teams and worked very well with the various engineers and consultants. Chris' strength is his ability to work closely with the Owners and trades alike. Chris is willing to work closely with those on site to work through the details of the project. Chris and Carol Marsh are aa very good team, each having their own strength, which is very helpful depending on the scale of a project and what is needed. Having built many new homes, along with some additions and renovations, all of our experiences have been positive. I would highly recommend Helios Design.

Our project was daunting - an almost complete house renovation and a second floor addition! Working with Carol and Carla was both a pleasure and a learning experience! Helios combined creativity with sensibility. They took the time to get to know us, and understand the style we were looking for. Initially, we weren’t sure this renovation was even possible, and had feared a complete demolition was needed. Helios Design worked with both structural and civil engineers reassuring us that the design was not only beautiful, but would be functional within the constraints of the existing house and foundation. This was our first major renovation. Carol and Carla guided us step by step through the planning stage introducing us to current building material choices. What would happened inside the walls was equally as important as was what the eye could see on the outside. All along, Carla offered us three dimensional renderings visually aiding us throughout the process. Both Carol and Carla teamed up to make it work, creating a stunning plan. Helios stood by us as several contractors were interviewed to bid, and again, guided us through this difficult process with our budget in the forefront. With an impressive plan from Helios, and a great contractor, we are witnessing a unique and fabulous transformation of a home renovation that we are extremely happy with, and one we are very proud of!

Carol did a great job helping us refine our color choices for new paint in the outside of our house. She helped us when we were at the end of our rope and we had to make the choices. We've worked with Helios on a number of projects. Great folks, real professional and excellent results.

Chris Hosford, Principal, of Helios Design Group designed the complete renovation of my 4000 sq ft, single family home in Brookline, MA. He is an extremely talented Architect and a joy to work with - I highly recommend him. He is skilled at building, remodeling, or smaller renovations. You will be so happy you hired him!

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with Carol on a major renovation and addition project over the past 18 months. Throughout the project, she demonstrated an uncanny ability to integrate our needs, her own aesthetic, and the character of the home and neighborhood into a vision that was far better than we could have imagined. We were very impressed with Carol's consistency and expertise throughout the process: She did a fantastic job of listening and understanding our needs as we developed the initial concept and scope. She demonstrated flexibility and creativity as we evolved the design. She helped us manage risk by structuring the invitations for contractor bids. She was with us in every step of construction; never missing a team meetings and serving as an invaluable partner in working with contractors, vendors, inspectors, and others. We would recommend Carol and Helios without reservation and look forward to working with them in the future.

My wife and I feel so fortunate to have met and worked with the wonderful Helios team to help us design our dream home and navigate the complexities of a full home renovation. We purchased a diamond in the rough - a large dilapidated late 1800s Georgian Colonial in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. The home needed everything, but specifically, we needed to improve the layout and utility of our home. Chris Hosford proved to be an excellent listener and problem solver when it came to space-planning. He worked with us patiently, provided endless iterations of floorplans and choices, and communicated promptly and well. Not only a great listener, he had endless ideas that took our home to a level we are beyond pleased with such as the addition of a Jack and Jill bathroom, a U shaped kitchen with island, sneaking in a standing charging station / desk in our kitchen, smartly positioning a new powder room in an easily accessible yet private place on the main level, etc. Furthermore, the Helios team was extremely professional, always available with any questions or concerns and extremely knowledgeable, not only about architecture and design, but construction and local zoning requirements, etc. We give Helios the highest recommendation and plan to work exclusively with them on all future projects.

The floor plan in our small, 1100 sq. ft. home was taken up by hallways. We hired Helios to give us some ideas about what could be done to maximize our living space. They came up with a totally unexpected, creative design that addressed our specific needs - a design idea that gave us back over 300 sq ft of living space that had previously been hallways! The new design gave us the kitchen we dreamed of - making it the center of the house. It is not only beautiful, it is an effective workspace for one, two or even three cooks. We also added a 17-ft bedroom closet and a main-floor laundry center. Working with Chris and Carol was easy. They listen well, make intelligent suggestions, understand budgetary concerns, and make sure the key requirements are met. Because we were taking down supporting walls and moving all the plumbing and electrical -- basically, gutting and rebuilding the unit from the studs in -- we needed both architectural design and structural engineering. They brought in a structural engineer to specify our needs for supporting the house with all the changes. In a 100+ year old house, it is important to know that your team has the expertise and knowledge to ensure structural integrity. We are extremely pleased with the work Helios did on the house and have recommended them to several friends who have also used them. We will continue to recommend them. We couldn't be happier with the work they did. It's made a very positive change in our lives.