Bernbaum-Magadini Architects

We had a significant remodel/addition project that Bruce Bernbaum completed for us. At over $300,000, it was an appreciable addition/remodel. The challenge was that our home had been remodeled once before. So, there were many challenges in respecting the work/remodel that had already taken place and adding new space that didn't look like it was an 'add on' but rather looked as intentional from the onset of the project. I sourced several architects who showed little interest in the project. I assume it was due to the difficulty of what I described. Bruce was different. Upon a single phone call to his office to speak with 'someone' he immediately scheduled a visit to our house. In the spirit of brevity, Bruce provided probably 5 or 6 different layouts. We constantly came back to him with a different challenge or concern which changed the direction of the project. He was phenomenal in blending the right amount of listening to his customer(s) and imparting his wealth of knowledge and experience to help guide us. He was phenomenal and the final project we got has exceeded all our expectations. He even found us an interior designer that helped us round out the finished product. I cannot recommend Bernbaum/Magadini enough. The words that come to mind are professionalism and integrity. You won't be disappointed.

Hiring Bernbaum-Magadini was the best thing we could have done for our new home project. Not only did they produce a stunning conceptual design, they translated that design into a very complete set of detailed construction documents which all but eliminated surprises during construction. We also used Bernbaum-Magadini for construction management and to recommend multiple candidates for general contractor, interior design and landscape architect. The resulting team we chose worked well together and the project was everything we had hoped for with a minimum of hassle. I have known people who skimped on architecture costs and each time they regretted doing so. If you want the best in creative design and seamless project execution, Bernbaum-Magadini is the way to go. There is no question we would use Bernbaum-Magadini again.

We started with trying to remodel our current house. Then we decided to design a new residence on the existing site. They designed our residence. Developed detailed plans and documents to build our residence. Bruce and Tricy are easy to work with and very flexible in their best practices. They were very helpful in keeping us within our budget yet developing our design criteria as expressed.

After living in our current home for over 30 years, the strong urge to move into an entirely new living environment became our quest. We desired our new home to be in the contemporary end of the design spectrum. Their website caught our attention since it contained photos of past projects exhibiting the exact design look and feel of what we had envisioned. We interviewed a number of firms but found them to have the right mix of personality and style to be our ideal partner for our project. We were comfortable with the principals of the firm from the beginning. They listened to our ideas, shared many of our thoughts and in short order incorporated them into a pleasing concept. One of our major requests was to give the home a “warm” contemporary feel which they translated well into their design concept. They were innovative in creating storage spaces that flowed with our interior design. Our kitchen area in particular excelled in storage solutions much to our delight. Their principals met with our builder weekly giving us comfort and supervision at every phase of construction. They visited the building site continuously to monitor adherence to design specifications and monitored expenditures. We considered their participation in the building phase to be truly “hands-on” which surpassed our expectations. They excelled in creating the clean, crisp design we coveted. We were excited with their creative ideas and truly felt they were partners with us in every way. Our entire home creation experience with them was a pleasure.

When we interviewed them initially, we showed them a picture of a house we wanted to emulate, and it turned out to be one of their houses. They designed a beautiful house that has no wasted space, with minimal hallways. They were flexible enough to make changes in the plans that I requested, but did not hesitate to tell me when they thought my modification was ill-advised. One or the other architect attended nearly every meeting with the contractor, and they designed many unique features such as a shower that is hidden behind a panel, down to the last detail. We had very few change orders, as a result of their good planning and that of the contractor. I have lived in the house for more than three years now, and I continue to notice things that were planned perfectly, such as the degree of overhang on the roof over our porch: enough to provide shade, not enough to make the room dark or to impinge on the view. They were unfailingly accessible and affable. They worked well with us and with the contractor.