Holmes Architecture

We approached Holmes Architecture because we had purchased an original 1920's house and we needed some help to create it into a family home that worked for all members of our family. Holmes Architecture helped with our working plans and gaining consent with the council and we project managed the build with consulting help from Mike. We are absolutely thrilled with the result. We have a lovely modern home that works well for every member of our family. The spaces are great. The exterior design is interesting. I really like Mike's easy going nature. He listened to what we wanted and was happy to incorporate our ideas into the project. He didn't take over. I found the experience really good. I would definitely recommend Holme's Architecture to people who need original and interesting plans designed.

We approached Holmes Architecture to design a new home for us. Mike and the team were fantastic. We were new to the process and a bit daunted, but felt we were effortlessly guided through each step without any hiccups. Mike was relaxed and approachable and has a great knowledge of both design and construction. We can't imagine a better final design for our budget and site than the one Mike and the team came up with and we have wholeheartedly recommended Holmes Architecture to others.

At our first meeting with Mike, we discussed our desire for a contemporary "boxy style house" with "sun, sun, sun" as a priority, and an "atrium stairwell." A few weeks later we instantly loved the prototype design that has now become a reality for us. Mike listened to our wants and has provided us with our perfect house. He was a pleasure to work with.

Mike was a wonderful professional to work with. He has a fantastic style and flare for interesting and different architecture. Clean lines, industrial feel, minimal. He saw our ideas and made them happen on paper and then in the build. He was great at communicating, sorting things out for us in a timely manner, and had excellent problem solving skills if anything cropped up as it usually does when building. We were seeing all of this happen from afar not living in Queenstown, so the process was difficult but Mike made it super easy and the result is really great! Mike was our architect and project manager for this small holiday house (stage 1 of a stage 2 project). We are absolutely chuffed with the result!!

"Mike understood our brief perfectly—to create a home with open plan living -with a dedicated outside BBQ and entertaining area. A place for our grandchildren to sleep dormitory style- and most importantly, site the house to the views and sun. He nailed it perfectly for our family."

Our dream home in Martinborough was completed in time for Christmas 2002. It’s in a beautiful location overlooking our vineyard and on through to the Tararuas. Unfortunately it didn’t properly capture the view out over the vineyard and as a result just didn’t hit the mark. Holmes Construction has done all the construction work on the property so I took my problem to Tim Holmes. He suggested we have a chat to his son, Mike, who qualified as a builder with the family company going on to study architecture and establish Holmes Architecture. Mike spent time with us at the property so as to properly understand what we were trying to achieve. Over some months we developed through Mike a design concept which we loved – to cut a long story short it was built on time and on budget and we love it – a great outcome in every respect.

Mike Holmes was the Architect for our Café renovation at CQ Hotels Wellington undertaken by Holmes Construction. I have had the pleasure of working with Mike Holmes over a number of years. Mike and his team have been incredibly responsive when it comes to providing detailed drawings and information to support the project. Mike is very organised, extremely responsive and has an amazing eye for modern design. Mike has built a network around him that enables projects to progress smoothly. At each turn of the construction process he has an informed answer to our technical questions, which allows the project to drive forward without delay. Mike has the depth of knowledge and experience to lead a project from pre-construction planning through to completion like very few others. The Holmes Construction team is incredibly responsive and provides us with timely answers and architectural details as issues come up. I also attribute Mike's success to his ability to bring out the best in the project team. Under Mike's lead, everyone is motivated to put their best effort forward for the common goal of making the project a success.

We had designed our first new home ourselves, but second time around it wasn’t so easy. We had a basic concept in mind, but couldn’t bring it all together and “make it fit”. We chose Mike for two reasons, firstly he’d been recommended by a friend to check him out and we loved the look of his previous designs, and secondly because he’d completed a builder’s apprenticeship. It was important to us that our architect also had practical building knowledge. Mike came back to us with a design that incorporated all the things that we had asked for, but also added some quirky features and design elements that we would never have come up with on our own. He visited us on site, and was always respectful of our preferences and worked hard to pull the whole design together. We would definitely recommend him to others who are looking for a professional, considerate, and innovative architect.