Orchard Home Design

We highly recommend Orchard Home Design. They responded quickly to our request for a guest house design, listened carefully to our wishes, and assisted all the way through the design and permit process. I have to say dealing with all the issues to receive a building permit required great patience and professionalism. Aaron and Dan have that unique combination of skill and insight to deal with all of the details! They were quite reasonable, responsive, and helpful in giving needed advice and opinions both to us as homeowners, and to our general contractor. We recommend Orchard and would ask them to work on any future projects.

We met Dan and Aaron earlier this year to consult and provide an estimate for design and plans for our home remodel project. Both were very professional and even provided fresh ideas where others just didn't really take the time to evaluate our needs. We hired Orchard Home Design and Dan came out to take pictures and sketch the layout of the high level details for our remodel. We were changing existing areas and adding around 500 sqft. Once the sketching was done, Dan and Aaron handled the project from the Title 24 review to even finding engineers for us where they helped us navigate through a varying array of estimates. Aaron provided us draft plans and then updated plans after the engineering review. He met us at our permit appointment with the City of San Jose and we left with our permit in hand with very little markup done by the plan checker. The city plan checker even commented how well done the plans were and how easy the review went as everything was very well laid out and explained. There was one hiccup with the style of windows chosen in one area where we did not realize it was a type of window we did not prefer. We were able to get the plans updated and the permit re-approved for the change with out delaying the project. That is a very good thing on a project of this size. Aaron has continued to be very attentive and responsive to our needs and questions throughout the project. We fully recommend Dan and Aaron at Orchard Home Design for your remodel design needs.

We were fortunate enough to collaborate with Orchard Home Design on a project, and would happily do so again. They were very knowledgeable and so easy to work with. I would highly recommend Orchard Home Design.

Dan did a great job helping us put together the design for expanding and remodeling our house. He was very responsive to requests, and was accommodating of our schedule. His son Aaron went with us for the express plan review with the city of San Jose. Aaron was very knowledgeable regarding the proposed design and build, and was able to hold his own in discussions with the building inspector. The design plan was approved in that one visit. We ultimately decided to buy a new house, and did not move forward with the remodel. But we were very happy with the service we received from Remodeling Design Professionals, Inc.

It was such a pleasure working with Dan and Aaron! In fact, I can't imagine navigating our home remodeling project without Dan's insights and support. Dan has great vision, is very knowledgeable about design, and understands how to work with people. He came up with fresh ideas for how to maximize use of, and meld together our old and new spaces. He also connected us to a number of contractors with solid reputations based on the quality of their work over many years of working together. During the project, a city inspector came and asked who had drawn the plans. Upon hearing it was Dan at Cornerstone, he shared that he knew and appreciated the quality of Cornerstone's work.

I have worked with Dan and Aaron for many years. Originally, I hired him to work on my home in Willow Glen. The design of that home has held up for many years and continues to be one of the best remodels on the street. As an interior designer, I have worked with Dan and his clients on their remodels. I am very excited when I get to work with Dan's plans. They are well thought out, comfortable and spacious and in keeping with the environment. We have collaborated on 15 or so projects over the last 20 years- all very happy clients with Dan's work.

I could not be happier with the work Dan has done for me. We hired Dan to design master suite addition which included an office. We had very limited space to work with because of setbacks restrictions. After meeting with several designers, Dan seemed to care the most about what we wanted versus what they felt that they wanted, and his price seemed much more reasonable. He was also extremely knowledgable about code and we found out many things that we were told by other designers would never get through the permitting process(which I confirmed along the way), which may have saved us many dollars in the process if she submitted failed plans. We were able to tell Dan what our dream addition would including, thinking we might as well provide a wish list, even though we felt we would have to compromise on what the final product would be because of budget/space restrictions. However Dan was able to use space in such a way that we actually got everything out of our wish list, and more... which is hard to explain but the final design made us so happy. He also structured in a way so it doesn't it required some minimal restructuring in certain areas to save us money. He was patient with me when I went to the city to confirm permitting restrictions, just because I wanted to be sure, and he always turned out to be correct on code. Can't recommend him more highly, if I had more projects like this I wouldn't shop around for a designer again. Wish him the best of luck with future projects.

We wanted to remove a load bearing sheer wall to open up the space on our first floor and needed drawings. We hired Remodeling Design Professionals and they did an outstanding job. They were incredibly polite, professional and precise with their estimate of time and cost to complete the project. Their knowledge of housing codes is a real asset and was essential when it came to the impact of removing the wall, i.e. would our wood burning fireplace need to be replaced by a gas one (short answer: no) They also have a great relationship with a variety of contractors and structural engineers so communication amongst the groups during the whole process was clear, which made the overall remodeling work painless. All in all my wife and I are beyond pleased with the end product and we look forward to working with them immediately for our next project.

COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS PROJECT WITHOUT Dan and Aaron... The City of San Jose building department (as usual) kept getting Codes and Setbacks all wrong on my property (being a corner lot). Both Dan and Aaron knew more about "their" codes and setbacks than they Did! Because of mistakes the CITY made (not Dan or Aaron)... I had to revise my plans 3 times but thanks to this father & son team they were able to get my drawings turned around very quickly. Interesting story about how I found Cornerstone Limited... a builder who I have known for many years and highly respect, was building a home that Dan and Aaron had designed. He was so impressed with their plans he passed the name and phone number to me... well it turned out to be the BEST referral. Thanks guys, keep up the great work... -Joe K.

Aaron was very instrumental in assisting me with my kitchen remodeling project. Got things done in a timely manner and always available when I needed him . I felt confident that things were also going to be handled properly and they were. A great pleasure to work with and well worth the investment.

Dan did a wonderful job working with our family on a long term remodel for our house. Easy to work with, friendly, and very well qualified. Thanks Dan Bill Hutton

My husband and I hired Dan Winklebeck to work with us in developing a new kitchen plan. What a creative person! Dan has so much insight into developing ideas from our conversation into a reality that it made the process seem so easy. And, you know it isn't! His knowledge and experience of all of the aspects of putting a new kitchen together is a real asset and so valuable when you are a novice looking at such a project; cabinetry, surface materials, plumbing, appliances, flooring needs. He was able to draw out plans as we spoke at our first meeting and then was always available to send details of the plan to contractors as we were looking for the right contracting firm to work with. A very satisfying and reassuring experience. It is great to find a reputable professional with whom to work!

Dan was a great help to us in remodeling our kitchen. He was extremely professional and came up with some ideas we hadn't even thought of. He was thorough, timely and quick to answer any questions. We would work with Dan and his staff again.