Energy-Efficient Homes Professionals in Palmyra.

“Ruth Ellen completed a whole-house renovation (2003) and a screen porch design (2012) for our family. She is insightful, practical, and thinks of things to incorporate into her designs that we never in a million years would have thought of. She's got inter-personal and listening skills that would make a professional mediator jealous--traits that come in handy when managing the expectations and goals of a builder, owner, and even spouses! Working with her has always been a pleasure, and ten years on we are proud to call her our friend as well as our architect.”

“After interviewing several architects to design a home for us in Rockbridge Baths, VA, we chose Candace Smith. She totally fulfilled our expectations. She was an active listener as well as a creative collaborator. She was able to blend our ideas for a home with the skill and knowledge needed to develop building plans. The end result is a stunning as well as functional home overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. We met frequently with Candace Smith on the building site and in her office to ensure that the house would meet our expectations which included placing the house in just the right location to maximize the views. Additionally, she joined us in interviewing prospective builders and worked with him throughout the construction process. In sum, Candace is a superb architect and it was wonderful to work with her and her staff.”

“I'm currently working with Chris Hays on a new, energy efficient, modern farm house. From the beginning of the process Chris has listened to my goals and concerns, and creatively interpreted them into a beautiful and functional home. The space is light and open, and I feel so lucky to be able to soon live into such a special, unique home. In addition, Chris has been very considerate with budgetary concerns and worked with me and the builder along the way to keep to our budget, and in some instances creating additional savings (which I can't complain about!). Chris Hays and the Hays-Ewing team have just been wonderful to work with.”

“I hired Kendra Guiffre', owner of blueply design, as the architect for my vision of a modern minimalist house built out of the city on 8 acres of land in the country. From the beginning I was impressed with Kendra's professionalism and commitment to the project. Her work ethic was beyond my expectations on every level of the process. Kendra was a team player; always responding positively to any construction issues as the house was being built. There were many meetings in regards to problem solving throughout the entire project. She never failed to be prepared with creative ideas for solutions. She was readily available as well as for required meetings on site. Kendra's creative approach and use of space was astounding and of course added so much to the finished project that added much enjoyment to the practicality of living in the house. Without a doubt if I had another big project like the one she did for me, I would hire her to be on board as part of my team. She is exceptional in client relationships. A job well done with Kendra by my side!”

“Fred was a pleasure to work with. Friendly but professional. Innovative. Cost and value conscious. He also has a history as a builder and woodworker which is quite helpful. He was very helpful in working with us to finish our design process and because of him we likely have a more beautiful and functional building than we otherwise would have. He was very helpful in figuring out what we could do ourselves and what we should hire out.”

“In addition to being a very talented designer, Ann excels at really listening and understanding her clients' lifestyle, budget and taste and translating those needs into beautiful form and function. She is a one of kind designer and a real pleasure to work with!”

“Together with our builder, BRW listened to us and guided us in crafting a lifestyle for our family. By pouring their heart and soul into our project, BRW helped us to BUILD and LIVE and DREAM.”

“I have worked on three projects with this architectural firm. Once in 2006, - a large general renovation & restoration of a 1940's house. New Kitchen, new Bathroom, new electric, & some reconfiguration of rooms. The second project, in 2011, was on a slightly smaller project in the $100,000 range for a Bathroom Spa with steam, fireplace and a guest suite area. The third project in 2013, in the $20-49,000 price range dealt with an outdoor patio "room" , and exterior architectural renovations. On all projects, this firm was really excellent in its communication with me, attention to detail, timeliness in producing drawings, clear billing procedures and knowledge of architectural appropriateness to the existing building. They were also able to handle the "unexpected" and "unforeseen" situations ( which most always appear in a restoration of an old home) with ease and often very imaginative solutions. I can't recommend them highly enough.”

“My relationship with Train and Partners began 20 years ago with two large commercial projects. Since that time they have designed two residential remodeling projects plus designed and managed the construction of two vacation homes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is quite obvious that we have been more than pleased with their professional talents and our personal relationship. It is a very satisfying experience to have someone convert your long and sometimes vague wish list into a beautiful home.”

“Liz Sloan is incredibly creative and at the same time imminently practical, and I think her best attribute is that she loves what she does. We wanted more space and to turn our 70's split into a charming country farmhouse, where kids and pets could play freely. Liz was so open to our needs and was able to bring to the table both creativity and extensive knowledge of the bricks and bones. Being able to marshal all of our rambling thoughts and ideas (and my overwhelmingly large collection of houzz ideabooks) into a cohesive idea was no small task! We took the ideas through the process to a plan that gave us a beautiful wide porch with french doors (and no split foyer!), great curb appeal, as well as a master retreat, generous public spaces that gave us more activity centers plus the kids all got their own bedrooms as they hit the teen years. Because of her extensive knowledge we were able to create a plan that was very beautiful and efficient, added great value to the home for eventual resale plus kept us within budget. Throughout the process Liz offered different ideas that would still get us our wish list without breaking the bank, made suggestions that were very practical for a family with young children and even advised us on how to shop around for a different home that could give us the space we needed within our school district in order to avoid the tumult of building. Our architect encouraging us to shop - looking at new homes with us even - was so incredibly honest. After nearly a year of simultaneously working on drawings with Liz and checking the real estate market, we had a builder selected (with Liz's help) and final plans were printing when we found our dream house. We really never expected to since we loved the plans we made with Liz so much! It had a couple of things our old house could never have - more land and a history - it had been William Faulkner's hunting cabin. With Liz's blessing and advice we made the leap, 4 miles down the road, and while we didn't get to build her lovely addition we've left some of the sketches for the new family who now call our old house home. I know they'd be happy working with Liz to make the plan their own. She is wonderful!”