HERE Design and Architecture

Kate was an architect for the remodel at 201 Mabery and I as the general worked closely with her regarding many details. I recall the house had a number of complicated conditions. Kate had a strong vision of the project, was a creative problem solver and most importantly team player. It was simply a pleasure to work with her

Kate is an incredibly skillful and talented architect. She makes the process of designing a house so much less stressful by being so thorough, thoughtful and considerate. She made us a beautiful house! Thank you Kate!!!

Kate was really wonderful to work with. She's amazingly thorough, thoughtful, responsive, and her judgement is impeccable. She helped us do a full remodel and it came out beautifully. The kitchen and bathroom particularly are amazing, and feel like they should have cost twice as much as they did. It was an incredible relief to have Kate guide us through the process. We were always impressed and delighted by her attention to detail, thoughtfulness and willingness to work within our budget. I'd highly recommend her to anyone.

Kate was the answer to my prayers! I wanted someone to help me tweak my westside condo and make a cluttered space feel calm and welcoming. Kate helped me figure out which items to keep and which items I should get rid of. She provided me with different ways to place and use the items I already had and also provided sound suggestions about what things I needed to buy. Kate had very unique and original ideas that were also practical – she never loses sight of the practical needs. No detail was too big or small for her to weigh in on and thankfully I followed her recommendations. Now my place is the calm oasis that I wished for. She’s honest, has a sense of humor and really understands design – she’s the total package! Working with her is a total pleasure – you’ll be so happy to have hired Kate!

Kate has amazing ideas, great taste, and is a pleasure to work with - we’ve done several projects with her, and are delighted with courtesy and craftsmanship.

Kate Spanbock has worked for my company for many years.......she has designed our trade show booths and new product introductions, always with stellar results. She is a wonderful designer and licensed architect, with an incredible work ethic and ideas that are always on the leading edge of our marketplace. Her professionalism is beyond reproach and I can only give her the highest of recommendations.

We loved working with Kate and HERE design, because she designed a beautiful piece for us to make. She was interested in the process and the materials. She listened when we gave her advice to manage the price and the integrity of the piece. She is a professional of the best kind. Her work is beautiful and a pleasure to collaborate with.

It is a rare stroke of luck when one happens upon an outstanding talent early-on in her career. Not only does one enjoy the purchase from the artist at a discount to the future value, but the asset appreciation rides on the tail of the artist's rise to fame. Cathryn Svoboda-Spanbock is just such a find and I consider Kate's work as the "new classic." Although having worked in the architectural field for some time, she had not yet designed an entire structure from the ground up when her father, my husband, took a chance on her. He commissioned her to design a home on an exceedingly narrow lot he had just purchased. Kate met the challenge and turned the problems of the lot into enviable assets. A tireless perfectionist, Kate melds the client's desires with the constraints of reality. She confidently and professionally steers the client's ideas into a work that is fresh and unique with her trademark style that combines intelligence, functionality and beauty. Along the way she explains the concepts behind the details as she offers choices in design decisions. This minimizes the uncertainty that clients inevitably must struggle through. Kate created a gem for us that is as original as it is perfect. Stunning. After five years of marriage to this house we are still in love.

1) The architect, a relative, had us read about house designs and collect photos of houses and features we like, and talked with us at length to help us clarify our tastes and intentions for the house. 2) She visited potential builders with us and discussed the plans with them before they bid on the project. 3) She created a very intelligently designed house for our challenging situation: *The lot is on a street with some very old houses, all of which have their own unique and definite characters; our house had to be compatible with the neighborhood and yet be true to our preferences and tastes. She accomplished this by using some of the same external materials and colors used by the other houses. *The lot is extremely narrow with significant setbacks and, of course, we did not want to feel like we were living in a tunnel, so she varied the floor and ceiling heights and provided a great deal of light. *Because of the lot's size, the house had to be small, but we didn't want to feel cooped up and claustrophobic; she addressed this with multiple patios and access to the outside from everywhere in the house with large windows and french doors. *Ojai can be very hot in the summer, but we don't like air conditioning, so she studied the site's sun and shade and the slope of the land and placed windows strategically so as to use hot air's tendency to rise to suck in cool air from the lowest parts of the house, thereby giving us a small, cool breeze when we need it. She also put no windows on the hot side of the house. *We like to spend time outdoors, but since the house takes up most of the lot, she had to find ways to create multiple, small outdoor spaces of what remained of the lot. No space went to waste. *And we wanted privacy without being fenced in, despite being right on top of our new neighbors. She solved this problem by discretely positioning the windows and doors and strategically dedicating space for plantings. *Our tastes favor, what seemed to us to be, disparate types: Japanese, Midwestern, California Mission. These had to be tastefully integrated. We like color, but we wanted the house to feel cozy and restful as well as happy and lively. By emphasizing natural materials, dark colors and hues below and bright ones higher up she successfully achieved both of these objectives. 4) During construction she worked closely with us and the builder (and at times with the subs) to assure plans were followed exactly. She upheld the integrity of the design and kept us informed on the implications of the decisions we were being asked to make during construction. She suggested specific material, fixture and color options. Before we engaged an architect, I had sketched many floor plans that I liked, but I must say that it would have been a serious mistake to build any of them. I know people who have built the house they designed and ended up dissatisfied in one respect or another. Professionals identify and solve problems you don't even know you have, and they do it before problems become costly headaches or irreparable. You are making a big financial and emotional investment when you build. I very strongly recommend finding a professional who actively listens to you, is effective at communicating their thoughts, and is not afraid to tell you where you may be making a mistake. In the end, you make the decisions, but it's best to make them with full knowledge and expert advice. The steps I've described above all turned out to be critical to our getting the "perfect jewel" we envisioned and keeping the project within budget.

Here Design and architecture provided the full spectrum of architectural services including drawings, multiple color studies, site visits, and everything in between. I found Kate to be extremely professional, creative, highly skilled, a great problem solver, very available, flexible, collaborative, and highly tasteful. Here Design was adept at anticipating problems and finding excellent solutions. There is major talent there, and I recommend this firm without reserve.