Gatling Design

Richard and Kate of Gatling Design have given us our beloved home, and we are so grateful. We bought a 1939 house that needed everything done, from foundation to roof and everything in between. We wanted to keep many of the original features of the home, while updating it to feel more spacious and comfortable for our modern needs. They guided us through the process with an expert hand. Their knowledge and contacts about everything from working through structural and engineering issues, to picking light fixtures that make sense for the time period of the home, was astonishing. They also worked with us as to do the remodel in such a way that we can now apply for historic designation. If you have this in mind, I highly suggest working with Kate and Richard, as I honestly doubt that many architects or firms would be able to get this done. They have an eye for color and detail, giving us hand drawn sketches for many of our woodworking details, and providing us with curated choices that allowed us to be involved without overwhelming us with options. We had a number of the subcontractors comment on how much they appreciated the plans, as they were so detailed and apparently not many architects provide that level of direction. They communicated with us clearly and promptly, answered our many questions, and were a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Gatling Design for any remodel or design needs, and if we ever have another project we will absolutely be using them again.

I have worked with Gatling Design for over 13 years. It is often a challenge working with a client that has a designer as we find that typically plans are incomplete and often unrealistic to produce with the existing construction of the client's house. Richard brings enough construction knowledge to the table so that he and Kate can provide clear and detail plans to produce a unique product for their clients. It is common that designers specialize in one particular look or style but Kate and Richard are successful at any number of styles whether it be a historic craftsman or mission home to a transitional or contemporary home. I enjoy working on their projects as I know I will have the information and material I need to maintain my project schedule and the results will be spectacular.

I am mid-project on a kitchen remodel with Gatling Design. We have finished design and are moving in to realization. I want to post a review now to share my positive experience. Both Richard and Kate are very good at listening to our needs, designing to our tastes, and patiently walking us through each step of the process. This is our first big project and they are making it easy. Our house is a 1910 Craftsman whose original kitchen is long gone. Richard researched the period and designed a beautiful 1910’s to 1920’s kitchen that incorporates all the modern conveniences, and worked with us to fit it within our budget. Kate has coordinated all the details, working across many suppliers to get us the look we want. We also really like the contractor they helped us select. I will update Houzz as we go (I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you all how good they are).

Richard Gatling renovated my Spanish Revival home about 15 years ago and my husband and I were thrilled with the result. We have had many guests, as well as several weddings at our house and the unanimous consensus is that it is stunning. We love the rave reviews from friends and family, but beyond that we love living in every inch of our house. Recently we realized that as lovely as our house was there was some updating to be done, which meant, reupholstering, painting, drapes, tile floor and more. Richard has added Kate to his team and what a great addition she is! Aside from having keen design sense, Kate is excellent at listening to client's needs and staying on budget. I understand why most people shy away from the painful process of renovating, but using Kate and Richard has made our process surprisingly streamlined. I recommend them highly.

My kitchen was small, had a poor layout and closed off from the rest of the house. I turned to Kate and Richard for help with my remodel and so glad I did. They came over and listened to my thoughts, wants and needs, and after looking at the space they came back with a design plan that was better than I could have ever imagined. I'm so pleased with their design talent and professionalism that I'll be working with them again.

My office has successfully collaborated with Gatling Design on several projects in the past twenty years. Gatling Design creates unique interiors that flow to the exterior of the project. They do thorough research to understand the history of a project and use the knowledge to create designs complement the original while pushing the envelope to create well functioning and beautiful designs for today. Richard Gatling and Kate Franklin-Beccarelli are pleasant and easy to work with. My landscape architecture office is currently working as part of the design team for the renovation of an important historically designated home in San Diego. It has been fun to work with Richard and Kate to design a beautiful wall fountain with appropriate tiles.

My husband & I have worked with Richard over that last 10+ years on several projects and every experience has been great. The largest project was the complete remodel of our home in Coronado. He and his associates listened to our ideas, concerns and dreams and presented us with wonderful ideas and options for every room. It was a wonderful collaboration that created our dream home. They combined functionality, comfort and creativity to every space. Our most recent adventure was asking Richard to design a one bedroom hideaway out of a 300 year old barn in the south of France! The space is small, but the design ideas Richard incorporated are fabulous! Ed & Kim Fansler

Richard Gatling & Kate Franklin designed my complete home from scratch. They made my dream come true, and even 5 years later, I hear people walking by, stopping, and admiring my home; I overhear comments like, ''this is my favorite house EVER"... This occurs daily....! Others will leave notes, if I ever want to sell, call them first. Every interior and exterior detail was researched thoroughly, and brought to fruition meticulously, due to their diligence, and monitoring. I constantly receive compliments directly, as guests walk in the door, and literally gasp, as they look around at all of the detail and the amazing use of space. It is a beach property, with the typical shortage of land to build on. They accomplished the impossible! I could not be happier, more proud, and grateful for the wonderful work done by Richard and Kate. They are overflowing with unique and exciting ideas, all based on my personal 'style' and taste! Without any hesitation, I highly recommend their work, follow-through, and communication skills, all that it takes to produce a home you will be proud of, AND they worked within my budget!!!

We first chose Richard and Kate to design cabinets for our great room in our Spanish Colonial house. Richard has an eye for lavish design details that are authentic to the style of the house. We also chose them because their pricing structure is so transparent and fair. The drawings they prepared for our contractors were very precise and accurate. Richard started his career as a furniture maker, and it is very apparent with his cabinet drawings. (Unlike another design company whose drawings had to be redone twice - at our expense - because of errors and omissions.) Richard and Kate have great vendors – timely, reasonably priced and good quality work. Kate was effective on following up with all the details and keeping us informed of progress. And the final result was so beautiful – it’s a conversation piece – a lovely piece of workmanship that has brought a plain room alive. We get no end of complements on it. I know you will enjoy working with this team, and you will love the final result!

Richard and Kate are two of the most knowledgeable designers I've worked with. They understand space in both function and form with an innate ability to envision the final product. I've personally seen them design cabinets, furniture, kitchens, baths, swimming pools, decks, balconies- select lighting, furniture, plumbing, fixtures, paint, textures, and more. All of this was done with the precision, care and expertise which comes only with extensive experience. Every design was both aesthetically pleasing and functionally complete. I cannot speak highly enough of Gatling Design.