JAS Design Build

Hi there Kim and Joe,

Such a bittersweet day!  We just had the last meeting with Dennis, Zach, Peter and Lesley in person and Reid in spirit.  We are going to miss them.  It has been such a joy to work together on this project including spending time with you in the beginning Kim!  The space is more than we could have asked for!  It’s bright and open and private; somehow both separate and integrated.  It has lots of cozy character  and texture and niches,  and the view to the back garden through the French doors is sublime!  It is just a wonderful space that looks like it’s always been here both from the inside and out.  It is going to be the perfect space for our son, but it would be the perfect space for anyone lucky enough to live in this house that JAS has built!

We wanted to specifically say  to you both that the company you lead is absolutely remarkable.  Everyone we’ve met from JAS has been so hardworking and skilled, with vision, expertise and professionalism, but also kind, gentle, creative and friendly.   When we think of the work done on this house, we think of the people who did that work and the good spirit they imbued into our home!  Beautiful work done by really lovely people…  The happy peaceful energy we feel in our “new” home is thanks to everyone who worked on this place and we are grateful for that and to you both for making that possible.

Hope you have wonderful holidays!  Until next time (?!), Joette and Eric

Thank you so very much!

I’ve been wanting to make a JAS thank you quilt for awhile but I needed to find the perfect architectural, PNW color and themed fabric first. When I sent Joe our original “modern cabin” plans, I think his words were something like “It’s ok, kinda boring, lets spice up these elevations”. Now with your help our house is definitely not boring. A testament to the window design you all proposed is this. All of our neighbors have essentially the exact same view as us (Wyoming and our wide open spaces). But when any of them come walking into our great room their jaws drop. And they can’t get over the views.  I told Joe I wanted the biggest windows we could afford to frame all the mountains surrounding us, and that’s what we got. Literally the house of my dreams. Now we just have to finish it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Nicole

Hi Kelly,

This is awesome – thank you so much.

Working with your team is always a great pleasure. Johann and Charlie were a delight – I missed having them around once they were gone. The room looks fantastic and because of how considerate and lovely the team was, it didn’t feel like an inconvenience at all.

Kyle will be forwarding payment!

Hey Samantha,

Thanks so much for this update! ……..

I also wanted to tell you what a phenomenal job Alec did at our house today. Without prompting, he organized and cleaned our garage. It has never looked better! I can’t tell you how incredible this was – it was like an early Christmas gift! I have never had anyone take the initiative to get something done without me having to ask(and to do such an incredible job!). My life is full of asking people to do stuff and they do so pretty begrudgingly (life of a parent and a fundraiser I guess). To come home to a clean, organized, beautiful garage… it literally moved me to tears.

I have always loved working with JAS but this project that Alec took on, well it felt like someone taking care of me and my family. I cannot even begin to put into words how loving this gesture felt. I am so grateful to Alec and to JAS for always caring for our home and making it such a special place for our family.

With so much gratitude and thanks,
-Jennie

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. As we are in the “punch list” phase, which is focused on the little things, we wanted to step back and think about what we’re thankful for.  You have transformed our home and we absolutely love it.   The movers came today and moved our furniture back in, and suddenly it all came together and we were overwhelmed with gratitude.  You are all patient with our feedback and requests.  We are thankful for everything that you’ve done, and it’s been such a pleasure working with you.

Special shout out to Joe, who worked the front lines and we miss having him here every day.  Joe has the patience of a saint and we’re so thankful for that.  The house is silent without his laugh.

Happy Thanksgiving!

p.s. We don’t have Tate’s email, could someone please forward to him, thanks.

p.p.s. Favorite quote, from Taylor to Mark: “Did you see the blue tape?”

-Andrew & Jharna

Hello Sara,
It was great to come home and see all this wonderful grown-up furniture.😀 what have I been missing all these years???

The house will look perfect for the party. I am test driving my new blue chair in the master bedroom and loving it. The pillows, couches, tables, lamps, all seem to flow together. I especially like how you decorated the bookshelves as well. Thank you for the lovely flowers.

What A great opportunity this was for Bryce. It was a great first step for him to learn the ropes about an interior design project and so appreciate your mentor-ship and collaboration.
Best wishes to you and the rest of the JAS design team.
– Kris

Hi Sara,
Nicely done all around.  It was great to come in see everything installed, and we have now test driven all of the seating possibilities.  It all fits good.  All of the pillows work well for me, but what do I know.  Others may have other opinions.

Many thanks for all of your hard work, and it’s nice to get to the finish line!
– Pat, Kris and Bryce

Hi Everyone,

John, Imogen, and I want to extend a huge and heartfelt thank you for the tremendous work you’ve all done to help create a new home for us. We know you do this kind of work every day, but this is our one and only home. The care, consideration, and expertise that you’ve invested in our project was appreciated by us at every step of the way. And the fruit of your labor is readily apparent in the beautiful house we’re settling back into. Thank you for making the process fun (except for Colin, who takes one for the team by being the guy always asking us for money😊) and for weathering our many questions with patience and care. We’re delighted by how the initial vision for the project has resulted in a home more beautiful that we had imagined. We almost don’t want to unpack any of the boxes – everything’s just so perfect as is. I know we still have a few things to wrap up, but we want you to know of our deep appreciation for everything you’ve all done.

Courtney & John

As we finish up the final details, I wanted to write and tell you how delighted I am with the remodel JAS did on my house.  I knew from the pictures on your website that JAS had a knack for beautiful craftsmanship, and an understanding of old houses but I also wanted to express what  a pleasure to work with the entire team that gutted and then caringly put back together my old house. The thoughtfulness and quality of both the design and execution was, in a word, exquisite.

This was not my first major remodel of an old house, so I came into the process with quite a bit of experience working with architects and builders.

From your scouting out properties with me, to the design phase to the creative solutions, last final details, it has been a joy to work with such professionals- both in terms of the design and construction, but also on the business side.  Emails and phone calls were always answered in a timely manner, decision points were presented with a range of options and solutions and requests were invariably met with a “yes we can do that.”  And surprisingly to me, we were ahead of schedule and on budget.

I appreciate the tremendous job the team did, and that they were  able to breadth life into a lovely old Seattle house updating it while  keeping it in line with the original look and feel of its  108 years of existence.  Please know that I would be delighted to be a reference at any time.  It has been a great experience working with you and the entire team, and I am absolutely thrilled with the results. Once I move in I hope to have you all over for the open house.

Again, thanks to you and the great team for a stellar job, Katharine

As our project comes to a close, I just wanted to thank you all for the fantastic service your team has provided, and congratulations on another job well done! The professionalism of you and your employees truly shows how you operate a business and the way that you treat your employees. Each of the team members have played an integral part in our small project. I appreciate the respect that they each show for one another as it pertains to each of their expertise and working with clients.  Your company exemplifies what all turnkey operations should strive to model after and you should all be proud of the work you do.  Mark and I very much appreciate the attention to detail, creativity, prompt follow up, full disclosure, and flexibility of everyone on our project. You have all done a fantastic job from design to construction completion!

Please feel free to use us as references for any future prospects. I am an extremely loyal individual with high (but not unreasonable) expectations. You have all far exceeded any expectations I had, so I will be your biggest advocate!

Thank you all for taking such wonderful care of us and a special thanks to Bran for his patient and respectful demeanor as site lead! The quality workmanship and attention to detail are truly unsurpassed.  We hope to reach out to you for our next project soon.

Best Regards,

Lorraine C. & Mark N.

I know you get a lot of letters/e-mails from happy clients, but I wanted to say thanks from a happy employee. Can’t express enough how much I appreciated all the help, support and encouragement from JAS as I settled into my job there. Before JAS I was pretty jaded about architecture and the profession in general. It was so refreshing to see and work in an office that focused both on Design and strived to create a work/life balance for its employees. I cannot stress enough how incredible it was to do amazing work AND do it in a 40 hour work week. That’s rare in a job and especially rare in an architecture office. Your values for work, family and fun are hard to find and I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to work for you. Thanks again for everything and for your support in my leaving and journey that we start tomorrow. Like the card says – Your’re the S*#%!
Cheers!

Lindsay and I have many people to thank at JAS for our stunning remodel, but I would like to start with you, since design is where it all began. Thank you for giving us something fresh, innovative and truly original.  It is a perfect compilation of what we love and what we didn’t know we would love. There are so many design elements to gush about, but my favorite is the butler pantry (tardis). You were RIGHT Kim! My prediction is that the pantry will be copied by many after it makes a debut on various blogs and design venues. Mark my words. Lindsay and I love living, cooking and just being in the space. It is the best gift we have ever given ourselves and I’m glad we didn’t wait until we turned 80. Thank you for implementing your extraordinary vision and talent to create our dream home.

We now know why you have the unfailing loyalty of all the clients we talked to prior to the project. We appreciate the service that each and every person on the JAS team provided.

The tour was a huge success!……. The real “icing” for us was at the Home Tour and thank you party last night……..  Here is the interesting story that took place as we were eating a buffet dinner. I sat next to a couple who live right below us and above the lake.  They also had their home on the tour. …….They asked who did our home and I mentioned JAS Design and how wonderful they had done with our home and that we had them at the tour etc.  Both husband and wife looked knowingly at each other and then stated that they knew about JAS Design.  In fact, you had come highly recommended to them 8-9 years ago for a bid to do the construction work (they had their own architect).  The only problem was that JAS couldn’t start the work “for two weeks” and they were impatient (their words, not mine).  So, they took a recommendation from their architect for a construction firm that could start “immediately” and the work began.  I asked them about the work and, they looked at each other, and launched into a dizzying story of “project from h__l” where the firm ended up charging them 3 times what the bid was, took 14 months instead of 7…….

The couple asked me about our experience with JAS.  I tried to be “gentle” after hearing their tale of woe.  I did manage to say that your work exceeded all expectations of what a remodel project could feel like both in terms of experience and artistry, you stuck to the bid/price range, you finished on time, your vendors were great, you keep the work site clean and orderly for our neighbors, and you managed the project with honesty and integrity.  We all looked at each other and the husband stated that he wished he could have taken back “those two weeks of impatience”!  I felt bad for this nice couple.

We look forward to our next project (after the stair runner completion) with JAS and we wish you mighty success for the new year.

Thanks again, K, P & B

Just wanted you to know how very much we love the new space!  Unfortunately, the front of the house has become a drop zone since everyone just walks on through to get to the awesome (as the boys would say) side.  You guys did a fantastic job for us and we are so happy with the end result.  Everyone always remarks on the overall ambiance and the many fine and thoughtful details.  Do you know the Danish word, “hygge”?  Loosely translates as cozy, warm, tranquil – that is how it feels.  We’ve given your name to a few people who have inquired.  Kudos to all involved.  We still miss wonderful Nicole.

I went by the house today to get a few measurements and I just have to say one more time:  it looks lovely!  Truly, I couldn’t be happier.  I feel totally spoiled and still can’t quite believe I get to live there. I absolutely love it!  Thank you!!

 You guys have done an amazing job of sticking to your schedule. I’ve heard more horror stories than you can imagine over the past 6 months from loads of other home owners who weren’t so lucky. And I really do appreciate your effort.

We are still thrilled with our home and don’t miss a chance to tell our friends about our experience with JAS.

You JAS gents really know your stuff and we couldn’t be more pleased.  One of the pleasures of making enough money to hire professionals is to see the before and after…. I hope you know how much we appreciate your work. Colin was/is a pleasure to watch in action and such a consummate professional. Looking forward to working more with you.

Our heartfelt thanks for making our basement remodel such a great success.  We genuinely appreciate all of the dedication and hard work that each of you put into our project.  Most of all, we enjoyed meeting each of you.  You are a truly nice bunch!

Thanks so much for the care and attention to detail you gave to my home.  Every step of the way you were all patient and helpful and reassuring.  Every day I look out at the wonderful view I’m grateful.

 Thanks again for the wonderful work,

Those flowers are absolutely beautiful sitting on our wonderful island in our dream kitchen.  The ‘Welcome Home’ message said it all.  We feel like we’ve come home and that the old bones of this house are spiffed up and ready for the next 100 years.

 We had our first party this weekend and I didn’t think people would ever sit down and eat because they were so busy ooh-ing and aah-ing.  We extol the virtues of JAS with every conversation we have about this experience.

We were absolutely delighted when we saw the JAS sign go up in front of your house project!

 As you may or may not know, we have a long history with JAS, when they were a last minute bidder (referred from some friends who said we absolutely had to have them come in to make a bid) on our kitchen remodel.  We had already made a decision on who we were going to use but then reversed it, and since then we’ve referred them to lots of people.  Additionally, they are just now completing our Lopez cabin.  They are a truly phenomenal company in this day & age where corners are cut and budgets are tight.  Make sure you speak up if you have any thoughts / concerns / questions.  They have this way of turning potential areas of concern into win-wins all the way around.

 And if you haven’t yet met Kim, as our friend relayed to us after we were more than half way through our kitchen remodel, “She’s the secret weapon.”

We are still thrilled with our home and don’t miss a chance to tell our friends about our experience with JAS.

I want to say, it has been a pleasure working with the JAS team.  Not only have my expectations for the final product and quality of the work been met and exceeded, we’ve been very impressed with the responsiveness and friendliness of all the people we’ve worked.  We also truly appreciate your willingness to work within our budget and have been sensitive to our timeline needs.  Whether or not we do additional work expanding the kitchen, we will definitely use JAS for our next remodel project.

We would like to thank JAS Design/Build for the work on our beautiful home.  Workman’s Wife’s Bungalow is a dream come true for us.
 
From our first meeting with Joe to the day we moved in, the experience was amazing.  The building plans prepared by Jack met all our needs and then some.  His eye for detail and architectural design were outstanding.  Jennifer and Kimberly seemed to read our minds when it came to the “feel” we wanted to achieve.  We could not be happier with the selections that were made as to colors, lighting, faucets, etc.  Steve worked his own sort of magic behind the scenes, but always explained the building process along the way.  The job ran so smoothly because of his no-nonsense approach to the project.  Dennis had the toughest job of “advising” us on the cost. He did it very professionally and as painless as possible.  Finally, and we can’t say this enough – Bran and his crew were the best!!  They worked so hard and yet always took the time to talk to us onsite.  We still get comments from the neighbors about how courteous Bran and the entire crew were while on our job.  During the course of this process, we met many other members of your staff who were always courteous but above all extremely competent.