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Best Decision We Made! Visionary, Technical, and a Great Communicator
Working with Sean Rinde was, without a doubt, the single best decision we made for our complex, down-to-the-guts home remodel and new ADU project. We are beyond thrilled with the final design and the entire experience. Sean is a rare combination of creative visionary, technical expert, and world-class communicator, and we cannot recommend him highly enough.
Sean is a fantastic architect, and I recommend him without reservation. His expertise and thoughtful approach exceeded our expectations at every turn.
I hired Sean to do a 2nd floor addition to our single story ranch house. Unlike others I interviewed, he didn’t enter with a preconceived conclusion of which direction we should go (teardown/rebuild vs. addition). He took time to understand our functional requirements and priorities before making a recommendation. The difference (cost, customizability) was closer than I expected and I really appreciate Sean’s diligence here to make sure we chose the best direction.
We couldn’t be happier with the incredible work Sean did on our home renovation! From the very beginning, he made the process seamless, walking us through multiple floor plan options with ease. What truly set Sean apart was his unwavering commitment to our vision. He skillfully pushed back against subjective Design Review comments to maintain the design elements we were most excited about, ensuring that our home turned out exactly as we had imagined. The 3D design he created was nothing short of stunning, taking direct inspiration from our ideas and translating them into a home that feels uniquely ours. And let’s talk about that second story—it’s absolutely killer!
Sean from Aardvark Architecture is an amazing architect and I couldn’t be happier to recommend him. In a nutshell he is very professional, knowledgeable, prompt, and energetic.
My husband and I interviewed numerous architects and “all-in-one” design firms. Our first hired architect was from an “all-in-one” design firm and we regretted our choice. After multiple moments of terrible miscommunication, head scratching moments, failed expectations and a lot of wasted time, we fired that original firm and hired Sean. Sean has a wealth of knowledge and you can tell he is experienced with various aesthetics, calculations, city codes, city permitting processes, and contractor interactions. He is very timely and once we hired him, he jumped into his process and got the ball rolling. Our project was a little unique in that we are in a flood zone. Even with that, Sean was able to navigate the tricky flood zone issue and provide a great experience for our family.
We first got to know Sean when he was working at another firm. We liked him right away. We loved his designs, his speed, his responsiveness, his personality. When we found out he was starting his own firm, we couldn’t wait to work with him again. Until then, we recommended him to whomever we could.
Recently we were able to work with Sean again on a new home build. We wanted a home to suit our tastes and needs but also take into account future resale potential, and he was able to walk that fine line effortlessly, such as creating a flex room that we could use for band performance but also easily be used as an office or gym. Sean suggested an attached JADU instead of the detached ADU we were thinking for aging parents in order to provide convenience and accessibility with less disruption to the yard. And, he designed it in a way that was not only great for aging parents (e.g., curbless shower) but could efficiently work as a rental with its exterior entry and design.
We used Sean to spearhead the rebuild of our family home, a 4BR, 5BA home + 1BR / 1BA ADU in the South Bay. As a part of this project, we explored renovation vs. rebuild, and while we paused the project prior to permitting, we plan to pick it back up with him shortly and continue.
Sean has been a great partner for us both as we figured out what we wanted to do for our ADU and then as we moved through the construction process. He not only created a beautiful design for us, but helped us navigate the ins and outs of a construction project like this (we’d never embarked on anything like this before). We really appreciated his hands on partnership to help us figure out what we really wanted and to create a fantastic design that captured it all, to find the right GC, and to make sure the project was unfolding how we wanted it to. We will absolutely work with Sean again for any future architectural design work.
We absolutely love working with Sean! His boundless energy and creativity are infectious, and he’s always on top of everything. Not only is he incredibly organized, but his communication skills are top-notch. Sean is always there to listen and ensure that we’re comfortable every step of the way, demonstrating true professionalism.
Our project was quite challenging, requiring us to design a single-family home while incorporating six oaks and five redwoods into the layout. While other architects were apprehensive, Sean embraced the challenge with confidence, assuring us that he could deliver our dream home and navigate the permitting process seamlessly.
I had the pleasure of working with Sean, an exceptional architect who performed a ground-up redesign of our home’s interior. The transformation has been nothing short of remarkable, blending warm, yet modern design elements with functional living spaces.
The introduction of a skylight and vaulted ceilings infused our home with much needed natural light, creating an airy and open atmosphere. Additionally, Sean was able to give us a walk-in closet, a walk-in pantry, and a coat closet, all which I never imagined would fit in our space! His clever use of space-maximizing techniques ensured that every square inch was utilized efficiently, without sacrificing style or comfort.
We are so glad we hired Sean to design our home remodel, and we honestly wish we would have just hired him to build a brand new house instead of a remodel (and to be fair, he did try to encourage us to do that, but we didn’t listen). The new areas he designed are basically our favorite parts of the house – our commercial kitchen with double islands, walk in pantry, and 12ft ceilings next to a wall of glass that overlooks our beautiful outdoor kitchen and covered patio with a double sided fireplace. He also incorporated some very unique design ideas for our pool bathroom and outdoor shower, which looks super cool even though it’s a fairly small structure.
Sean with Aardvark Architecture is the best architect! We are so happy with the amazing detached home office and covered pergola he designed for our backyard. Our whole house lives so much larger now that we’re fully using our whole property. Aardvark Architecture delivered on everything we asked for and so much more. Aardvark not only gave us what we asked for, but he crafted a fantastic story to go along with every decision that was made. Now when we sit out here, we look around at each carefully crafted detail with pride.
Work with Sean for a great mix of fun, talent, and efficiency. He was very enjoyable to work with, and came up with fantastic designs – and I’m pretty sure he also saved us over half a year by helping us sail through city bureaucracy.
We had a bunch of quirky and specific requests going into my tear-down & rebuild project. Sean discussed our needs with us thoughtfully and then worked with us to design a house that fits our needs and personalities, and is also beautiful.
It was great working with Sean! We had an extensive remodeling project and Sean was a great partner in the project. He was great at collaborating and sharing ideas. There were quite a few back and forths we had with Sean on ideas and he would always spend time understanding our ideas. What was super helpful was his 3D renditions and he would tweak them as we went back and forth on changes. Made decision making easy for us when we could see the changes in 3D. He also helped coordinate with our contractor on some of the unique design ideas that Sean had developed. Sean is extremely professional and knowledgeable. Definitely a five star recommendation!
Sean provided schematic and space planning services for a new single family home constructed on our existing property. Sean met with us to understand our needs, discussed trade-offs with various styles of development, and developed multiple site layouts for the property. Both myself and my wife work in the A/E/C industry, and we work with designers frequently. I was impressed with Sean’s thoroughness, architecture knowledge, and his enthusiasm. Highly recommended.
We hired Sean as the Design Architect for an Accessory Dwelling Unit for the back of our property in San Jose. I’m a licensed architect myself, but I didn’t have the time or knowledge of residential projects to do the design properly. Selecting Aardvark to help was a great decision! Sean was very thorough in his research of what’s permissible on our lot. He was thoughtful in the questions he asked us to understand clearly what we were looking for in the design. He brought a lot of ideas and experience to the table, which was just what we needed. His concepts were beautifully illustrated in the documents he presented to us. We couldn’t be happier with the design, and we can’t wait to see it built!
We’re incredibly happy with our decision to choose Aardvark Architecture to design our forever home! Send one email to Sean and you’ll see that he is in a league of his own above all other architects. He’ll ask critical questions, share cat stories, and offer creative solutions to tricky floor plans; no other architect we interviewed came close to his level of brilliance, professionalism, and dedication to our project.
We’ve known Sean for more than two years and are now working together on our second residential project. Sean’s attention to detail stands out in everything – not just in his designs but also in his communication. He has a knack for keeping the high-level needs/wants from the owner in mind while outlining all the details needed. That ability is a valuable asset when working on residential projects which tend to be very dynamic.
My family and I hired Sean a few years ago for a renovation and addition project on our home. I was initially hesitant to undertake such a large project, but Sean’s helpful nature put me at ease. One concern for us was coming up with a design that matched both our personal style while honoring the history and layout of the home – Sean was able to come up with multiple designs that achieved this. Even after plans were complete, Sean remained a consistent part of the project.
I worked with Sean on an addition to our home and could not be more happy. The first thing that I noticed when working with Sean was his attention to detail. He is incredibly creative and I was worried I would not be able to find someone who shared my vision and aesthetic; however, nothing could be further from the truth with Sean. He listened well and incorporated feedback into an amazing design that seamlessly fits our home. Another aspect of working with Sean that put me at ease was his professionalism. He was a strong advocate for us throughout the process and working with the city and our builder.
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