Testimonials
Matthews Design’s has been established as an entirely referral based practice.
Maintaining good working relationships with clients, consultants, city officials and general contractors, as well as their sub-contractors, is a high priority.
- -
Working with Demery over the years has been a pure joy - not something many people can say after enduring several extensive renovations. - M.A., Los Angeles
- -
--
We will absolutely be using Demery on all future projects, and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to renovate or build their dream space. - Andrew S., Pasadena
Hello Demery,
I hope this finds you well. Val and I wanted to send you a note of thanks for the great work you did on our Great Room renovation. We are Very happy to say that the space turned out amazing. It is truly a dream kitchen and entertaining space. It has become a favorite gathering spot for neighbors and friends. Your skills at getting us the through the permit process with the City of Glendale were impressive. We expected it to be a bigger deal and it really was one of the easiest parts of the process. Thank you for your collaborative process to work with us, tailoring the space and design to best fit our needs and budget. We would be happy to have you come over to take any photos you would like. Just give us a heads up!
Cheers,
Dave and Valerie, Glendale
“Working with Demery over the years has been a pure joy - not something many people can say after enduring several extensive renovations. While she has plenty of ideas of her own to bring to the table, what we really appreciated was that Demery was able to understand what we wanted to achieve aesthetically, and turn those rough ideas into plans that were both comprehensible to our contractors and acceptable to the City Building Inspectors. No mean feat! She was available throughout the construction process to consult and troubleshoot on unforeseen field conditions as they arose. We love our new condo, it is really beautiful. Demery helped turn an antiquated, dysfunctional 1960s interior into our perfect living space.”
- M.A., Los Angeles
I am a contractor specializing in custom remodels and additions, and I have had the pleasure of working with Demery Matthews on several occasions. As a builder, the three key elements for me in working with a designer are attention to detail, the ability to communicate, and the feasibility of the plans.
Demery is outstanding when it comes to each of these attributes. We recently finished a project together that was an older home, with many strange angles and tight spaces that we had to work within. Not only were her plans easy to implement, but they kept the feel of the time period in which the house was originally built. Walking from room to room, you would not suspect that the Master Suite was completely redone. As an added bonus, she was able to maximize closet space and the size of the bathroom, not an easy feat with the confines of the structure.
We also worked together on a rather substantial remodel/addition. She was invaluable in helping me make sure that the Homeowners were getting what they had envisioned. Any questions I had were answered promptly and thoroughly. When you are in the midst of a job, that level of communication is key to staying on schedule.I also appreciate her sense of detail, especially when working on an older home. She makes sure that even the smallest detail has an elevation or a note, so that nothing is left to chance.
I would not hesitate for a second to refer her, as I have done numerous times already. And if I were looking for a designer to work with on my own home, Demery would be my first and only call.Kevin Holczer
General Contractor
KSM Construction
2520 Fairmount Ave.
La Crescenta, Ca. 91214
We were renovating our old house that was in desperate need of a remodel. We started off thinking we would only be able to remove one wall to open up the kitchen and make the space more liveable for my family of four. Then we decided to hire Demery as our architect. That was the best decision we made during our remodel. Demery worked with us every step of the way and designed an open floor plan for us that is both modern and completely functional. She helped us see the potential in our home - things that we hadn't even dreamed of. Because of Demery, we now have a home with an open floor plan that we are so proud of. Everyone that sees our home now is amazed by the transformation and wants to come over for dinner!
- H.W., Glendale
My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Demery in the Summer of 2012 as we were looking to take our 1908 Craftsman from a converted attic space with two haphazard bedrooms and baths to a true two story home with a Master bedroom and bath worthy of the name master. Demery was referred to us by both our contractor and a good family friend, and after the first meeting we knew we found our architect. Where previous teams tried to impose their design concept, Demery listened to what my wife and I wanted, added recommendations or direction on what could work, and was able to conceptualize exactly how to make it happen. Ripe with odd angles and seemingly no additional space, she was able to add volume and depth to an area that was previously cramped and dark. More than just the design, she was on time and on budget with all drawing submissions, and with me carrying a full time job and my wife taking care of two year old twins, she served as project manager for everything leading up to breaking down walls. From organizing the structural engineer, to contractor bidding, to submission to the City, we felt the process was continually moving in her hands. The result is a bedroom and bathroom we love with more storage than we ever could have imagined.
We will absolutely be using Demery on all future projects, and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to renovate or build their dream space.
Please feel free to call me if you'd like to discuss Demery's work further.
Sincerely
Andrew S., Pasadena
The following letters of recommendation were written by former clients on the request of a prospective client:
You will love working with Demery. She was able to transform a very closed floor plan of mine to an open floor that has worked very well for my family and for entertaining. She really listened to what I wanted - and then gave me several different options with different price points. We went with the most dramatic option and have been so happy with it. She was able to work a large island into my kitchen, when the contractor said it wouldn't work. That island is the center of our family life. She made it work - with room to spare. She is very creative and able to work out solutions to tricky floor plans - which is what she did with ours.
She worked really well with my contractor, which is a plus and was available for meetings with them when I needed her.
I would definitely work with her again if I was ever in need of an architect and I would highly recommend her.
Please let me know if you have any other questions,
Heather, Glendale
Demery is amazing. She is easy to work with, collaborative, a great
communicator and a fantastic designer all at a fair price. In addition to
all that she worked very well with the city planning and building officials,
which in Glendale can be a very difficult process. The best advice I can
give you is think carefully about what you want out of your project (layout,
room sizes, finishes, aesthetic, etc.) and be prepared to communicate it to
her clearly ... she can help a lot with this stuff, but if you have ideas
she will work closely with you to make sure they get incorporated into the
design. I would absolutely use her again.Best of luck with your project.
-Jeff, Glendale
My husband and I love Demery! We just submitted our preliminary drawings so we haven't completed our work with her yet, but we are very happy with her work to date.
She took our ideas and put them all together into something much nicer than we envisioned. She found creative solutions to our layout ideas that made her worth every penny.
I also really like how easy she is to talk to. We've run all kinds of questions and ideas by her (even my 7 year old's crazy drawings for her own room) and she listened to them and added whatever was important to us and gave us good insights (without being pushy) when there were reasons not to do something.
She is also very knowledgable about this area and the codes, but when she doesn't know something she lets you know and researches an answer for you.
We hired a designer as well to assist us with our project and Demery is doing a great job coordinating with her. Everyone we've interviewed for our project that knows Demery has nothing but good things to say about her.
I feel very confident with her on our project. Good luck in your own project!
- Alex, Glendale
An extensive list of references is available upon request.