Some Very Kind Words From Clients...
We hired John Rountree as the architect for a large renovation project including an addition to our 1920’s home. Our project included moving the kitchen to the rear of the home, adding a bedroom, reworking closets and bathrooms, opening up the main living area, expanding the primary bathroom, and adding a powder room and laundry room.
John is a talented architect and was a pleasure to work with. He listened to what we needed and our vision for the home and thoughtfully incorporated our ideas with practical solutions. He oversaw much of the building process while we were out of town and worked directly with our contractor as needed. Throughout the process, John was patient and at each stage was able to answer questions and tackle any concerns we had. The result is a wonderfully open, livable home with the charm and character of an antique. The new spaces work seamlessly with the older parts of the home - in fact, friends and family often remark that it seems as if this is how the house should always have been. We are thrilled with John’s work and would not hesitate to work with him again.
Deanne and Ian McGuinn, Westport, CT
John recently designed the perfect addition to our home! It wasn’t an easy job and John helped us identify the optimal solution — where to locate a new staircase, how to complement our existing design, ways to maximize space and even down to the best way to extend our HVAC system seamlessly. It’s now our dream home. John has a VERY strong technical foundation, vast experience and ability to think creatively. His drawings are BEAUTIFUL – he is one of the few remaining architects that can still draw quickly by hand with the ability to adjust on the fly to achieve the client’s vision. John also helped us through the build and follow up on permitting and gaining our CO — even able to overcome an inspector’s objection to avoid a costly revision. I recommend John wholeheartedly — he is professional, cost-effective and a pleasure to work with.
Neil Cohen, Westport, CT
John Rountree designed an incredible addition to our home, which was built in 1920, and sits on a very small lot in the center of town. He consulted with me every step along the way and offered creative solutions while never compromising what I wanted. He defined detailed specs for the builders to bid on, and monitored progress and adherence to plans every step along the way. I am still in awe of how he managed to fit a large family room with a master bedroom above it on such a small amount of land – and in adherence to zoning regulations. Even the positioning of the windows and skylights maximizes views and privacy at the same time. The recreation room above the garage is cozy and spacious and very well laid out….it is a wonderful place to escape to…and the solar panels on that roof which John recommended have worked out beautifully. I cannot imagine a more professional and really nice person to work with! I would highly recommend Rountree Architects for any building projects.
Virginia Ott, Greenwich, CT
John listened to and understood our needs. He was thorough and patient in the design process, talking us through stumbling blocks and was calm and effective as unanticipated issues arose (as they always do)He helped us through the process of hiring a contractor for the work, and stood by us through the construction, assisting and consulting as was necessary. John’s work has been admired by all our friends and neighbors–they consistently comment how the renovated house looks as if it always belonged and they and we, are so appreciative. We would not hesitate to recommend John Rountree, and in fact, have done so.
Nancy and Steven Peters, Riverside, CT
John Rountree was an outstanding architect for our home design project. He was very creative in the design work in terms of the overall plan and the details provided to the contractor. John has also done several other projects for us. He is very friendly and great to work with. We would recommend him without any reservation.
Bill McCutchen, Westport, CT
My husband and I hired Rountree Architects for actually 3 home renovation projects. The first one was around 2002 in which we had a new kitchen/family room added to an existing 1950’s house that we were completely renovating. He designed a beautiful addition that melded the new with the existing design of the house. We were completely happy with the outcome. In 2004 we purchased a 1760 saltbox with a detached barn which was being used as our garage. Again we hired John Rountree to design a family room that would connect the existing 1760 house with the 1760 barn. He designed a beautiful addition that was in keeping with the historic integrity of the home. From the streetscape, it looked like a small little breezeway with a gently sloping roofline but from the back it showcased a beautiful window he had custom made to capture the beautiful landscape in the back of the house. We received many compliments on the design of the addition and how it captured the authenticity of the historic house.
In 2007 we purchased another historic house (circa 1785), which also included a carriage house and barn. This was a complete renovation project and we had no doubt whom we would hire as our architect. Again, John did an incredible job melding the historic house with a new addition that incorporated our new kitchen and master suite above. It is like they have always been here. Our philosophy in designing this house was to stay true to its simplicity and capture an “Amish feel”. John did exactly that. The carriage house and barn were renovated as well and his ideas and suggestions were well taken. This was our biggest project to date and we are proud to say that we came in under budget and completely on time. With each of these renovation projects, we chose to go with contractors that John had recommended. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the three of them. Now fast forward to 2017. We have now purchased a little historic Dutch Gambrel house c. 1700 and we didn’t even blink when it came time to make that call.. We have enlisted John Rountree again and are using the same contractor who did the work on our 2007 farmhouse. Although, this will be on a much smaller scale, we had no question as to who would do the work – John Rountree and Jim Basli. They are the best!
Melanie Marks, Fairfield, CT
The project was an addition to a 1940 build Cape Cod home. John Rountree was the ultimate professional throughout every phase of the project. From the initial audit of the existing house, to discussing my design goals for the addition, John always brought an open mind, provided creative suggestions and was always mindful of the budget and goal of having the architectural appearance of the addition integrate with the original house. As a solar energy expert as well, he suggested construction details that would allow the maximization of a contiguous roof surface for the installation of a future solar system. John is well respected by the members of the town P&Z board which facilitated a positive discussion and outcome, with the board, when we requested a “grandfathering” of the original set-back of the garage. John recommended a number of contractors to do the project and worked well with the selected contractor throughout every step of the build. I highly recommend John Rountree.
Tom Hindle., Westport, CT
I am so grateful to have chosen John to be the architect on my home’s reconstruction. 5 years ago a fire ripped through my house and destroyed a great deal of the structure. John expertly put together a comprehensive plan to not only rebuild the house, but to find ways to improve it as well. At very little extra expense, I was able to move in to a vastly upgrade design and floor plan. The entire experience was like working with an old friend; a true joy.. Great choice if you are seeking an architect! Reliable, timely, and effective. Thank you John!
Jim Brown, Pleasantville, NY
We recently hired John Rountree to do a basement renovation. We were so thrilled with his work we expanded the project to include a kitchen bump out, new stair and new rear entrance. John was professional, friendly and very clear with pricing. I can’t say enough positive things about our experience working with Rountree Architects. I look forward to having him do more work for us in the future.
Joan Fish, Southport, CT
We highly recommend Rountree Architects. After interviewing a few designers in town, we decided to hire John Rountree and it was absolutely the right decision. He designed and oversaw our project to relocate the front door and add a new portico. I had a certain idea but John gave me his professional opinion to do it a little differently and gave us an impeccable design. He was extremely professional throughout the process and very easy to work with. His pricing was very clear and fair and there was no hidden unexpected cost. He was always on time and always reachable for any questions. He also has a great working relationship with the contractor he recommended, so he was always in touch with them to make sure everything was going as planned. He was also very helpful getting an approval from various departments at the end. It was a pleasure working with him.
Mariko Elwood, Westport, CT
John was my architect for a project in 2015 during which I gutted and rebuilt my 1940’s colonial. We also added a large 2 story addition. I loved the home but it was dated and choppy with an awkward addition from the 60’s. He truly reimagined the space and made it an open concept, family friendly space but retained the charm of the original home.
I selected John because I felt I wanted someone who was sensitive to keeping the project as “green” and environmentally friendly as possible. I also appreciated that he was able to make additions look natural to the house. I was not interested in transforming my home into the generic large homes that abound in my neighborhood.
I found John excellent to work with. From the beginning, he was accommodating of my goals, my budget, and my wishes. I found him honest enough to tell me when he thought my ideas were impractical, and open enough to incorporate them when he could. The end result is a house that I love, with so many details customized completely for how we live.
Because of his experience and knowledge, I was able to find opportunities to save money when possible while making sure that we did not compromise on the quality of the construction and materials. He knew best where we could save and when the splurges were worthwhile. His guidance was invaluable and I came to trust his counsel implicitly. As an aside, I also found that his references were also excellent.
I would have no hesitation to recommend John Rountree to anyone in need of an honest, kind, and talented architect.
Sandhya Dhruvakumar – Riverside CT
We learned John Rountree through our neighbors who initially owned the house. We rented this for a couple of years and then we bought it. Once we expressed our wishes to make some changed to the existing house they gave us the name of John Rountree who was also involved in some additions to the house years ago. He even still had the drawings of this which came very convenient. After we first met John we immediately had the feeling we shared the same vision. He is very friendly, flexible, full of ideas and very helpful in sourcing products we requested. He was pleasure to work with and we enjoyed the process very much. We highly recommend John if you would need an architect.
Theresa Stigter