Diana Bellgowan, Architect

We chose Diana after interviewing 4 architects. We chose her because her ideas were excellent, because she listened and "got" what we want, and because she was thoroughly pleasant and easy. She displayed extensive knowledge of her field, and of the vagaries of permits, etc. Her website was impressive. She met every deadline we set, and helped us move the project forward, going above and beyond what we had expected of her. The project was a renovation of a newly acquired house. We removed walls, changed a four seasons room to a (larger, vaulted ceiling) screened porch, changed closet configurations to improve their utility and to allow a stackable washer/dryer to be used on the main floor - a big plus. We added built-ins and completely gutted the kitchen. We have been very pleased with the outcome. Diana worked well with our general contractor from the beginning, and was helpful to the landscape architect we hired, too. We highly recommend her to you.

Last year, we bought a 1905 Dutch Colonial Revival in serious need of work and remodeling. Based on the recommendation of our contractor, we hired Diana Bellgowan to design the plans for the remodel. He suggested her based on her knowledge of the neighborhood and her ability to work Modern designs into historical contexts. Working with Diana was great. She had a great sense of what to do with the house spatially and was able to translate our interests in design and layout into a functional and cool space that we really love. We were able to keep so much of what makes the house an historically interesting home while bringing it into the 21st century with an open floorplan and design that is perfect for our family.

I have worked with Diana Bellgowan on multiple remodeling projects, including a whole house renovation and a new restaurant, The WALK. Diana brings to her projects years of experience balancing client desire, innovative design and concern with budget in her design. She welcomes a collaborative experience melding the requirements of her clients, the contractor and pertinent vendors and trade contractors. From a contractors point of view, Diana provides what is needed for the work to be well planned and constructed without needless drawings that only add to the expense of the project. She is a joy to work with.

We had a rectangular room that had formerly been a porch and had then been enclosed by a prior owner. It was attached to the living room and so we still had a window that opened from our living room onto this space. A prior owner had also covered it with cheap paneling and a shag carpet. Diana suggested dividing the room in two with the side where the entrance door was becoming a mud room. There was already a door going from there into our living room. She suggested that the other room become a music/reading room (our daughter plays piano and we spend lots of time reading). We had other archways in our house so she changed the doorway from the mudroom into the living room into an archway entrance and she removed the window (Hallelujah!) and replaced it with another archway entrance into the reading/music room. For heating, she used a thermostat controlled grid beneath the tile floors. Also, new energy efficient windows provided plenty of light as well as the warmth of the sun on winter days. The mudroom has been an enormous asset in letting us keep coats, bags, shoes and keys in an organized place and the music/reading room is one of the most comfortable in our house. We did not have a clue as to the direction to take but Diana asked us the right questions and worked great with the contractor to give us exactly what we were after. She will be our first call on any new project.

Diana Bellgowan did a wonderful job, first and foremost in understanding our needs and aesthetics, then rendering them into plans that we could understand, and more importantly that the builder could see, understand, and execute. From first to last our experience with Diana was a blessing. She designed study and studio and full bath spaces in an otherwise vacant part of our house. I am writing now from the study nearly two years after completion. The spaces - their warmth, beauty, and utility - continue to be great additions to our lives. We got what we wanted, and that was because Diana understood what we wanted and could turn that into reality.