John Milander Architects

We recently participated in the construction of a job that John Milander was the architect on. He was very quick with responses to any questions we had, and helpful with any necessary changes in design that were required. I would gladly work with John Milander Architects again, and hope that we can do just that in the near future.

A friend recommended John Milander to us and we were extremely happy with his services from the very beginning. Our house was built in 1925 and hadn't been renovated since 1955. John presented us with a great idea after learning of our wishes for our home. We did a complete renovation on the interior of our house and added a full ocean and city view to make our house a dream home! We had a budget that we wanted to stay close to and he worked very closely with our contractor and kept things on schedule and under budget. Along the way John and his team, visited us while under construction and together we made simple changes to maximize our dreams. We would highly recommend John and his team for anyone that wants to turn their home into their dream!

John knows the area and understands how important the relationship can be between a piece of land and a couple of humans. We met. We talked. He asked us, so we told him about the beauty of our five acres and how much we wanted to live there. We talked about why we wanted a certain kind of dwelling, how we feel about the views, the way the sun moved across the sky and how the house ought to fit into the hillside. He said, “Lets go see the place.” We did. He took lots of photos. We walked the land and talked some more - he was very serious about our ideas. Then we went home to wait for him to make a proposal. We learned later that he went back without us a couple of days later and spent most of a day up there -- looking at the earth, the colors of the rock, the mesquite and saguaro and distant mountain peaks - at sunrise, high noon and sunset. Think about that for a minute. He went back to the land -- and spent a day, learning it. When he came back to talk, he had an idea and he began to tell us about it -- by telling us about our land. That was it for us. John understood. Together we have designed our hillside hideaway and in the process John has taught us a lot about the strength of form and flow. About how light works through a window, room design and materials. It was fun. Last month our plans were approved and our permits were issued. We love the house that John has designed -- and when it is built, you will like it too. And, many of you will see it. Our home will be the first dwelling you see as you travel south from Payson into the Valley of the Sun. On the edge of everything.

We tried renovating our house without an architect. When we ran into some construction problems we called John Milander Architects and they came right out. John was able to quickly get on board and find elegant solutions. Things we thought would be easy - like figuring the spacing and placement for our recessed lighting and bathroom design turned out to be a frustrating ordeal. Our contractor was reluctant to make specific recommendations and it was difficult to try and explain what we wanted. After John provided us with his computer drawings options, it was much easier to make a decision and it helped our contractor do exactly what we wanted. If you are thinking of building without an architect...think again.

In the years I have known and consulted with John Milander Architects (JMA), I have witnessed the company perform successful renovations on multiple projects in Arizona and California, increasing both the property values and quality of lives of the occupants. I recommend JMA for remodeling, rejuvenating and updating properties. As a real estate agent, I have seen my share of poorly designed properties; and they are usually sitting vacant on the market. John helped me with a redesign of a rental property in Culver City, CA. I gave him a budget, and he wisely evaluated where to best put the funds. Instead of upgrading the entire house, John focused on renovating the interior and improving the landscaping. The finished design updated the crowded and dated mess of rooms into an open and modern interior. John’s landscape design brought new life to the street frontage and rear courtyard. When the renovations by JMA were complete, I was able to triple the monthly rental rate, and now I have a waiting list for the rental.