Streamline Design Ltd.

Choose Streamline if you want a design company that can see what you envision and then use their expertise to bring it to life as your dream home. Kevin at Streamline saved us from disaster. We had a false start with a different designer and construction company – who both told us it was normal to have major design differences and challenges. With Kevin that was not true. We trusted him with our vision to which, through his insightful conversation and respectful approach, adjusted it to create the perfect design for our needs. When we told him it was a challenging site – Kevin’s response was simply “this is what we do”. Kevin then connected us to his network of best in class professionals to build our custom house. The previous setbacks and obstacles that existed disappeared. Kevin doesn’t just design the house, he stays through the whole process. If you what to know more about our experience, have Kevin connect us.

RE: Tsaparas Residence - Big Bar Lake, B.C. The design provided by Kevin and his team @ Streamline Design Ltd. was incredibly thorough. Further, Kevin's cordial conduct throughout the engineering & lengthy construction process was very professional. I highly recommend Streamline Design Ltd. if you're considering a large scale custom log/timber frame build. Kody J. Warriner, P.Eng. President KJW Engineering Ltd.

We've worked with Streamline Design on many past projects and highly recommend. Very professional and knowledgeable, with designs and ideas to bring your dream home to reality.

Over the past several years we have worked closely with Kevin and his team on a number of projects. They have always been very accommodating in designing exactly what the clients want in their custom homes. Currently we have 2 projects in various stages of completion and will be breaking ground on one our largest and most exciting projects to date. We would highly recommend Kevin and his team for your designs. Looking forward to many more projects in the future. David A Goodwin Dave-Go Services Ltd

My husband and I began working with Kevin from Streamline Design on plans for our new build approximately one year ago. While we live in upstate NY near the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, our hearts yearn for the Rocky Mountains and we wanted a home that reflected our penchant for the West while appropriate for the area in which we currently live. We did our research and stylistically we aligned with Streamline. It was also important for my husband to incorporate large western red cedar logs into the design, an element he has long admired. Streamline is well versed with this. We provided Kevin with a design "brief" - attributes and features important to us. We also filled out an extensive questionnaire provided by Streamline. We had 2-3 video calls with Kevin and the remainder of the correspondence was via e-mail. What worked for us: -Kevin was realistic. He understood our budget and was honest on elements we wanted to incorporate but likely would place us over. We appreciated this. -Easy to work with. Listened. Responded to e-mails quickly. Provided contacts for engineering approvals etc. Held our hands throughout the process. -The firm is not wedded to only 'rustic' or 'mountain modern'. Their designs are able to span a wide range of tastes and styles. -3D Renderings. I am a visual person and being able to navigate and "walk" in my new home as opposed to looking solely at blueprints was/is a tremendous help. It allowed me to understand the flow/spacing and was a good gut check that the design would work for our family. -Exterior Changes. Kevin updated the exterior siding colors/orientation several times to help us visually narrow down what materials to select. -Kevin calculated square footage of our pitched ceilings so that we could accurately identify the amount of material we needed for our tongue and groove Net-net, I see our relationship with Streamline continuing as we one day look to build a separate garage structure and perhaps a vacation home. Would highly recommend Streamline for anyone looking to build - it's a fun, creative process and you'll be thrilled with the end result!

At Summit Log and Timber Homes we have been working with Kevin and his design team at Streamline Design for many years. They are extremely knowledgeable and experienced in log and timber design and construction. Their plans are always beautiful, functional, and value engineered. True professionals in every way.

The Streamline Design Ltd team was exceptional to deal with! Kevin was attentive to our questions, provided experienced guidance to help us make informed decisions with the complete long term goal in mind. We are confident that the design of our custom home, and the materials we chose to specify will help us have a home that meets our needs and ticks the boxes for the wants! From opening discussions we felt that the team at Streamline was the right fit. They asked us good questions, they listened attentively to our list of wants and needs and offered advice from their experiences; all of which were valuable to our family. The insights and discussions we had along the design path helped us make good decisions. The outputs generated by Kevin and team were well detailed, and had no issue passing engineering reviews

Keven was very helpfull with design speaking to the pros and cons of all aspects. The comunication with him was always thourough and end with a good understanding of the design, He was very quick to respond to all questions and went beyond his scope to help with the project. Thanks Kevin for the effort put forward. Regards Paul & Lori-Anne Sturkenboom

I've used Streamline for many of my projects and have always appreciated his professionalism, and his work ethic. His response time is great and he is always my first phone call when I need plans drawn. His knowledge in the timber-frame and log game is unmatched. and this shows with his 20+ years of experience. You're in good hands when you give Kevin and his team a call.

We were very thankful to build some of Kevin's beautiful home designs - they have been award finalists when they are completed and we really appreciate Kevin's attention to detail, his professionalism and his commitment. We highly recommend Kevin and Streamline Design!

Very Disappointed The purpose of this review is to suggest how you can avoid some problems that I experienced. I have waited to write this review in order to cool off (I have seldom been more disappointed or angry) and to complete my project so I could understand how other designers worked. Here are three of many lessons learned. Ensure the 3-D viewing software will work on your computer and Streamline takes responsibility for it working properly. The software I viewed in Streamline’s office was changed to one they ‘were trying out’. I received an e-mail with a link to my drawings. No download, no software company, no tutorial, no help messages, no contact us. A picture of my home would appear on my screen but there was no interaction possible. I tried running Norton, freeing up memory, cleaning and defragmenting the hard drive, uninstalling all media, video or game software, updating java; rebooting the computer, web browser and e-mail after each “fix”; then after clicking on the link again - going through a routine of using arrow keys, caps lock on/off, space bar, mouse, repeated clicks, slow clicks, fast clicks to see if there was any response. I sent the e-mail link to several friends but none of them could get a response. I asked Streamline for help four times in a month. I was offered an on-line meeting in which I could see and even control the software on Streamline’s computer. I didn’t spend much time with the software on their computer because what I saw was nothing like what was (not) happening on my computer. I was told, “You are the first and only person to have problems with the viewer.” So I was lazy, stupid or lying (my conclusion). After working with a new designer I discovered the name of the software and the developer . I contacted them and in about a minute they identified the problem. Their software would not work with any browser but Explorer 10 or Google Chrome. Never. Not at all. I checked and more than 60% of netizens were not using either browser at the time. I spent much of my evenings for several weeks trying to get that software to work. It was my bad for expecting Streamline to be responsible for this software they evidently had a license to use, for thinking of everything but changing my browser and for not trying to find and contact the software developer myself. Insist that design approval can only be given in writing with a notation of any pre-conditions. Because I could not view the 3-D software I could not really review the design of the house or the view of an infinity pool from within the house (which was promised). Streamline e-mailed me one day that further design work was now ‘on the clock’. I had never approved the design. I had sent a check for the second part of the contracted work. The check for the first part had taken three weeks to clear so I wanted to avoid such a delay going forward. The payment was a necessary but not a sufficient requirement to move to the second part. Streamline claimed that the second part was already 75% complete – at the time I was notified that the design time had elapsed. Define how much design time you are getting and establish markers along the way so you know when you are getting close to using up your time. Withhold some payment until all work is satisfactorily completed. Communicate clearly whether this is your design or ‘up to the architect’. Although Streamline claims that e-mail communication works well; I made a trip, with a 9” deep file box and my laptop both full of my ideas, to clearly communicate the design I wanted and to assure myself of 3-D viewing capability. Streamline spent the first three weeks coming up with a ‘better design’. East was west, 2nd floor was 1st floor, items I specifically didn’t want were included. One reason given for the changes was a mistaken opinion that building codes require a 48” stairway (actually minimum 36”). There were a minimum of logs used (evidently lots of drywall). I wanted a classic log home – Western Red Cedar, full scribed, handcrafted!! No logs were used for the catwalk, stairs, rafters, interior walls or gables. I wanted three logs beneath the windows but could only have two. Logs were requested for these areas but I was told it was not possible and that the materials that would be used would be clear when the construction drawings were done. This was another reason I felt it was essential that I viewed the 3-D images before approving the design. Later, log home suppliers I contacted all said that it was no problem to use logs where I wanted them. When the 3-D viewing software failed to work I could not fully view the design, I could not check the position of the house/windows/infinity pool, and I had a concern that the design lacked logs in many places. So I halted further design work and asked for the payment for the second part of the contract to be returned. I asked three times. Streamline tried to reach me by phone several times during the day when I was working in the woods. One does not carry their phone in their pocket when working in the woods! In the evenings I could not return their phone calls because I did not have international dialing. Something Streamline knew since we always communicated by e-mail; even when I visited Vancouver. Maybe I should have paid for international dialing service just for this call. I don’t know. Better to have said nothing than to have said what was on my mind. What I did not get: •Interactive 3-D views •Approved design •Submission for structural approval with any revisions required •Other things necessary for application for building permit •Construction drawings •Any of my money back In response to my third request to return payment for (at least) the second part of the project (less foreign exchange difference, banking and handling charges), Streamline wrote, “..you are making up issues to justify your cold feet and decision to proceed in a different direction”. And in response to my intention to write a review of their work they wrote, “...(we) do not respond well to threats”.

Streamline Design did a great job in designing our new hybrid log and timber frame home. The construction drawings are great and when I had problems or questions I could call Kevin and he would respond quickly to answer any question I had. They also set up meetings to go through the plans during the design stage and with the technology they have we could walk right through our home and see the details in three dimension, this was done over the internet as we were hundreds of miles away from their office, it was great.