udvari-solner design company

Mark designed our home and we are extremely happy with how it turned out!! We enjoyed our experience with Udvari-Solner Design even though the process did take quite a bit longer than we initially expected. There were a few meetings that felt somewhat unclear as to what part of the process we were on, and what the immediate next steps were. But all in all, upon the home's completion, we are so pleased with the results! It was a pleasure working with both Mark and Kaitlin.

If you’re looking for a creative design company, are not in a hurry to get a buildable plan, and are willing to spend tens of thousands for the design of your dream home, then Udvari-Solner Design Co. (USDC) is for you. Mark and his team are very creative, easy to work with, and utilize modern design tools to help you visualize your new new space. My wife and I are extremely happy with our new home design, which we will build this year. I give five stars for the design and people; three stars for the time it took and cost uncertainty. We picked USDC because we were looking for a prairie transitional design that will fit the environment of our country property, not a parade home plopped down on a lot. USDC listens and works hard to understand your lifestyle to design spaces that work for you, with creative design elements that are both functional and beautiful. We came to USDC with a custom scaled drawing of a floor plan based on flow, room sizes and features we like from our current home, while considering placement on our property. Several design iterations later, we have an awesome floor plan we couldn’t have created on our own, and a beautiful exterior design that will look like it belongs in its setting. Mark made several trips to the site to ensure we capture awesome views, and take advantage of passive solar heating. The process took nearly six months to complete, which was considerably longer than anticipated. In an effort to manage to a budget, we iterated on size which added time, so it’s not all on USDC, but sometimes minor changes took weeks to see the next iteration. USDC bills at an hourly rate, which varies by employee working on the project. They could do a better job of setting expectations for cost and time, as we would get bills without any idea of how much ahead of time, and how many hours/days changes would take to implement. Half way through the process we met to lay out a timeline and cost estimate to complete the project, to help us manage cost and expectations. There is inherent uncertainty in the custom design process, so it’s difficult to get a fixed bid; break it down into stages and provide cost and time ranges for each stage to help manage expectations. Bottom line is I would highly recommend USDC for their creativity and cordial staff, but recommend establishing expectations for total time and cost up front, and from one stage to the next.

Mark/Kaitlin, A long overdue note, but Linda and I wanted to let you both know how much we have enjoyed working with you during the design phase of our project. We've made some changes along the way based on budget and/or preferences of the builder (Jim Raboin - who's quality is outstanding), but hope you like what you saw in the latest set of pictures I shared. We couldn't be happier with how things are taking shape. Anyway, we wanted to get you a quick update to, once again, let you know how happy we are with the work you did to help bring our vision to life. We hope you are staying well, and have a wonderful Holiday!

Mark and his team did a fantastic job of making my vision come to life. He had creative suggestions to enhance my vision and was eager to help every step of the way. This was a unique build with some design challenges and Mark and his team rose to the occasion at every turn. I highly recommend Udvari-Solner Design company for all your design needs.

Design work for a new custom home located in WI - a very nice staff and unique ideas for our home

We knew we had a challenging building project and this was our first. And now that it’s behind us, we can (with gratitude), say our last. Narrow, hard to access lake lot. After interviewing a number of architects, we had the wind taken out of our sails. Egos, cost, difficult project, expensive, etc. We sought out Mark because we contacted the owners of a home we loved and asked who their architect was. They had only good things to say, so we contacted Mark. He was a breath of fresh air. He was enthusiastic, he had a vision, and he inspired us!!!! Mark was involved on a very personal level. He listened and understood who we were, and are as a family, and what we dreamed of in our future and for forever home, and then surprised us by making it even better. Every step of the way he was our advocate and trusted advisor. When interviewing builders he asked the questions we didn’t know we needed to ask. He spared us expenses by making thoughtful alternative suggestions to keep us on budget. And we always knew he has our best interests leading his decisions, because that’s who he is, and that’s who his team is. Everyone who has visited our home is blown away by the thoughtfulness of our layout and the use of space that caters to our family’s specific and unique needs. It all comes back to how Mark took the time to get to know and understand us, our life, and what we want moving forward. On every level we feel like we hit the jackpot working with him. His staff is exceptional, and they took care of city permitting and the details that could have made this a very stressful situation for us with class. Thank you Ron!!!!!!!Thank you Alex! Thank you Theresa! There was never a day we made a call to Mark that it wasn’t returned that day. Their level of professionalism is unmatched. Choosing Mark was a slam dunk and we will be forever grateful.

My wife and I hired Mark and his team to help us design a custom home that we plan to live in for the rest of our lives. We felt like we had a good idea of what we wanted for this house going into the process. After several iterations, Mark was able to put together all the features we knew we wanted plus a few key additions that he thought of which we hadn’t thought of, but really appreciate now. The part of the experience that stands out the most is how Mark helped us with the selecting a builder. He and his team put together an extremely detailed specification and he helped us select 3 very good builders to get bids from. All 3 bids came in within just 3% of each other which was impressive for a large custom home. We were impressed with all 3 and extremely satisfied with the builder we chose. The building process went very smoothly with just a couple of minor changes from the design and the final cost was very close to the bid only differing due to some cosmetic upgrades we chose after the bid process. Our only concerns of note from the project were that the design process took A fair amount longer than we were expecting after our first meeting and it seemed like most time estimates and targets ended up being a bit too optimistic. Also during the design iterations, it was not always clear what had been changed and why. We have now been living in our new home for over a year and we love it. We really appreciate everything Mark and his team did to help us build our dream.

Udvari-Solner provided complete design of our lake home. Mark led every meeting personally, but the whole team was involved. We were looking for a unique design on a challenging lot. The team guided us through the bidding process. Our ideas and concerns were always top priority.

Would give zero stars if I could. Disastrous process with Mark who left us feeling scammed and taken advantage of as first time home owners building a house. After difficulty finding a floor plan we liked, decided to have a custom plan drawn and Mark at Udvari-Sooner looked like a good option. We entered a contract for $1500 to draw us a plan - Mark proceeded to act like a general contractor even though we just wanted a floor plan. SIX MONTHS it took Mark to draw this plan, meeting with us every few weeks. If I had a dollar for every time Mark told me “I know contractors and what they charge this will be ON budget” i could have built the house. At a sizable discount! Needless to say after the plan was finally done (six months!) not only did it come in at $500,000 from the cheapest bid, after giving Mark a budget of 350,000 - but you’ll imagine my great surprise when Mark billed me $13000 dollars for drawing the plan! Yes we had agreed to a retainer of $1500 and he billed me $13,000+ End result went somewhere else, drew a plan in three hours - had bid plans in five days, and broke ground two weeks later. Please contact me if you want a first hand account of what working with Mark is REALLY like. I would be happy to share our experience and hopefully save you the pain and frustration I went through. Zero stars, negative stars. Can’t believe they stay in business. I had several builders warn me and wish I had listened. End result paid $13,000+ to Mark for a house that was so far over budget I couldn’t even build it, and the process took many months, only due to Mark. Not our requests.

We hired Mark Udvari-Solner to design our home, help us with the bidding process, and check in on construction periodically, and it was the best decision we could have made. We just moved into our new home two weeks ago, and we cannot stop marveling at how amazing our house is. We approached Mark and his staff about designing a home for us after looking for an existing home for years with no luck. Even though we didn't think our list of desired features was excessive (large working kitchen for my spouse who cooks most dinners, walk-in pantry, ranch with walkout lower level, nice master suite), we kept finding that even a "fixer" would end up being near or over our budget once remodeling was done, and we would never get close to everything we wanted that way. We decided to meet with Mark to see if he could design a modest house for us that met our needs, within our budget, and we are so glad that we did. When we first met Mark, we were impressed with his attention to detail and function. He thought about flow, placement of rooms, light, how we lived our lives, aging into the home, etc, and he clearly has vision. We wanted a mid-century influenced home, and he absolutely designed a home with that feel. After the first layout sketch, we asked for some changes in the size (we actually downsized!) and location of kitchen, dining area, etc. He was very responsive to our feedback, and after some revisions, we were able to get finalized plans within a few months of the first meeting. He then recommended builders to send the blueprints to for bidding, was our point person through that, then worked with us and the builder we chose to bring the costs down some prior to construction. We wanted to use finishes that worked with our budget (engineered wood floors, vinyl siding with Hardie siding trim for accents, cabinetry from an online company, modestly priced tile), and Mark was happy to incorporate those into his plans. We spent more where we felt it was important (quality windows, countertops, interior trim). Whenever we needed anything or had questions, his staff responded immediately, and Mark was available throughout the process. The entire office is friendly and professional. Mark himself is easy to work with, and having him stay peripherally involved during construction was really helpful. There were several ideas that he had during walkthroughs with the builder about finishes or minor changes that worked out great for us, and we would not have thought of those things on our own. Mark designed a stunning, unique house for us. We had subcontractors commenting on how much they liked the house, and even asking if they could bring spouses in to see some of the features that Mark integrated into the design. We cannot believe that we have such an incredible home with our budget. Given that there is a 1700 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath new construction generic home down the street on a much smaller lot listed for about $80,000 less than we spent, all in, for our 4 bed, 3 bath, 3500 sq ft home, we know that working with Mark saved us money. I'm guessing most people assume that hiring a home designer for a custom plan is only for people with huge budgets, but let me assure you it's not. I highly recommend Mark Udvari-Solner if you are interested in a unique custom home that no one else will have - even if you don't have a huge budget.

Mark Udvari-Solner designed an amazing house for us, and we had the best possible experience with his firm. We give them our highest recommendation and we’d be happy to provide additional feedback to anyone considering hiring them. We arrived at Udvari-Solner Design Company after failing for several years to find a new home to buy. First, we looked for a fixer but we couldn’t find one that worked. After years of looking, we finally considered building. We started with the popular building firms in the area but they were all unwilling to customize their standard designs. Then we looked at design/build firms, but realized that they profited by offering less value. Ultimately, we decided that we’d get more of what we wanted and the best value by designing a home and bidding out the plan. That’s when we found Mark. At first we were a little intimidated because most of Mark’s projects are much larger and fancier than any home that we could afford. We discussed our budget and our needs with Mark and he convinced us that he could make it work. It was honestly one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Mark offers a range of services and we hired him to design our house, recommend builders, oversee the bidding process and consult during construction. As first-time builders, we found his expertise and support invaluable. When you hire Mark, he works for you and you can rely on him to advocate for you with contractors, vendors, etc. He knows the business, he has a great reputation, and he gets results. It did take some work from everyone involved to keep our project within budget, but we were ultimately successful. Importantly, the entire staff is friendly, courteous and responsive and they are all completely dedicated to serving their customers’ needs. With the project behind us, I can say that we absolutely got a stunning home and the best possible value by hiring Mark. We think of the home Mark designed for us as a work of art. Without his help, it never would have come to pass. Do yourself a favor and hire Mark to help design your next project. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Mark and his company, made our first home building a great success! His thoughtful design, his attention to all the details of the home building process from a construction design book for the builder that listed every material specification and design element to be used in the construction, to building us a scale model of how our home would look when it was finished! He would be on site for any questions that needed to be answered, by the builders and he took us to many homes he designed to show us how the finished design elements would look in real life! He was fantastic in helping us make the hard decisions in the process, while giving us many options to choose from! I highly recommend Mark's Co. if your looking for a quality well built home using the best materials, using a well thought out design process to build that special home for you! Mark continues to help us answer any questions that we have with our home 16 years later! I can't say enough about Mark and the Udvari-solner Design Co.. In my estimation Mark's Co. was the best decision Jane and I made from the may design firms we interviewed to design and complete our dream home! We thank Mark for making Jane and I extremely happy first time home builders!!