David D Harlan Architects

The Casale delle Mille Olive was a ruin from the 1600’s on top of a Sabine hill in Lazio, Italy, surrounded by an ancient olive orchard. My husband and I fell in love with this old farm house and bought it for restructuring. We made it our home.
David Harlan and his architectural and historical knowledge accompanied us through the whole process of making this forgotten place ours to live in it.
David’s vision was instrumental to maintaining the old structure in one piece and respecting the classic lines and decorum of the building.
The Italian architect, that came with the purchase deal, wanted contemporary interventions that would have been unlivable specially due to weather conditions. For example, he wanted to build a glass box to connect via stairs the three floors. The projected glass cage was facing north west, and during our torrid summers it would have been a literal oven. David was instrumental for deterring the building of the stairs outside of the existing structure. Our long conversations and his beautiful sketches gave us his vision of this place and made us have a clear idea of what needed to be done in order to preserve with outmost respect the character of the historical building. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

I have worked with David on several large projects over the past twenty years where I have been the construction project manager and David has been the lead architect. I have loved working with David first of all because he is a delightful person: charming funny and easy to work with - as long as you can deliver on the quality he expects and secondly because he consistently delivers beautifully designed projects that meet the clients needs.

David is classically trained and his projects range from traditional to more contemporary interpretations of traditional forms. I have been impressed by David's ability to find the ingenious, unexpected solution to a thorny design problem. David is able to think broadly about a client's long-range requirements, but also zero in on the small detail that will make a project rich and unique. In recent years, David has also designed custom furniture for some of his projects that I have admired very much. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

David renovated our 1970 craftsman home. He transformed a mediocre 4100 sq ft. house into an updated, open and special showplace. No one ever walked into our house without complementing the special touches and beautiful finishes he implemented. He took the house down to the studs and worked his magic not only with room configurations but with lighting, woodwork, and metal work. David worked within our budget by utilizing product consistently throughout the house. We then used his talents on the exterior landscaping which exceeded our expectations. We recently relocated and sold our house in 1 day. I credit David's renovation and landscaping. We have continued to hire him through the years and for updates to our new home as well. 2000 - 2018 More...

Reviewed on Houzz

David was a true joy to work with when designing our home. His aesthetic and his attention to detail are outstanding. I admire the thought he puts into his designs. He gets to know your personality, interests, likes, dislikes and what's important to you before he does anything design wise. David has exquisite taste and a well formed thought process. I recommend him highly. More...

Reviewed on Houzz