Kaplan Architects

We have worked with Kaplan Architects in the past and hired them in 2018 to assist us with drawings, elevations and to get us through the permitting process of a complete redesign and remodel of an 1800 square foot flat in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco. Kaplan Architects kept us on schedule and always came up with creative solutions. I would highly recommend them and use them again! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

I highly recommend Ed Kaplan for architectural work. Back in 2004 we almost doubled the size of our 2/1 Berkeley bungalow by adding a large downstairs office, large upstairs master bedroom with bath, and above that (with exterior spiral staircase) a roof terrace (with elastomeric to walk on). This totally transformed our home. 14 years later we are still loving these spaces, every day. Ed helped us work out our plans with highly detailed feedback, helped us find a great contractor (not easy), and stayed with us until completion (only 6 months from construction start to finish). Having worked out all details in advance really helped keep down construction cost (we incurred only a couple of "change-orders", both cosmetic, not structural). Very satisfied with the whole process. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

I highly recommend Ed Kaplan for architectural work. Back in 2004 we almost doubled the size of our 2/1 Berkeley bungalow by adding a large downstairs office, large upstairs master bedroom with bath, and above that (with exterior spiral staircase) a roof terrace (with elastomeric to walk on). This totally transformed our home. 14 years later we are still loving these spaces, every day. Ed helped us work out our plans with highly detailed feedback, helped us find a great contractor (not easy), and stayed with us until completion (only 6 months from construction start to finish). Having worked out all details in advance really helped keep down construction cost (we incurred only a couple of "change-orders", both cosmetic, not structural). Very satisfied with the whole process. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

I highly recommend Ed Kaplan for architectural work. Back in 2004 we almost doubled the size of our 2/1 Berkeley bungalow by adding a large downstairs office, large upstairs master bedroom with bath, and above that (with exterior spiral staircase) a roof terrace (with elastomeric to walk on). This totally transformed our home. 14 years later we are still loving these spaces, every day. Ed helped us work out our plans with highly detailed feedback, helped us find a great contractor (not easy), and stayed with us until completion (only 6 months from construction start to finish). Having worked out all details in advance really helped keep down construction cost (we incurred only a couple of "change-orders", both cosmetic, not structural). Very satisfied with the whole process. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed Kaplan, and associate David Seltzer, designed and oversaw a beautiful 600 square foot addition to our 1920’s cape cod home. The 2 story addition included a bedroom with kitchenette, a guest bath, and grand master bath, large closet and bonus room. Their attention to detail and skill in execution is evident their work. They worked tirelessly in balancing our needs with the traditional aesthetic of our home and neighborhood. From guiding us through the permitting process, negotiating with the city building department, interviewing general contractors, and providing us advice and guidance throughout the entire process, Ed was instrumental in this project. Having performed a major remodel on his own home in our neighborhood, Ed is well versed on the requirements of our Hoa aswell as changing city codes. Ed and David went above and beyond regularly. Even addressing concerns of our neighbors directly, in in-person sit downs and performing extensive daylight studies at their request. Ed was continually overseeing the work of our gc, frequently contacting him and ensuring the slightest details were not being overlooked (details my wife and I certainly would not have noticed). Ed and David also worked very closely with my wife, who is a designer, to consider material/color/texture options carefully. I was the tie breaker when it came to price ;)All in all, I couldn’t imagine having to go through this project without the level of personalization, care and direction afforded us by Ed and David. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

It has been a pleasure to work with Ed in remodeling our property in Los Altos Hills, which included the architecture design of our house to completion of the projects. Ed also assisted in managing and overlooking the overall construction details. We really enjoyed working with Ed. He is highly skilled professional with great attitude and pleasant personality. We are very pleased with Ed’s work and we would highly recommend him! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed Kaplan, and associate David Seltzer, designed and oversaw a beautiful 600 square foot addition to our 1920’s cape cod home. The 2 story addition included a bedroom with kitchenette, a guest bath, and grand master bath, large closet and bonus room.

Their attention to detail and skill in execution is evident their work. They worked tirelessly in balancing our needs with the traditional aesthetic of our home and neighborhood. From guiding us through the permitting process, negotiating with the city building department, interviewing general contractors, and providing us advice and guidance throughout the entire process, Ed was instrumental in this project. Having performed a major remodel on his own home in our neighborhood, Ed is well versed on the requirements of our Hoa aswell as changing city codes.

Ed and David went above and beyond regularly. Even addressing concerns of our neighbors directly, in in-person sit downs and performing extensive daylight studies at their request. Ed was continually overseeing the work of our gc, frequently contacting him and ensuring the slightest details were not being overlooked (details my wife and I certainly would not have noticed).

Ed and David also worked very closely with my wife, who is a designer, to consider material/color/texture options carefully. I was the tie breaker when it came to price ;)

All in all, I couldn’t imagine having to go through this project without the level of personalization, care and direction afforded us by Ed and David. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed Kaplan, and associate David Seltzer, designed and oversaw a beautiful 600 square foot addition to our 1920's cape cod home. The 2 story addition included a bedroom with kitchenette, a guest bath, and grand master bath, large closet and bonus room. Their attention to detail and skill in execution is evident their work. They worked tirelessly in balancing our needs with the traditional aesthetic of our home and neighborhood. From guiding us through the permitting process, negotiating with the city building department, interviewing general contractors, and providing us advice and guidance throughout the entire process, Ed was instrumental in this project. Having performed a major remodel on his own home in our neighborhood, Ed is well versed on the requirements of our Hoa aswell as changing city codes. Ed and David went above and beyond regularly. Even addressing concerns of our neighbors directly, in in-person sit downs and performing extensive daylight studies at their request. Ed was continually overseeing the work of our gc, frequently contacting him and ensuring the slightest details were not being overlooked (details my wife and I certainly would not have noticed). Ed and David also worked very closely with my wife, who is a designer, to consider material/color/texture options carefully. I was the tie breaker when it came to price ;)All in all, I couldn't imagine having to go through this project without the level of personalization, care and direction afforded us by Ed and David. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

We chose Kaplan Architects to design the remodel of our 90 year old Richmond District single family home. The remodel included redoing the garage and adding rooms on the ground floor, a new and larger kitchen, adding a large deck and stairs to the back of the house, and significant seismic upgrades throughout.
We have never done a project like this before and Kaplan Architects did a great job helping us with the design and the permit approval process. Their transparency and explanation of the remodel process, including cost, providing a template for the contractor bids, and of getting permit approvals in San Francisco was a major factor in our selection of them.
Ed and his team were a pleasure to work with. They were very patient, respectful and very responsive to our questions and our inputs on the design, and changes we made to the project design. They gave us good guidance on working with the contractor and helped us in dealing with unanticipated problems.
We highly recommend Kaplan Architects and would use them again. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed is a consumate professional, calm, confident, attentive, engaging. A pleasure to work with as is his team including Wendy and David. All very helpful. They were very good at listening to our concerns and desires. The process worked smoothly and they always gave us ample time to meet the contractor's needs and timeline. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed was a pleasure to work with. Not only was he incredibly nice (seriously), but also was extremely communicative and easy to work with. We had a pretty tight turn around for our work (which granted, was not major, but still), and had quite a few constraints to work around, but Ed and David pulled through amazingly with some creative workarounds! I don't write reviews often, but these guys were amazing and deserve a look if you need architectural help. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Ed was a pleasure to work with. Not only was he incredibly nice (seriously), but also was extremely communicative and easy to work with. We had a pretty tight turn around for our work (which granted, was not major, but still), and had quite a few constraints to work around, but Ed and David pulled through amazingly with some creative workarounds! I don't write reviews often, but these guys were amazing. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

I loved working with Ed and David in his firm. We threw them a big curve ball by trying to do our project without an architect, and brought him in only after things were already a bit messed up. They were great in jumping on board and helping us with a total remodel (maybe $400,000) of a 1926 cottage in the El Cerrito Hills. We think their design of the front porch and entry is a magnificent addition, and they created a total redesign of the interior. Responsive to our ideas, creative, and on-the-spot in dealing with problems that arose during construction . . . can't say enough good things about these guys. And finally, we thought their fees and charges were reasonable, and they were always pleasant to work with. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

My fiancé and I are the type of people that over-research everything. We bought a house in San Francisco that required major remodeling and set out to find a phenomenal architect. In fact, between phone consultations and in-person meetings we interviewed over 20 architects. Ed Kaplan was literally the best of all of the high quality architects we spoke with. He did a great job of both listening to what my fiancé and I needed as well as providing new and refreshing ideas. He was incredibly articulate and was able to express how he works in an extremely organized fashion. Before he started explaining concepts he would even ask how much detail we wanted and would then tailor his response accordingly. He had great attainable ideas for our home, showed up on-time, and well prepared with examples of previous work. He showed us examples of the different types of drawings he would provide to us if we hired him. We both felt like Ed just "got it". He was willing to leave as much of the house intact as we could to help save us money. He understood we had priorities based on a tight budget and truly wanted to work to get as much accomplished within our budget as possible. He had great ideas about how to maximize our budget too! Other architects had grandiose ideas of remodel features we could never afford (some we didn't even want and would have never prioritized) and were awful at setting expectations for their timeline, budget, and work. Ed seemed genuinely excited to learn about our desires and styles. Ed really stood out to us as the best possible option and I can imagine we will either hire him for future projects or recommend him to friends and family. (We didn't end up hiring Ed because we had a friend who is an architect who agreed to pretty much do the architectural work for us for free. Absent that extreme gift from a friend, we would have hired Ed and may end up doing so if our friend drops the ball). Thanks Ed! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

My fiancé and I are the type of people that over-research everything. We bought a house in San Francisco that required major remodeling and set out to find a phenomenal architect. In fact, between phone consultations and in-person meetings we interviewed over 20 architects. Ed Kaplan was literally the best of all of the high quality architects we spoke with. He did a great job of both listening to what my fiancé and I needed as well as providing new and refreshing ideas. He was incredibly articulate and was able to express how he works in an extremely organized fashion. Before he started explaining concepts he would even ask how much detail we wanted and would then tailor his response accordingly. He had great attainable ideas for our home, showed up on-time, and well prepared with examples of previous work. He showed us examples of the different types of drawing he would provide to us if we hired him. We both felt like Ed just "got it". He was willing to leave as much of the house intact as we could to help save us money. He understood we had priorities based on a tight budget and truly wanted to work to get as much accomplished within our budget as possible. He had great ideas about how to maximize our budget too! Other architects had grandiose ideas of remodel features we could never afford (some we didn't even want and would have never prioritized) and were awful at setting expectations for their timeline, budget, and work. Ed seemed genuinely excited to learn about our desires and styles. Ed really stood out to us as the best possible option and I can imagine we will either hire him for future projects or recommend him to friends and family. (We didn't end up hiring Ed because we had a friend who is an architect who agreed to pretty much do the architectural work for us for free. Absent that extreme gift from a friend, we would have hired Ed and may end up doing so if our friend drops the ball). Thanks Ed! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Thank you Kaplan Architects! My husband and I had the privilege to work with Ed and mostly David with the remodel of 2 bathrooms and the addition of a powder room. We had never done this kind of construction before and so we were a little anxious about it in the beginning. We found them to be highly professional, accessible, responsible, personable, efficient and easy to talk too in discussing our project. They really listened to our needs and provided excellent guidance and support. I think David and Ed are very talented at what they do. David and Ed seemed as excited as we were each step of the way. The contractors we hired told us that their elevations made it so much easier for them to do their job, I wish there were more stars to give them! Thank you for your hard work. We would highly recommend them to anyone. We are so happy!! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Thank you Kaplan Architects! My husband and I had the privilege to work with Ed and mostly David with the remodel of 2 bathrooms and the addition of a powder room. We had never done this kind of construction before and so we were a little anxious about it in the beginning.
We found them to be highly professional, accessible, responsible, personable, efficient and easy to talk too in discussing our project. They really listened to our needs and provided excellent guidance and support. I think David and Ed are very talented at what they do.
David seemed as excited as we were each step of the way. The contractors we hired told us that their elevations made it so much easier for them to do their job, I wish there were more stars to give them! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

I just finished working with Kaplan Architects and had an excellent experience.  My home renovation required quite a bit of expertise, design sensitivity, and a quick turn around time.  This firm completed my project promptly and I received my building permits without a hitch.Their attention to detail, ability to listen to my needs, good design ideas, efficiency and lack of big egos was a plus.  Also very reasonable and fair on their billing.Kaplan Architects is a great group and I highly recommend them to anyone working on a new design or renovation project in San Francisco, Napa/Sonoma or Tahoe.  I am certain that they would also consider warm, sunny islands ;-)  Their versatility and ability to adapt their designs to any environment was a benefit.Thanks Ed and crew for all your hard work!  I am sooo pleased!! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Ed was terrific! He offered excellent design ideas while also making me aware of San Francisco building codes. Although it was a small project, he gave me a lot of his time, listened carefully to my needs and made the entire experience truly an enjoyable one. I highly recommend him!

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed and his team were great to work with - very responsive, detail oriented, and worked within our short timeline. I would hire them again in a heartbeat.

Reviewed on Houzz

Working with Kaplan Architects for our kitchen and great room remodel was a great experience. From the beginning, Ed Kaplan listened to what we wanted and made excellent suggesting that were both practical and esthetically pleasing. He assisted us with some structural changes that needed to be made, and with decisions regarding various materials in order to keep the remodel cost effective. He worked hand in hand with our contractor overseeing the project every step of the way, insuring that deadlines could be met. Ed is a professional and very creative with his designs. He strives to give his clients a beautiful project as well as an effortless experience by using his talents and knowledge to guide his clients throughout the project. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

I worked with Ed on our bathroom remodel and he was wonderful. Ed listened well to what I wanted and also offered some great ideas. He helped me through every step of the project including coordinating and following up with the contractor to make sure things were being done as planned. Ed is personable, knowledgeable and skilled at his job. He was such a pleasure to work with and our new bathroom is beautiful! I would highly recommend him. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Kaplan Architects has been an awesome partner helping us to figure out some complicated problems and balancing our high expectations of quality with the realities of budgets. Ed is a seasoned professional with a terrific team that takes a very thoughtful and detailed approach. We are working with Kaplan Architects on a master plan to drive a multi-year transformation of our home. We wanted a partner that we could work with for the long haul and Ed (and team) have lived up to expectations. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Kaplan Architects provided a refreshing and creative new floor plan to a remodel that I had planned for a previous home. Ed Kaplan was innovative and creative in how he found space and used every bit of it to bring light, loft, and space into the design. This was my second experience working with an architect and my most enjoyable by far. This remodel was of a dining room and a bedroom which would now become a great room by removing walls and ceilings to take it to the full peak of the roof and providing a custom ridge skylight that will bring in much needed light in what is a 1904 bungalow. Kaplan Architects would then be reconnecting a studio that in the 1940's had been made into a mother in law unit back to the main house and using the individual three spaces in the studio to carve out a very sexy master bath, large walk in closet and ancillary closets along one wall. The master bath was to have both a dedicated soaking tub and a 4x4 foot shower all skylighted. The bid that Ed had secured unfortunately came in too high to make building this feasible with the neighborhood that was not showing growth. Ultimately I sold that house and moved to a larger home. However I still dream of what that remodel would have been like to realize in person. Ed Kaplan really "got " what I was saying in regards to what I wanted the final out come to be. although it cost me about 4k to do this exploration I do believe it was money well spent if not to just help me see whether building quality in a marginal neighborhood is feasible, if at some point one would like to get their money back at a sale point. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

We have worked with Kaplan Architects numerous times over the past 10 years and have greatly enjoyed designing and developing projects that provide a unique building-to-site relationship.

Most recently having worked on the Jones Residence, the transformation of the site and design of the house is spectacular. They were able to recognize the value of maximizing views towards the San Francisco Bay in the layout of the house floor plans.

Ed and his team are thorough, detailed, consciensous, creative and great designers. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed Kaplan designed three projects for our house. 1. Remodel the kitchen and build a deck. 2. Change the deck into a dining room and the lower deck into a study. 3. Remodel two bathrooms.
We selected Mr. Kaplan because he was highly recommended by a very difficult friend. It was a pleasure to work with him and we love his simple lines and choice of colors and textures. He met deadlines and worked well with the contractors. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Being a general contractor I have had the opportunity to work with numerous architectural and designer firms. Kaplan Architect's plans are some of the best. Their details are clear and well thought out. They really spend time on the way things are to be constructed. This in turn makes it easier to create an accurate budget for the project; everything I need to know is right in front of me. If you’re in the process of hiring an architect I would highly recommend Kaplan Architects. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Ed Kaplan and his team were great partners in my complete home remodel ("down to the studs"). Ed and Co. were great idea generators yet always responsive to my suggestions (no matter how. ..). The result is a "new" house that blends the best of today's technologies and lifestyle demands with the historical look of the 1920s original that it is. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

After completing multiple projects with Kaplan Architects that went smoothly and with great satisfaction from the clients, I am always pleased to have been such large part of the finished product. Like always, being the GC, I am continuosly wondering from the start of the project what the outcome will be. Kaplan Architect's attention to the smallest of details, from the layout of all of the millwork, to the elegant lighting, every detail has been thought out thouroly, which in the end, makes my job easy. I believe any potential client could not ask for anything more than what Kaplan Architects can accomplish. More...

Reviewed on Houzz