A2 Studios - Art+Architecture

My husband and I hired Jessie with Asquared Studios to do a full remodel of our house in Kenwood, CA. We described our vision and dream house to her and she came up with a beautiful and functional design. It incorporated all of the specific requests we had made, yet kept us within our budget. It is a leap of faith to go from a design on paper to the real thing, but I trusted Jessie. And the final product was excellent! I appreciated design ideas she made like taller door frames to give the house a larger look, and where to place windows for better light. We have been living in our remodeled house for close to five years now, and there is nothing I would change. I would highly recommend Jessie and Asquared Studios. Thank you Jessie for creating a perfect house for us. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

We hired Jessie for the remodel of both our home, and our commercial building. We’ve decided that she’s a nonnegotiable part of every project that we will have going forward. Fabulous, no BS. She made our Sonoma Valley house feel 500 square feet larger by utilizing every inch intelligently. When we couldn’t afford a vaulted ceiling, she added design elements that gave that illusion instead. We sometimes get out the tape measure to show people that the ceilings are the same height as before. Her work is beautiful and functional. We love where we live, we’ll love where we work, both because of her. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Our experience working with Jesse has been very positive! As a general contractor, we appreciate working with someone who is so detail oriented and client focused. She delicately balances her client’s vision with their realistic budgetary constraints. Her awe-inspiring designs and unique cutting-edge architectural style differentiate her from her peers. We have worked with Jessie on multiple projects and she has routinely proven to be responsive, collaborative and a clear/honest communicator. Any project can benefit from her inspiration! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

We are building a custom home on our vineyard in the mountains above Sonoma. And for us, Jessie Whitesides is the dream architect. She combines creativity and a highly refined aesthetic with practicality and attention to detail, down to the very last nail and screw. She is available constantly to answer even the smallest questions. She listens carefully to the client and is sensitive to their desires and concerns. We could not be happier with our choice of architect. Jessie, you are a rock star! We love you! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

We took on our first home remodel with no prior experience or understanding of the complexity of the project we were undertaking. We also had strong ideas in regards to the specific design styles we wanted to influence our overall home look and feel. It was important to us to work with an architectural partner who could both mentor and guide us through the often overwhelming process, as well as, have the creative insight to translate divergent styles into a thoughtful, cohesive and unified expression. With Tony Garcia, we got all of that and more. His thoroughness, attention to detail, patience, and generous ability to educate us every step of the way made us feel informed and apart of the process. His refined style seamlessly and smartly combined the playfulness of modernists Charles and Ray Eames with a naturalist zen aesthetic. Most importantly, Tony worked with contractors, vendors and manufacturers to ensure that all project details were communicated with clarity and that the design integrity of the project was maintained across all moving parts. We're more than happy with the end result and consider Tony a friend we'd trust with any future design projects. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

We decided to update our master bedroom and bath as things were getting a little tired looking. We live in a high rise condo unit so there were some challenges with regards to space and materials. Specifically, we wanted to remove the carpet in the master bedroom (which after our dogs were through with it was nearly toxic), expand our "master" closet (master is a joke due to the small size - it was hemmed in due to a building support structure), and redo our master bath (again, since this is a condo, size and space were an issue). Tony came over and we explained what we wanted: tile in the bedroom and bath, a bigger closet (if possible) that was actually functional, and a bathroom that used space more efficiently.

Tony asked us about what we wanted in terms of look and feel and in a short time, he had a rough drawing of the new layout. He also had materials for us to look at to try and give us an idea of how it would all tie in together. Once we agreed with all of the material choices (which looked great), he set about finalizing the layout. Now, here, I need to say that because of a construction ambiguity (we didn't know if we would be able to move the location of our vanity without first doing the demo of our bathroom - damn condos!) we can to "pause" the finalization of the plans. Tony was very up front about the issue: basically, if we finalized the plan of moving the vanity but it turned out it would be impossible due to structural considerations, he would have to redo the plans and charge us for the rework. He gave us the option of allowing us to do the demo first and then finalize the plan once we knew if moving the vanity was possible. That's what we chose to do. On the plus side, this allowed us to save money. On the minus side, it meant that there was a delay as we needed Tony to finish the final plans before we could continue with the renovation. Still, in the end, it all worked out for the best and we appreciated that Tony was up front with us about costs so we could make an informed decision.

As for the designs, it was all wonderful - modern and tasteful. Tony drew out EXACT plans for the remodel for the contractor to follow and worked with the contractor when issues came up (again, high rise condos - they are the worst! OK, I do really love our condo, but what a hassle!). Tony helped us secure the materials we needed (I am a bit of a control freak so I bought the materials according to Tony's specifications) so really we just needed the contractor to follow the play by play that Tony drew up. The materials Tony picked out are fantastic and everyone who has seen the floor and wall tiles, fixtures, and accents have been really impressed with how great everything looks. We are at the tail end of the remodel and can't wait to enjoy our new master suite. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

We worked with Tony Garcia to help create our dream house starting with the building block of a 1920's historic Spanish Eclectic house in San Diego. Tony's guidance, program management, attention to detail and excellent working relationship with our design and building team was a critical success factor to our project. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Having worked with Tony Garcia on a historical remodel in San Diego, he has shown us to be an individual highly focused on detail. His customer service and professionalism are 5 star. We would welcome the opportunity to work with Asquared Studios again with no hesitation. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

We did a custom home build from scratch with them. It was a very positive experience. They cared about the needs of each individual in the home. From someone 5'2" to someone 6'5", everything catered uniquely. We appreciated the research they did on styles our family liked, and helped guide with good recommendations. They were easy to work with, approachable, easy to reach, and very consultative. They are upbeat, positive, and fun to work with! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Hello Tony,

We highly regard your designs and it is a privilege to be working with you.
You trust us that we will give your dear clients exceptional service and amazing materials.

Thank you,

Timur
Versatile Surfaces More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Tony Garcia worked designs and working drawings for me on my personal residence. The house was Architecturally significant and yet needed external and interior renovations to bring it to a functional level for the present. It was a challenging job and Tony did an excellent job of bringing the home up to date and producing an exterior that was accepted by the Architectural Review Committee. The drawings he produced were thorough and precise and made the job of the contractor more efficient and resolved many questions before they came up.
I have additionally dealt with Tony on other jobs (I am a developer) as an adviser and find his knowledge of codes, zoning and restrictions to be excellent.
I have recommended him to others and will continue to do so. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Outstanding performance, professional, prompt, listened to what we both needed and wanted. Came through and never had any problems. Seamless project.

Reviewed on Houzz

We hired A-squared Studios to work on a complex restoration project of our home - an historically designated 1920's Spanish Revival residence. We could not be happier with the overall quality of work provided by A-squared and in particular architect Tony Garcia - including overall design concepts and management of the process throughout construction. We have worked with A-squared now on everything from kitchen and bath remodels to pool and landscape projects at our home and are very comfortable recommending them with a 5-star rating! More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Recommendation
Our A2 Studios team, led by Tony Garcia, developed the architectural, interior, and landscape designs; acquired all required permits; coordinated the bid process with the candidate general contractors; and provided construction oversight services for the complete remodel of a 1949 house we own in Point Loma, San Diego. We engaged A2 Studios in January 2006, started renovation in May 2007, and moved into the house in June 2008. We lived on the east coast throughout this project. Excellent, regular communications with Tony and the A2 Studios team and with the general contractor, K2 Contracting, made it practical for us to do this project remotely, with visits to San Diego only for key project milestones. The A2 Studios team had a great working relationship with K2 Contracting. This facilitated timely resolution of a few site issues and minor design changes during construction and contributed to the correct execution of our design. The project was completed on time and within budget. The overall design integrity of the final results greatly exceeds our original expectations. We’ve been in the house for more than six years now and the success of the design and the quality of the execution of the design is evident to us every day.

From concept to final design
To start, Tony and the A2 Studios team elicited our thoughts on how we wanted to use the house, the individual rooms and the exterior spaces. The early design concepts were consistent with our basic goals, while introducing a wide range of interesting and creative features. In six months these concepts were refined to a single, well-integrated preliminary design. Six months later, that design was complete and ready for permit reviews, which went smoothly. This detailed design enabled our selected general contractor, K2 Contracting, to provide a detailed cost estimate that proved to be very accurate.

Kitchen, bath and interior designers were unnecessary on this project. A2 Studios’ interior design capabilities were validated by San Diego Home & Garden magazine, which gave our house the 2009 award for best small master bath, calling it “visual magic.”

Language of the house
Tony and the A2 Studios team exercised great patience and diplomacy as they helped us learn the language of the house. Now it is easy for us to see that several of our early ideas for material, fixtures, cabinets and lighting were inconsistent with the modern, cohesive design of the house.

Value of construction oversight
We greatly valued the continued engagement of the A2 Studios team during the construction phase. This engagement helped ensure accurate implementation of the design and timely resolution of any discrepancies between the “as-designed” house and the “as built” house. The combined effect of small refinements during construction had a significant effect on the overall integrity of the finished product. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Tony Garcia of Asquared Studio was the architect of our year-long renovation of a 1928 Spanish eclectic house. Because we had an historic designation, Tony had more than the usual interaction with the city regarding permits, regulations, and restrictions on exterior changes to the west and south elevations of the house. We had a design team (Walusko-Lange from Los Angeles) that did the preliminary layout, and Tony worked very well with the designers to bring our plans to reality. His communication skills are excellent; he spoke with our site manager, Dave Duncan at least once daily, as well as us. He kept us on schedule with decisions needing to be made. I think some of the subtleties of Tony's design are what makes our newly renovated home so very comfortable! He was a pleasure to work with, and without hesitation, we can recommend Tony Garcia of Asquared Designs in San Diego. More...

Reviewed on Houzz

Working with Tony at A Squared was a wonderful experience. He really listened to my spouse and I about our budget, aesthetic, and needs/wants. Tony also asked a lot of questions to get us thinking about ideas and options that we had not thought about before.

The project he did for us was significant master bathroom transformation. What I really appreciated is that he understood how to separate our needs from our wants and create a design that was within our budget but had the main components we wanted. We talked in the beginning about how we wanted a plan that we could build, not a plan that would be perfect if money was no object. Tony delivered.

Tony was also very helpful during the construction process and his watchful eye nipped many construction problems in the bud when they could be easily corrected. Truly a great person to work with. Very professional and knowledgeable and enjoys helping the homeowner through the process. We would definitely work with Tony and Asquared in the future! More...

Reviewed on Houzz