Arlene Warda Architecture+Interior Design
Oak Park, IL, USA
(10)
Oak Park, IL, USA
(10)
We offer creative and helpful solutions to have a design which brings beauty and living together. We believe good design is affordable, and clients programs are very important. We take time to listen to an owners unique requirements. We work with owner's specialists in different team settings.
Show more
10 customer reviews
Thomas M.
After viewing and interviewing several architect's we liked the visual project portfolio and presentation style of Arlene's projects.
We chose Arlene because she is visually based and like her many years of experience in residential architect.
She has a simple contract one user friendly and her phone contact and emails are promptly returned each day.
For our house she created a complete and beautiful interpretation of our list for our house design! She presented out numerous plan ideas and all were beautiful and inspiring to us!
We are now in the final stages of our house building project and all is going well. We plan to work with Arlene on the next projects on our house after this!...
Delete
Move to
More...
Peter K.
P. K.
We have been working with Arlene for the last year. We have a historic two flat and we are now duplexing expanding into the basement.
We are putting two new bedrooms and a family room with new master suite and bath in our lower level. Things with the new plans are going very well.
We love the new layout and plans. All the suggestions as ideas worked grear respect to layout, along with ideas for tile and fixtures.
We choose some on our own and went with some products Arlene suggested and sent on line.
We happily reviewed our budget and Arlene welcomed any changes we needed with revisions made for cost and keeping with budget.
She met all the deadlines. If we had had questions about code they were answered promptly. Any questions We needed to ask to the city where answered usually within one day or the next day. Most importantly tje project looks great as it greatly improved our house! We own several properties and plan to use Arlene again after this!
More...
Alexander J.
We have a 1960's ranch and our house project was and addition for the kitchen and a new master bath. We had this done years ago
with plans drawn and designed by Arlene.
We liked the design as it was built and it works perfectly with what's there as far as our house. This was a very good solution as layout. Our house and plans were much better with these plans designed by Arlene.
We are continuing our relationship now online as she even had reference plans in her computer one from 15 years ago which she came in person and recently updated.
The permit process was easy and will be easy again it is all online now. We had no changes or updates after permit review to our design. Arlene was friendly and returned all our calls. We definitely plan to move forward with her on our next project! We highly recommend Arlene!
More...
George Benson
We have lived in a single house one
which has a remodeling and addition by Arlene.
We are very happy with the design
a new family room and kitchen addition design to our historic style house.
We loved the presentation and our new remodeling and addition. We called her again after 25 years!
We sent all the latest information, including pictures, a video and Google docs. She had the floor plans on file. Updating on the computer was done as we had changes in the field.
Friendly phone conversation and prompt return of calls within half a day, usually within the hour. We found Arlene very personalable and open to any questions we may have.
Any options on questions code were answered by email. We were glad to see in these modern day these permit drawings could be emailed!
No more printed sets of large plans or prints were required. We liked the new modern system of submitting uploading and emailing plans. All questions were answered ones requested by the building department.
We also liked the idea of fixed price contract. Very usable and easy simple to read.
Most of all we are happy with this second project on the second floor as plans for our remodeling and addition and are going to continue as a second phase to our house in the spring. It fits elegantly with the rest of house as a traditional design. Looks like it as a space was always meant to be.
We highly recommend Arlene for her wonderful plans and her prompt service and look forward to our new phase in the spring!
More...
Jay Sim
We have been working with Arlene since last spring on our house a new addition project abf are very happy with her work and her responsive.
Before that we were ooking at several architects we felt her process with clear, well layout and happy with her plans. Plus she has done recent work for us and for friends.
We now have bid drawings after a very successful design process.
All designs were presented were very good. We finally chose one idea and one plan we wanted and one that encompasses all our ideas. We had ideas in mind which we brought to this as inspiration to this process.
We were also able and got ample time to preview M,E,P, mechanical electrical amd plumbing drawings. We got to review and choose layout designs. Electrical lights and outlets. She was helpful and was able to answer any questions with regarding to code.
We like the idea proposed in the proposal plan that we get choose our and have freedom to choose our own products. Light fixtures, and kitchen and bath products. This was very helpful to us. As we are designers.
The previous contractors reccomended had over 20+ years of experience with Arlene and her projects. They came with highly rated reviews on there pages and solid work references. These were established contractors.
We liked and valued Arlene's communication style. We get answers and phone call promptly in one day and usually in only with an hour to under half a day.
We are very, very happy with plans and plan to use her on our next house and our other projects!
Her work is beautiful and we love our house!...
More...
John
I do not recommend Arlene Warda. I had an interior renovation project to create a master ensuite. Arlene provided promising thoughts in the beginning like her scope of work would take 6-8 weeks and she could help me with fixtures and choosing contractors.
I found it extremely difficult to work with Arlene. She visited our house only once the first week of the project and spent relatively little time in the space itself, causing her to miss material points I communicated multiple times. She did present multiple options but not initially the exact one I had specifically requested. Her 3 phases of drawings took over 14 weeks. She didn’t thoroughly read emails resulting in my correcting the same points multiple times. She didn’t use Excel or Google docs. Documents she sent had inconsistencies between the different versions.
Arlene offered me 3 levels of service and I went for the middle to provide assistance with fixtures, finishes and choosing contractors. The only design help she provided was to send me to Houzz.com so I ended up doing my own research and selection. Her contractor help was 2 names (neither with reviews). I did my own RFP because her template was not detailed and hadn’t addressed points I asked her to include.
Her emails often said “this is not in my scope of work” or “that’s extra” or “I don’t provide that service.” She wanted me to hire a mechanical engineer. I contacted the Village who confirmed a mechanical engineer was not needed. I did hire a structural engineer she recommended and that person didn’t even come to the house to do his 1-page report for $800.
Arlene’s “responsiveness” was spending a lot of time emailing me why she wouldn’t do something or why she wanted to do things her way. Many things were not communicated in advance and she never once picked up the phone to call me during the project when I emailed her that I was upset and unhappy with working with her. She refused my offers to come back to my house to see the spaces or to meet in person.
She rejected my proposal to use a neutrally written contract. Despite the signed contract saying she would provide me with a hard copy and email with everything to submit for the permits, she wanted to charge me to print and messenger the drawings. She planned to submit them electronically to the Village despite me having explicitly told her I didn’t want her to do that without me seeing the documents first. Her final Phase 3 documents contained errors on her part which is exactly why I wanted to see things in advance. She only accepts payment in advance by check or Zelle.
In the end, I was able to get the permits and do the construction without any further involvement from her after I received copies of the documents. The GC I found noted that Arlene’s drawings didn’t contain complete measurements. I worked directly with my GC to make improvements to Arlene’s work. I wished early on that I could get out of my contract with Arlene but I had already paid her.
More...
Robert P
Since I met Arlene Warda in 1999, she has consistently produced sophisticated designs in a simple, coherent, and elegant form.
Over the twenty-two years, Arlene's designs have always stood out among others as a great value. I highly recommend Arlene for her skill, clarity, and ability to produce tasteful and aesthetic designs which her customers enjoy.
Rob P
More...
Victor Murray
In the past I have done several rehab projects on the south-east side of Chicago, and in the South Shore area. Arlene Warda has very professionally helped me get through some of the pre-construction process headaches when it comes to architectural specs, permitting, and City zoning issues.
A good long standing business relationship_ 2018 & 2019 has been no different.
Whether large or small projects, Arlene always seems to be attentive and responsive to customer needs!...
More...
Loren Benson
Our construction firm has been creating commercial, residential and institutional projects in Chicagoland for many years.
Ms. Warda has provided our firm with multiple opportunities to develop her Architectural concepts into constructed realities for the Client. In each and every case; a very pleased and excited client!
More...
Keller Jobe
We have a small house in Riverside. It is about 1,000 sf. It is a split level modern house built in the 1950's. We wanted an open plan concept with a cathedral ceiling.
We removed wall to new ceiling, creating an upstairs loft. The project was completed in 2001.We have lived in it for 11 years!
We love the plan and the cathedral ceiling 16' high. Our room is now open 20'x24', with new skylights above the living room.
Arlene was a terrific help. We got our plans on time during the design phase, and got our permits without any new work or any changes to our design. We have enjoyed our redesigned home for the past 11 years and would definitely recommend Arlene to our friends!
More...
What do you love most about your job?
We deliver quality work at an affordable price.
It has been my dream since I was a child. This is much more than a job, I love what I do.
What inspired you to start your own business?
Always have love and been inspired by the design and construction industry. My dream since childhood.
Can you provide your services online or remotely? If so, please add details.
Yes, we are available for remote meetings by Zoom and other online resources.
What changes have you made to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
We follow cdc gudelines:
including wearing masks at all locations, and practicing social distancing
Architect-Full Service
We offer full services as an architectural firm. From intial existing plans documentation, to Schematic Design and bid estimating drawings, to full permit drawings, and site documents. We are a full service firm.
