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“Liz Sloan is incredibly creative and at the same time imminently practical, and I think her best attribute is that she loves what she does. We wanted more space and to turn our 70’s split into a charming country farmhouse, where kids and pets could play freely. Liz was so open to our needs and was able to bring to the table both creativity and extensive knowledge of the bricks and bones. Being able to marshal all of our rambling thoughts and ideas (and my overwhelmingly large collection of houzz ideabooks) into a cohesive idea was no small task! We took the ideas through the process to a plan that gave us a beautiful wide porch with french doors (and no split foyer!), great curb appeal, as well as a master retreat, generous public spaces that gave us more activity centers plus the kids all got their own bedrooms as they hit the teen years. Because of her extensive knowledge we were able to create a plan that was very beautiful and efficient, added great value to the home for eventual resale plus kept us within budget. Throughout the process Liz offered different ideas that would still get us our wish list without breaking the bank, made suggestions that were very practical for a family with young children and even advised us on how to shop around for a different home that could give us the space we needed within our school district in order to avoid the tumult of building. Our architect encouraging us to shop – looking at new homes with us even – was so incredibly honest. After nearly a year of simultaneously working on drawings with Liz and checking the real estate market, we had a builder selected (with Liz’s help) and final plans were printing when we found our dream house. We really never expected to since we loved the plans we made with Liz so much! It had a couple of things our old house could never have – more land and a history – it had been William Faulkner’s hunting cabin. With Liz’s blessing and advice we made the leap, 4 miles down the road, and while we didn’t get to build her lovely addition we’ve left some of the sketches for the new family who now call our old house home. I know they’d be happy working with Liz to make the plan their own. She is wonderful!”
Client to Homebuyer
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In 1990, our young family moved into a stone house in Charlottesville with lots of character and unique architectural details. Much as we loved the house, we recognized it had serious problems, including a 1920's era layout with a warren of small rooms, a small kitchen, a third floor bedroom with a sagging floor and leaky skylights, and a crumbling electrical system. Liz set to work and came up with a renovation plan that preserved and showcased everything wonderful about the house while bringing it fully up to date. Liz's design provided more natural light to the downstairs, enlarged the kitchen, and transformed the bedroom by replacing the skylights with dormer windows and installing a new floor. Best of all, Liz modified the downstairs floor plan so that the house now works beautifully for both family life and entertaining. We're deeply grateful to Liz for coming up with such a brilliant and thoughtful renovation plan.
— Julia Mahoney, Client
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“To meet the needs of our expanding family, we hired Liz to design a second story addition for our 1954 single-story ranch home, transforming it into a full two-story Virginia-style farmhouse. The second story includes a large master-bedroom w/ tray ceiling, closet area, and bath, a second bedroom and separate bath, and an office/third bedroom. In place of a small first-floor bedroom, Liz designed a beautiful split-level staircase to access the second floor as well as a pantry area under the stairs, and she reconfigured/enlarged another first-floor bedroom and our dining room. Finally, she designed a front porch.We had a general idea of what we wanted in terms of space, but we were concerned that such a transformation of our home could be awkward and obvious. Liz listened carefully to what we wanted and came back to us soon with drawings. Within minutes of looking at the drawings, we were so glad we hired Liz. Not only is the second-story a great lay-out, the staircase and reconfiguration opened up the first floor, too. When we tell people that our house was once a single-story ranch, they are completely surprised. Her design of the front porch also tied the first story and second story together from a street perspective.We did not make many changes to her initial drawings, but Liz was very willing to accommodate minor adjustments for preference, and was insightful and helpful in making these changes. She was able to quickly produce complete drawings for our builders so that construction could begin.”
Kelly Scott, Client
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“It has been my pleasure to work with Architect Liz Sloan on several Greenwich, CT home renovations and additions. Liz is a very good communicator, creates an interesting and well thought out blueprint and remains with the project from conception to completion. On the projects that we’ve collaborated, Liz’s design skill combined the new and existing structures resulting in seamless, cohesive designs, that pleased the homeowners to no end. I would welcome working with Liz in the future and whole-heartedly recommend her to homeowners seeking a refreshing, talented architect.”
David Mangini, David Mangini & Co., LLC, Builder/General Contractor
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“My husband and I recommend Elisabeth Sloan, Architect, with the greatest enthusiasm. Combining the eye of an artist with the structural understanding of an engineer, Liz devised a renovation plan for our 1920’s era house that showcases its original features while making it perfect for modern life. Before we hired Liz, we were resigned to adding on a new kitchen. Liz saw immediately how we could bring light and flow to our existing kitchen by changing the placement of a door, expanding a window, and breaking through the wall that divided the kitchen from a (then darkish and sparsely used) home office. The result: a gorgeous space that works beautifully in the existing footprint. Liz’s plan also reconfigured our awkwardly proportioned bedroom into a spacious, functional master bedroom/dressing room suite; turned a third floor attic space into a new bathroom and laundry room; added gable dormers and quality cabinetry to both our sons’ bedrooms; installed a wine cellar in the basement; and analyzed and solved several serious structural problems, including undersized joists that were causing our great room ceiling to sag. During the building phase of our project, Liz proved an invaluable resource, consulting with and helping us monitor the construction team. Liz coordinated an overhaul of the heating and cooling system and updates to the electrical and power system; worked with our lighting consultant to refurbish two historic chandeliers and place recessed lights in our kitchen, living room, and hallways; and facilitated major improvements to our courtyard and garden. We love living in our house and remain grateful to Liz for her creative vision and hard work.”
Renovation Client