Christie Architecture LLC

Lisa is a genius! With creativity and precision, she maximized every nook and cranny of our tiny 1906 cottage and brought it into the 21st century, while maintaining its original charm and character. Our "new" home is so much more functional now, and a delight to live and work in. Lisa took the lead on our projects (kitchen, bathroom, basement), but Adam is equally savvy. Both are fantastic listeners, brainstormers, collaborators, total professionals and all-around lovely human beings. We highly recommend Christie Architecture, and look forward to working with them again in the future!

Lisa and Adam were able to share our vision for our basement remodel and not only drew extraordinary plans and provided design suggestions along the way, they also connected us with a fabulous contractor who made our vision a reality! We love our remodeled basement and it's so wonderful it's almost impossible to remember it as an unfinished space.

If you have a project you will not go wrong with this team. Working with them, we learned and gained so much more than we expected. They made an intimidating project achievable, exciting, totally enjoyable, and we couldn’t be happier with the final outcome. It was a beautiful design that was budget sensitive while being transformational to our house. We will always recommend them and they will definitely be our first call for our next project.

Lisa did wonderful work for us on our quirky old farmhouse. She quickly understood the problems that we wanted to solve and the style that we wanted to attain. She helped us see the best aspects of the house and worked to preserve them. Most importantly, she helped us see how a few key changes would make the house flow together like it never had. Together we turned an old patchwork house that was hard to love into a beautiful home that is easy to appreciate. Specifics of the work Christie Architecture handled are: design of down-to-the-studs remodel of kitchen, living room, master suite, bedrooms, hallway and entryway; extensive help with selection of materials (tile, wood, finishes, lights, plumbing fixtures, door hardware, etc); design of extensive custom cabinetry; coordination with structural engineers; permits; on-site support and detailed direction of construction (for example, being there to make sure the tile guys got the start and finish lines just so, making sure the recessed lights were aligned exactly right, etc); and probably a bunch of other stuff I forgot. I can't imagine how we could have done it so well without Lisa and Adam's help. Highly recommended.

Lisa listened well and from conceptual down to the thousand details, she came up with thoughtful ideas and suggestions. Adam was a perfect complement to Lisa’s conceptual and interior designs as he rounded out the team with the exterior structural and energy efficiency designs.

Adam and Lisa gave proposed several smart upgrades. In addition to replacing the siding and windows, they suggested that we rebuild the front porch in an early 1900s “saltbox” style in order to bring back some of the original historic charm. They also pointed out that the second floor windows the previous owners put in were not aligned with the first floor windows, so we repositioned them to make the two floors look more cohesive from the outside. Adam and Lisa also suggested that as long as the siding was off the house, it would be a good time to add some sheer walls as a seismic retrofit. We also did “drill and fill” insulation on the original first level in order to make the home more energy efficient. Hiring Christie Architecture was worth every penny. Our home is our biggest investment and it is much more beautiful, safe, and energy efficient as a result!

We had such a great experience hiring Adam and Lisa for our outdoor deck project. We never used our backyard and couldn't figure out the best configuration for a new upper deck, lower deck, hot tub and fire pit. They had such great ideas and really listened to what we wanted to get out of the space. We couldn't be happier with the process and the final product.

We hired Christie Architecture to design a complete remodel of our kitchen, laundry area, and small full bathroom in our 1907 Four Square in Portland. Lisa was great to work with. She was able to take the vision of our dream kitchen and make it our reality. The original kitchen/laundry area/bathroom space was fairly small, however she utilized every square inch of space to get us all the things we wanted and our kitchen feels so large and spacious. We definitely had some challenges with a 112 year old house and I appreciated her honesty and candor in preparing us for those unknowns. Lisa delivered every element of the project on time and was always available to troubleshoot problems during construction. Our contractor also told us how he appreciated her detailed work and her professionalism. I would definitely hire them again for another design/remodel project.

When I first contacted Lisa, she informed me what the entire bathroom project would probably cost. When she saw our small bathroom in McMinnville, she made some suggestions and I knew immediately that she would be able design this limited space to make every inch count. She has experience with ADA requirements and provided several layouts for us to consider. She made suggestions for tile, hardware, and fixtures and helped us to narrow down our choices. She helped us choose a contractor. She provided detailed drawings for demolition, plumbing, and electrical changes for the general contractor and communicated with him throughout the remodeling. It was a pleasure working with Lisa and I highly recommend her services.

2 years later and we are still absolutely thrilled with the design of our new spaces. Lisa and Adam have a terrific aesthetic and a strong commitment to quality design and materials. The process of getting to a design we liked was very collaborative, but Lisa also had a clear vision and carefully guided us through the process -- everything from how to navigate permits, contractors and material selections. We would absolutely hire them again!

It went great! We didn't know much about design or handling a remodel but Lisa's experience and expertise gave us confidence we were making good choices.

Excellent - creative, problem solving, collaborative and incredibly professional. We were thrilled with the finished product. Also Christie architecture are responsive and really listen to our wishes as clients. We felt we were always their number one priority - moreover their is a personal, patient and caring attitude to everything they do.

I was very satisfied with their attention to detail and oversight of the respective contractors. Great design work.

It went great. Lisa and Adam were so good to work with and had a very good understanding of the project and our needs. Their communication and level of input after the general contractor was hired and the project commenced was very appreciated and met my expectations. When the project met somewhat of a major hiccup Adam was there to support and guide and consult with the general contractor. They worked well together and made us feel like we had a great team working for us!

It went perfectly without any hitches. Lisa Christie was the best expense of the entire project. She got my vision exactly from the outset and through her impeccable eye for detail and beautiful aesthetic, designed something that I had dreamed but had not been able to conceptualize fully on my own. She advocated for perfection with the contractors and was always there to ensure the work was being completed precisely as envisioned. I have since hired her again for another project and would recommend Christie Architecture without reservation to anyone. Sometimes the price of an architect can be the limiting factor for hiring one, but in this case, it was worth every cent.

After doing the drawings he came down to our building permits department ill prepared leaving the rules and regulations document he should have had on him. He gave me bad information on the bathroom build and the handicapped information was incorrect. By NOT taking his advice I saved thousands of dollars working with another architect.

We recently remodeled a large portion of our home with Christie Architecture. They were extremely easy to work with and we are thrilled with the outcome! They were excellent about scaling the project to meet our budget without sacrificing design or functionality. Our home was built in 1950 and we wanted to update it while maintaining the mid century qualities. They did a great job integrating the modern with the existing and making it look and feel cohesive. They respond very quickly to emails and when our deadlines tightened due to a baby coming, they really helped moved things along. During the construction they were very involved and communicated with the builder regularly. We have nothing but good things to say about our experience and about Adam and Lisa. Renovating/building is stressful and they helped us get through it. I highly recommend them!

I found Christie Architecture on Angie's List.
Prior to hiring them, I met with others and it was clear that they had the greatest ability to not only restore, but enhance my mid century home.  Prior owners had made some interesting additions that needed to be rethought.  In addition, the house only had a carport and was in sore need of a garage.
In the initial budget, I attempted to limit the scope of the remodel to half the house.  However, it became evident that some of the original elements, such as a dated wood guard rail, would need to go.  Lisa was excellent at working with me to get an understanding of what could be done, and what could be done later.
The amazing design and flow of the space was a given.  You can see that from browsing their website.  However, living here I appreciate the Christies' ability to understand the foundation issues.  For example, there were issues with inadequate external security lighting, a leaky roof lacking an adequate gutter system, and a lack of storage space, all of which were solved by the Christies.  In the process my house didn't turn into a snout house, or acquire a pitched roof, both of which would have looked ridiculous on a mid century home with angles all over.  Both of which were suggested to me by other design professionals.
It's strange once you get your home back and you begin to ponder what your favorite part of the house is.  Then you realize, you like it all, and you really do need it all: the mudroom, the kitchen, the garage, the living room? It's refreshing to know that there are design professionals out there who will listen to your needs, and execute a plan to address them without compromising on the wrong elements.
They say if it doesn't look right, it will never look right.  My house finally looks right.  I feel blessed to have found the Christies.

We met a few times - as many as needed for the job at hand.  We had good collaborative conversations and Lisa was frank and professional when telling us our initial budget was insufficient for our vision.  We worked back and forth on drawings/vision and then Lisa coordinated bids (2) and met with the contractor before and during construction.  Her services were very good, reliable, and high quality from start to finish.  We would have struggled to get these projects of the drawing board without her.

We met with them several times to draw up plans for a master bedroom addition.  They asked good questions to help determine what it was we wanted and helped us arrive at the final plans.  Since they are experts in this area, it was helpful to be able to ask them questions and seek their advice to help keep costs down. 
The finished product (from them) is a very detailed set of plans that the contractor said made his job very easy to bid and do the work.  We met with several designers and they were much more thorough and professional than anyone else we met with, and felt their cost was worth it for the project we wanted. 
One of the things I really appreciated was how they kept in communication with us throughout the project.  They gave us a realistic timeframe, and they stuck to it. 
Overall, I would highly recommend Christie Architecture to anyone needing their services.

Lisa is a brilliant artist and a skilled architect. Detailed, competent, responsive and funny Lisa, is the gold standard in the PNW.

The consult with Lisa saved us a lot of money.She immediately saw a way to provide access to a back bedroom in a very tight space. This allowed us to reduce the total square footage of the addition.
The lighting plan was a wonderful ! One of us has poor vision and the need for lots of light. She showed us which lights were best for which circumstance. It is difficult to plan good , aesthetically pleasing lights in rooms with cathedral ceilings. After viewing the house and consulting with us, she produced a detailed plan that we could just hand to our electrician and our builder.It showed all the lights in the house, even down to location of the switches and dimmers. We love where she placed the skylights and solar tubes that we requested. She also helped us choose appropriate light fixtures and passed on a good discount.
Lisa listened well and was extremely helpful. 
We would hire her again.

Clare is a very nice person to work with. She did the plans and they came out great.

For the most part, the experience was good. We were very happy; there were a couple of issues but overall we were pretty happy. I think she has some good design ideas but she needs to be a bit more thoughtful in terms of the right idea. I feel some practicalities and their impact in the end job were overlooked. She needs to consider realities when developing design ideas. The quality of the work was good; she has really good project management skills. Lisa is personable and her design strength is definitely more modern and I think that is what she is passionate about. While I think she would do a good job with more eclectic or traditional design needs, I do not think these are her biggest strength.

She was wonderful. She was very resposinve and creative. She is just delight to work with!  Even though we have not yet done the construction phase, her fees so far have been very reasonable.