Red Dot Studio Architecture and Design

Karen and her team are really as good as it gets. We did a whole house gut of a 100 year + old Victorian from the foundation on up, and were total newbies to renovation so spent a lot of time reading reviews and had a whole slew of architects to interview. Thankfully, Karen saved us some time right up front by being so outstanding that we just cut the interviews short and went with her. And now 6 months after living in the house that she designed — I can honestly say hiring her was the best decision we made (in a very long process of making countless decisions).
Karen knows how to listen, and is thoughtful. She is experienced, knows the ins and outs of working with DBI and contractors, and has a crazy depth and breadth of knowledge about materials ranging from lumber to window coverings. Even if it’s weird or obscure, most likely, Karen has some experience working with it. I am still amazed by how much she simply knows about a wide range of things. We also hired her because she took on the construction admin and was able to keep us on track and mostly on budget throughout the construction, the majority of which we were out of state. No mean feat, honestly, and she is funny, quirky and kind, and fun to work with.
The house — the house looks beautiful, flows gracefully, and just feels amazing. I can’t believe sometimes that we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful house. Karen was wonderful to work with in that she got to know us, and then somehow managed to get us to stretch our boundaries a bit (also no mean feat!) to incorporate elements that we would not have naturally gravitated to… The house not only looks the part, it functions so well with how we actually live — it’s really actually makes my life easier.
If you’re thinking of working with Karen — do it. You will be really happy with yourself for making such a wise decision later :)

The short review: A FANTASTIC, creative, and organized architect and designer who stayed on time and under budget. Karen brought far more to our remodel than just her (considerable) architectural talents – our house looks totally different and yet somehow more «like us» than it did before! If you have a goal for your remodel but have no idea how to get there, Karen is the person you should call!
The long review:
We called Karen a few months back completely confused as to what we wanted or how to even begin getting there. She came in and sat with us for a bit, and quickly figured out exactly what we were trying to do. Then she came back with three different options for how we would do the remodel – low, medium, and high price. Karen was completely transparent about how much she thought each would cost, and even recommended to us that we NOT go with the most expensive option (obviously against self interest!), for very good reasons which we certainly would not have figured out for ourselves.
Once we chose an overall design, Karen added details that are so perfectly in line with our family and personalities, I’m amazed at how much she understood about us from just chatting with us a few times! One perfect example that really encompasses the personal detail that Karen brought to working with us: when Karen designed some custom shelving, she added a little cutout for our keys and hooks for dog leashes – neither of which I had asked for or even mentioned. However, having been to our house and seeing the total clutter-​bomb our «key storage area» (random bit of bookshelf where we sometimes remember to throw our keys when we walk in) and the pile of leashes in front of our door, it must have been clear that we needed it! Again, it’s a tiny and totally weird example, but it’s just one of so many similar completely personal, completely detailed touches that I know many architects would not think of.
Karen has guided us through the process of choosing the right design for our home and the right contractors to help us build it. We are about to start demo on the house now, and I know that we will be in good hands with Karen supervising the work!

Karen is amazing to work with. After months of dilly dallying around the thought of a kitchen remodel and checking out several kitchen cabinet shops, a contractor referred me to Karen, Red Dot Studio’s Owner, Architect, and Designer.
She’s been so patient with me and so engaged and just kind. All of that would mean little if she weren’t so darn good at what she does. She just gets me and my taste and knows exactly what I like. She’s been understanding of what’s considered a small budget here in lovely SF and she’s been considerate of my time constraints too (6+ months pregnant).
I love what she’s designed for me and can’t wait to see the design executed. For now I’m focused on finding a contractor that can fall within my budget. I’ll update my review after the job is done.
She’s talented in her work, sweet (brought me and husband scones one morning), fair, and honest.
I would recommend her whole heartedly.

My 2-​bedroom, 1-​bath condo in SF was in need of some updating. This was my first experience with remodeling, and I had a long list of things I was hoping to accomplish on a fairly small and not-​very-​flexible budget, including the removal of a wall that would open up my living room to my kitchen. So I needed someone who was a great architect and a designer as well. I was referred to Karen at Red Dot Studio by a friend who had already contracted her for a full gut & remodel of her SF condo. I had seen Karen’s website (
) and really liked what I saw. Although I had already interviewed a few architects, I felt an immediate click with Karen and was taken by her energy, enthusiasm, ideas, humor and straightforward approach. I was very honest with her about the tall order I was asking for, but she wasn’t put off my by financial constraints and was up for the challenge. I didn’t need to look any further.
We quickly determined that my first priority — taking out the wall — just wasn’t going to be possible due to the fact that my budget couldn’t accommodate what turned out to be a first-​floor removal of a three-​story chimney. It also became apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to get everything I had hoped for on my budget. Of course I was disappointed, but Karen helped me see what would be the best use of my budget to get me as close as possible to what I had envisioned. She was extremely flexible, had an excellent grasp of my style and my goals, and a lot of creative ideas. She was really sensitive to my budget, and was very honest with me about what she thought was going to work best. After weighing all the options we discussed, including various reconfigurations of rooms, we decided that a significant reconfiguration on my budget would limit my results, and that my money was best spent by facelifting my kitchen (including moving several doors), bathroom and laundry room, as well as installing hardwood floors, repainting throughout and numerous smaller projects.
Deciding on finishes was extremely fast and easy since Karen had such a clear understanding of what I was looking for. She helped me find a contractor who could do great work on a tight budget (no small task), and I also enlisted her to oversee the entire project, as I was going to be out of town for almost a month during construction. She worked extremely well with my contractor and the various subcontractors, kept the project on schedule, kept me very well updated, and took care of most issues herself and involved me only when she needed to. I always knew that my project was in great hands. She was very responsive, addressing any questions or concerns I had.
Although I did have to make compromises due to my budget constraints, I was extremely happy with the results we achieved and feel I got quite a lot for my money. Every room in my house was touched, and the effect we achieved was very balanced, giving my whole home a unified appeal that elegantly blended the building’s 1905 aesthetic with my more modern tastes. Many people warned me early on that I should expect any remodel to go over budget by about 20% — but I got most everything I wanted, at the level of quality I expected, and went over my budget by les than 7%. I would use Karen again in a heartbeat.

We’re early in the process now, but we’re about to select our contractor with Karen’s guidance. So far, our collaboration on our Bernal Heights kitchen+ remodel has been a great experience. She’s positive, brings great ideas to the table, has opinions but knows that it’s our kitchen, etc. We’ll update you as this project continues. We’ll select contractor 12÷1÷11, start demo around 1÷1÷12, and complete somewhere around 3÷1÷12. Fingers crossed!

We just completed a major remodel of our Victorian flat. We interviewed three architects for our project, and Karen was the standout winner. In addition to being a fine architect, she’s also a project manager and very talented designer all rolled into one. Usually folks aren’t good at all three of those things. It’s rare to find someone with great aesthetic sense who can also track a detailed project plan and follow up promptly on every detail, communicate the appropriate level, etc.
Also, while she has her own great vision, she’s flexible and took the time to understand our tastes. She was able to spend time with us, looking through shops and magazines, to really get what we were after. Then she designed our remodel to match our style perfectly — better than we could have ourselves.
Hiring Karen was the best decision we made in our whole remodel. She saved us so much time and trouble, talked us out of bad decisions, came up with clever solutions, etc. She helped through the bid process, vetting candidates and selecting a contractor, and she oversaw construction as the work progressed. I’d recommend her without hesitation.