Drafting Cafe

I am doing a modest kitchen remodel with a similar budget. In the current environment where a lot of money is flowing, finding good people to work on smaller projects can be challenging. Drafting Café has been such a pleasure to work with! I never feel like I’m a second choice job. Every single person on their staff has been professional, responsive, and FRIENDLY. I never feel like I’m putting them out with my questions (I am someone who wants to understand every little thing). They have a very clear initial explanation of how they work — timeline and expenses are outlined up front so no surprises. Initial drawings for my project are complete (ahead of time btw!) and Permit Drawings are next up. I will review again once we are further along. So far I’m very grateful I found Drafting Café!

I met with Ethan and it was very impressed with his proposal and how he made the entire process highly transparent. We did not end up using any architects for our project, but I will certainly call him when we have need for architectural services.

This review is long overdue. I contacted Drafting Café and worked with Ethan about remodeling our home. I had never taken on a remodel project and was apprehensive. I contacted 2 other companies (referral from the GC I was working with) before reaching out to Drafting Café. The experience from start to finish was great.
Ethan and his team were communicative, reasonable and easy to work with. When my plan needed a structural engineer, Ethan recommended Daniel Summerfield (Leslie Engg). Daniel was not in the Bay Area and that did not hold back any communication we needed with the home inspector. Highly recommend this company and I plan to work with them again for other home projects. Thanks Ethan.

Great business concept. They are rethinking how architects can help owners get their job done with less cost, less pain, and less ego!

My husband and I were recently looking to extend our master bedroom and add a master bathroom onto our house. I reached out to Ethan after reading the Unilocal reviews to get an estimate on architectural drawings and permitting. Working with Ethan and his team (Suki!) was fantastic– we were in a rush because of a baby on the way and they all worked very quickly to draft up the plan. They even put us in touch with several contractors in the area and were going to rush the permitting process. The plan was fantastic but, given the time constraints and the craziness of finding contractors in the Bay Area right now, we decided to put the project on hold.
I would highly recommend working with Ethan and his team if you are looking to renovate or add onto your home for the first time. They were extremely helpful, honest, and informative. They also really took the time to create a plan that included all of our ideas, within a reasonable budget. I look forward to contacting them again for any future projects.

We hired Ethan as our architect for our kitchen and entryway remodel.
Outstanding job. Just exceptional.
In about 6 weeks, we went from brainstorming ideas to a final draft that I just submitted for permits. We cannot wait to see our new kitchen!
He had great ideas and helped us to refine our vision, while helping keep us on budget. He was responsive with phone and email, and his communications were crystal clear.
Bonus — his brother is a cabinet maker — so he has that expertise to rely on as well. And easy parking outside his office.
I would recommend Ethan 10/​10, 5 stars, BRAVO to anyone looking for a smart, accommodating, expert architect

We were very happy with our experience working with Ethan at Drafting Café. We had Drafting Café prepare plans for a major kitchen and two bathroom remodel. Ethan also managed the permitting process, which he made a breeze. He helped design and order our kitchen cabinets, answering a million questions along the way. Ethan showed a particular eye for detail when helping us figure out how to get a shower into what was previously a half-​bath by moving plumbing fixtures, a door and a wall.
Ethan has great contacts in the industry. Our contractor, who was awesome, was one of the contacts provided by Ethan. Ethan stayed engaged throughout the project, answering questions about the plans as needed.
Finally, Drafting Café’s rates are very reasonable. I highly recommend Ethan and Drafting Café.

Too bad no stars is not an option. Where to start? We inherited Ethan from the Drafting Café with the original contractor, who had a working relationship with him. Plans were drawn up and then the original contractor backed out of the project.
So, we went back and forth with Ethan on adding some additional details to the plans, which cost a fourth of what we had paid to begin with. When I called him to come pick up the plans and showed up during normal business hours, there was nobody home. Then I was charged an additional $ 25 to FedEx the plans without even asking if I needed them 2day.
So we are finally building the deck and there is so much missing from the plans, I’m talking basic dimensions and ties, that if you do not have an experienced contractor, your hosed. When we come to the details for attaching the railing and Ethan has the same attachment for the railing to the frack as he has for the deck to the house, I had to call and ask him to change the detail so I could use carriage bolts instead of this huge metal piece (which incidentally you couldn’t actually fit into some of the narrow spaces). What he told me was «we don’t do load calculations, so occasionally things do get over engineered».
I believe I have actually paid significantly more for materials because of his over engineering. Now I have to hire an engineer to produce and stamp a detail showing the carriage bolts are more than adequate just to compensate for his over engineering. And I am still stuck with sub-​standard plans.
I would avoid the Drafting Café at all costs.

We remodeled the interior of our Fremont home about 8 months ago involving moving walls, laundry rooms, and adding a powder room. I hesitated to write a review because I had never worked with an architect firm before and didn’t know if my experience was good, bad, or average. But after decorating, living in the space, and having a baby, I really appreciate the thought Ethan put into the design. He and his team are really cognoscent of how life flows and where doors, light switches, outlets, etc should go, as well as suggesting things that would look nice based on my ideas (since plans are sometimes hard to visualize). They also let me know what I could get done within my budget.
The process itself was relatively smooth. They were knowledgeable of the city’s permit requirements and kept those in mind. As a result, the office accepted the plans without batting an eye. From the first call to Ethan to sending complete plans to contractors took 3 weeks.
Their a la carte prices are very reasonable for remodel jobs like mine. I can’t remember how many other firms shut me down b/​c my job was too small (even though it was a huge project in my mind). I wish they did landscaping design as well.
I have a pipe dream of adding on to the house — they’ll be the ones I call if that becomes reality!

I am submitting this review on behalf of my parents:
We found Drafting Café highly recommended on Angie’s List. They provided us with a design and plans for a remodel kitchen and two bathrooms. They were friendly, knowledgeable and prompt, and drafted a great design that was able to stay within our budget. We highly recommend Drafting Café for affordable drafting and design work! We will definitely be contacting them again for any future work.

We recently needed an architect for a kitchen remodel and garage renovation. From the get-​go, the Drafting Café was excellent. Their pricing is clear, the quality of work superb. We didn’t have any trouble at all with permits. Ethan also has an excellent knowledge of the California lighting and structural codes. He helped steer us into a beautiful design that made the good folks in Oakland’s planning department happy! I can’t say enough about their professionalism, timeliness and competitive pricing.
I’d use drafting café again in a hot second.

We desperately need a new garage as our current one is not-​so-​affectionately called «The Leaning Tower of X Street.» We spoke with a few contractors and they recommended we get an architect to help us. Ethan and Chris of Drafting Café were such a godsend — not only did they quickly turn our vision for a new garage/​office space into an actionable design, but they were integral in getting our plans through the Berkeley permitting process.
For anyone not familiar, the permitting process along took 6 months. Chris and Ethan worked with us every step of the way — from getting the AUP review to the building and demo permit. They seriously went above and beyond, and kept us informed at every stage. We highly recommend working with Drafting Café and we could not have gotten through this process without them.

Really good ideas and a quick turn around. After working with other architects this was a better more efficient option and I will be using their services in the future.