James Madson Design

James is a pretty incredible designer, skilled at all the detailed stuff but really with the eye of an artist, without all the neurotic bits of an artist. He’s very collaborative in how he goes about working with you on a project, and yet he’s also the expert in the room when he needs to be, like when you’re about to decide that the best thing for your colonial style house is a purple medieval turret.
For instance, I watched him put together a whole house remodel in South San Francisco, which is not quite a suburban wasteland, but it’s not winning any architectural prizes for its tract houses. Yet James took an unassuming structure and crafted the exterior into something unique and richly conceived, and then created an interior that was an amazingly integration of rich woods and earth tones, with modern metal surfaces and open space. It’s a truly beautiful space that also, when you’re in it, has a subtle effect, a kind of soothing and «collecting» quality.
I’ve also seen James go to bat for his clients when dealing with the whimsically thought out rules of the various planning departments, a part of the process that we clients don’t usually give much thought to. He’s skilled at negotiating the politics and staggeringly subtle rules of the counties, and yet doesn’t just give in to building square boxes or structures that make you kind of scrunch your forehead.
Highly, highly recommended!