The Best Residential Architects and Designers in California

Last updated on July 4th, 2024 at 03:02 pm

Finding the right residential architect is key to ensuring the success of a home-building or renovation project in California. With average project costs ranging from $100,000 to $400,000 and sometimes reaching up to $500,000, selecting an architect who understands your vision and can deliver within budget is crucial. California’s average cost per square foot is $32.1, reflecting the significant investment required for quality residential construction in this diverse and dynamic state.

California, a state with a population of 39.03 million and a median home value of $787k, is a melting pot of architectural styles and innovations. From Spanish Colonial Revival to Craftsman, from Mid-Century Modern to Contemporary, the state’s architectural landscape is as diverse as its population. This diversity, coupled with the state’s vast landscape and varied real estate market, underscores the need for an architect who is knowledgeable, experienced, and versatile. Residential projects in California typically take up to 11 months to complete, making it crucial to choose an architect who can manage the timeline effectively and handle any challenges that may arise during construction.

This article will explore some of California’s best residential architects and designers. With 2,716 relevant contractors in the state, finding the right one can be overwhelming. However, these professionals stand out for their expertise, creativity, and proven track records. Whether you plan a sleek modern home in the city, a cozy suburban retreat, or a luxurious coastal residence, these famous architects in California are equipped to bring your dream home to life, ensuring it reflects your style and meets your needs.

Overview: The Best Residential Architects and Designers in California

See Ranking Methodology at the bottom of this article to learn more. 

Skurman Architects

3654 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94118 

Skurman Architects are leaders in traditional architecture. They create custom homes inspired by the classical architectural traditions of French chateaux, Mediterranean villas, and Georgian country houses. The Institute of Traditional Architecture ranks the practice as the #1 in the US and #3 worldwide for traditional architecture. 

Known for building its signature ​​modern house design in California, they are responsible for some of the Bay Area’s most striking, sophisticated, and architecturally appealing custom houses being built today. Homes designed by the practice have been featured in numerous publications such as Architectural Digest, House & Garden, Southern Accents, Maison Française, The New York Times Magazine, Western Interiors, California Homes, California Home & Design, C Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, This Old House, and the Robb Report. Their work has also been included in numerous books.

Founder Andrew Skurman began his design career apprenticing with the New York firm of I.M. Pei & Partners. He later worked in the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and as a Studio Director at Gensler and Associates in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 1992, he founded his firm to focus on building homes in classical architecture’s elegant and refined expression. Skurman has been named a Chevalier of Arts & Letters by the Minister of Culture of France and has received five Julia Morgan Awards. He was President of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, Northern California, and is on its Board of Directors nationally.

Aidlin Darling Design

500 Third Street, Suite 410, San Francisco, CA 94107 

Aidlin Darling Design has over 150 regional, national, and international awards for its outstanding architecture throughout California and beyond. The firm is founded in San Francisco by Principals Joshua Aidlin and David Darling and works on various projects. Significant awards for the firm’s work include the 2013 National Design Award from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum for their body of work, 2 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards for sustainable design, and 7 American Architecture Awards from the Chicago Athenaeum, as well as many other awards from the AIA, IIDA, and ASLA. Top publications such as Architectural Record, Interior Design, Cultured Magazine, San Francisco Cottages & Gardens, The Wall Street Journal, Wallpaper, and Architect’s Newspaper frequently cover their work. One of the best residential architects in California, it was also one of the 2023 Interior Design Hall of Fame Inductees.

As creatively artistic as they are practical, Aidlin Darling Design’s diverse residential portfolio ranges from LEED-Platinum homes designed to be Net Zero Energy to modern urban townhomes. All of their projects demonstrate their keen design ability to firmly situate a home within its site and context while respecting the community within which it is placed and the surrounding architecture. Aidlin Darling Design aims to offer its clients comprehensive services to create a cohesive home. They also produce custom furniture, provide landscape design, and have gorgeous interior designs. Their collaborative and unconventional approach to designing custom homes produces truly unique spaces that impeccably reflect the homeowner’s tastes and needs.

McClean Design

190 S. Glassell St. #203, Orange, CA 92866 

Los Angeles’s McClean Design is responsible for some of the world’s most impressive, glitziest, largest, and most expensive private estates. Irish architect Paul McClean founded the practice. In the past 17 years, they have grown into one of the leading contemporary residential design firms, working on luxury projects across California, as well as in New York and Canada. In addition to their superb custom homework for private clients, McClean Design also works with developers on extraordinary speculative homes. LACurbed noted that with his most recent homes, including drawing up plans for a $500 million estate in Bel Air, “he might just have unseated architect Richard Landry as the Megamansion King of Los Angeles.” One of the famous architects in California, it was also featured in Forbes’ 2021 article.

Growing up and studying in Ireland, Paul McClean traveled extensively and was greatly influenced by the diverse architecture he was exposed to. He worked for award-winning architectural practices in London, Dublin, and Sydney, Australia, before moving to southern California and working for various local firms. Before long, he founded his practice to have greater control over the direction of his designs. This has enabled him to work with a wide range of clients and aesthetic styles, pushing boundaries and expanding his stylistic vocabulary. He strongly emphasizes environmentally sustainable design practices and site-specific design solutions. McClean has established lasting relationships with high-quality builders and other design professionals, helping to ensure that his custom home designs are of the highest quality at every step of the process.

Landry Design Group

1818 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025 

The award-winning Landry Design Group has grown since its founding to become one of the most sought-after design studios for custom residential architecture worldwide. Known for creating a unique modern house design in California, Landry Design Group has been included on the AD100 list since 2000, and the “Robb Report Recommended” list of best architects since 2007. Named by Build Direct as one of the 15 Best Architects In Los Angeles and Ocean Home Magazine as one of the Top 50 Coast Architects, it is no surprise that founder Richard Landry was featured among Robb Report’s “Leaders of Luxury” this year. His Landry Design Group has earned multiple Gold Nugget Awards from the National Association of Home Builders.

President and founder Richard Landry, who diversified his design studies in Montréal and Copenhagen, is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and a member of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. Although he has earned the most acclaim for his large-scale statement estates, he has just as much experience with modest homes. As often as he designs enchanting classic châteaus and cutting-edge contemporary compounds, Landry creates Craftsman-style lake homes and unassuming rural villas of superior quality. His ability to achieve incredible livability within a sophisticated aesthetic has earned him clients like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady, Eddie Murphy, Wayne Gretzky, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mark Wahlberg.

Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects

10865 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232 

Culver City-based Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects has earned many of the industry’s top awards. They have been honored with the AIA National Firm Award, the AIA California Council Firm of the Year, and inclusion on Architect Magazine’s Top 50. Among the best residential architects in California, their more than 150 awards for architecture and design are nine national AIA awards. The firm’s’ work has been published widely, including in Architectural Record, NY Times Homes Magazine, Dwell Magazine, HGTV, Custom Home, and Architectural Digest. A total of eight monographs have been published on the work of the top practice.

Founded by Steven Ehrlich as a tiny residential design studio, the versatile practice has grown into a 40-member team with an international reputation for design excellence and an exemplary professional culture. Led by Partners Steven Ehrlich, FAIA, Takashi Yanai, FAIA, Patricia Rhee, AIA, and Mathew Chaney, AIA, with five Associate Principals and Associates, the practice’s design philosophy starts with a profound respect for a building’s inhabitants. Called multicultural modernism, this approach informs all of their homes and interactions with clients. As explained by the firm: “The seeds of this philosophy were planted during founder Steven Ehrlich’s six-year work/travel vacation in Africa in the 1970s.

Serving in the Peace Corps in Morocco, traversing the Sahara and later teaching architecture in Northern Nigeria, he studied vernacular ‘architecture without architects,’ formed by the constraints of site and climate and the inspiration of culture.” Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects is dedicated to creating a healthy community culture and works in an environment that encourages staff to challenge norms and be creative with their design work.

Ranking Methodology

To evaluate the performance of contractors, our methodology employs a systematic approach that considers various factors contributing to customer experience and satisfaction. We focused on assessing the residential architects in the California area. The methodology involves assigning weightings to specific categories based on their significance in determining customer service quality. Here’s the breakdown of the categories and their respective weightings:

• Average Customer Satisfaction (35%): This metric represents the average rating given by customers across the same review platforms as the Average Customer Satisfaction Score. A higher average rating indicates greater overall satisfaction with the service provided.
• Service Rating Score (25%): We analyze the ratio of high (4-5 stars) to low (1-2 stars) ratings for each business across multiple review platforms: Google, Houzz, and Yelp. A higher percentage of positive reviews contributes to a higher score, reflecting better customer satisfaction.
• Complaint Percentage (25%): We analyze the ratio of complaints to total reviews for each business. A lower complaints ratio indicates better service quality and results in a higher score.
• Business Hours and Availability (10%): The operating hours of each business are assessed to gauge accessibility. Companies with extended operating hours are awarded a higher score, as they offer greater convenience to customers.
• License Status (5%): We verify the licensing status of each contractor with their local licensing board to ensure legal compliance. Companies with valid licenses receive a higher score, reflecting professionalism and adherence to regulations.
• Total Score: We determined the overall rating for every contractor by calculating a weighted average, with the category weight determining the amount the subscore contributed to the total score 

Additional Note: Service Rating Score, Average Customer Satisfaction, and Complaint Percentage are calculated with a Bayesian estimate to account for if the contractor has a low number of total reviews. A Bayesian average is a statistical method used to calculate the average of a set of data points while taking into account prior information or beliefs about the distribution of the data. It combines the observed data with a prior distribution to generate a more accurate estimate of the true average.