With its gorgeous mountains, amazing beaches, and close proximity to San Francisco, this crescent-shaped city not only serves as a perfect weekend getaway but also an ideal place to live. Residents of Half Moon Bay enjoy numerous outdoor recreational activities: hiking, horseback riding, and trying various waterfront activities. Some days they can also just relax and enjoy the ocean views. Living in this city brings a sense of prestige: homes here are among the most expensive, not only in California but in America.
If you want a home that is at par with the beauty of the city, hiring the best architect should be your next move. Here you’ll find the best residential architects in Half Moon Bay. These five firms can work well with different spaces and situations. We further ranked them based on their abilities, work history, recent projects, and other unique qualities.
Mark English Architects
315 Sutter Street 5Th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108
Mark English Architects is particularly fond of urban architecture. That is why half of the firm’s projects are in San Francisco, while the rest can be found across the rest of California, Texas, and Mexico. As a Bay Area native, principal Mark English envisions sustainable homes: sensible, flexible, and long-lasting. Mark’s sustainable designs are the fruits of his vast and hands-on experience in the industry. His experience includes being the Director of the Architectural Foundation of San Francisco from 2012 to present and working as the editor of the online magazine The Architects’ Take.
A perfect example of a project that displays the urban principles of Mark English Architects is the Buena Vista Residence in San Francisco. As pictured below, the home is situated on a very small lot that provides great views. The firm designed the home primarily in model form to highlight volume and spaciousness. The house also features an exposed structural frame structure that allows for fewer interior bearing walls.
ODS Architecture
5895 Doyle Street Emeryville, CA 94608
ODS Architecture specializes in custom homes and whole-house transformations. The firm’s idea is to design homes that are simple, efficient, and ultimately based on the client’s needs. To combine these elements, the firm uses the principle of modernism with elegant proportions and gets the best out of both traditional and contemporary design.
One of the interesting projects of ODS Architecture is this makeover of a small row-type home in San Francisco. With a controlled budget, the firm employed a surgical remodel that meant only targeting specific parts of the home as per the client’s wishes. Part of the company’s excellent work on the home was removing an unappealing addition to the rear of the house while leaving the street façade as-is. The firm also developed designs for a simple contemporary box that can contain an open plan kitchen, dining, and living room. ODS Architecture also maintained some of the home’s existing appliances and refinished existing hardwood floors.
Diebel and Company | Architects
PO Box 1044 Burlingame, CA 94011
Diebel and Company | Architects invests in client satisfaction by focusing its energy on just a few projects at a time. This practice allows the firm to design remotely and strive through difficult conditions. Clients appreciate the uninterrupted attention that the firm provides to each home. The company also has a collaborative approach that encourages professionals to combine their expertise as they take on a project.
Pictured below is the Lowell Residence designed by Diebel and Company | Architects. Originally, the project was a remodel to an existing house built by the client’s father. The project eventually became a new house construction in contemporary design. The home now features a neutral color palette with cool blue tones and varying ceiling heights. The house also has overhangs made for summer; there is a radiant heated concrete floor slab built to maintain interior temperature and save energy during cooler periods.
EASA Architecture
851 Burlway Road Suite 422, Burlingame CA 94010
EASA Architecture means creative custom design. With a passion for residential architecture, the firm goes beyond conventional ‘cookie-cutter’ homes that lack character and individuality. Their unique designs synthesize the clients’ vision and program requirements with the specifics of the site and local regulations to achieve homes that are far beyond the ordinary. From the beginning EASA Architecture becomes the client’s guide and advocate in navigating the increasing complexity of today’s approval and construction process.
A perfect example of the firm’s philosophy is Emerald Estates, a development of seven new single-family homes in the Emerald Hills neighborhood of Redwood City. Contrasted with the repetition typical of such subdivisions, these homes vary in size from 3,909 square feet to 6,142 square feet- each featuring a unique architectural design that’s specific to its site. These designs were enthusiastically received by San Mateo County’s Bayside Design Review Committee.
Edward C. Love Architects
720 Mill Street Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Edward C. Love Architects is a full-service architectural firm and planning services firm based in Half Moon Bay. Since the 1970s, the firm’s principal architect Ed Love has taken interest in California’s modern architecture that is situated in a gorgeous coastal setting. That interest has continued to grow as Ed also gets involved in the greater Half Moon Bay Community as part of the city’s Architectural Review Board.
Now in the industry for over 30 years, Edward C. Love Architects keeps on gaining expertise in planning, development, design, and construction. The firm can manage large projects and is proficient in all architectural styles while having a particular modern taste. That said, the firm successfully completes various residential projects including a five-lot high-end residential neighborhood, a 60-lot subdivision, and numerous coastal residences.
