mickash_IHB
New member
We have finally purchased a home we are excited about in the North Tustin Hills 92705. We are moving from outside of the area and have lived in tract homes in the past. We are not familiar with O.C. , Irvine or the Tustin Area. We are long time collectors of antiques and architectural pieces. We have a large collection that we purchased inexpensively over the years have painstakingly restored which have previously been stuffed in small uninteresting tract homes. The home we have just purchased was built in 1970 and never updated. It is a plain salt-box stucco construction with great bones so it has tremendous potential to be converted to our Santa Barbara style with the movement of a few walls and the use of our materials such as antique stain glass windows, library ladder with track, cast iron pieces, butcher block, converted dressers to bathroom vanities, cast iron bathtub, fireplace surrounds, rough fir beams, pillars, pocket doors and much more. After years of waiting to purchase this house and collecting samples of what I like, I have very strong ideas on what we want to do but I am afraid however of acting without a architect/decorator who could bring design disciplines to the table to insure we capture the property?s potential. Unfortunately like most consumers today we have limited funds to accomplish what we want to do; we have additional restraints as we have on-going educational and medical costs to support our disabled son. So the point?could you recommend or direct me to someone who could recommend an Architect/designer who might be a good match to us?.hopefully a small firm who has talent but not an established reputation and large fees. We also need the recommendation of a contractor, good flooring business, and a general handyman. We close on our home Thursday so we have to move fast as we must get plans, move some walls and get our new floor in before we move in.. Currently we are commuting daily from the Inland Valley to so our son can attend school at Prentice in Santa Ana so we want to get into our house as quickly as possible. We encounter so much conflict in fighting for our son?s rights to receive insurance benefits and a fair education we want to make sure that we find reputable honest people to work with. Any help you can provide us will be greatly appreciated! We look forward to hearing from anyone!