It’s with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Blondino Design.

After purchasing a hillside lot, my wife Amy and I began the daunting task of trying to figure out exactly what we wanted out of our future home. It seemed the thousands of plans available online and in books never had exactly what we were looking for. We found a plan we mostly liked and managed to arrange a walk through in a newly completed version of the home.

At about that time we came into contact with Mike Blondino for the first time. He offered to meet us for the walk through even though we might not be using him. Seeing the home in person we realized it wouldn’t fit our needs. Mike then followed us to our lot and talked us through the elements we wanted and to get a first-hand feel of how to incorporate our home design onto the lot.

In the following months Mike met with us and helped us sort out exactly what we wanted in the plan. Each ensuing meeting he presented in easy to see drawings what he and worked out since the last meeting. His easy going personally and ability to coax out and transform the client’s wants and needs into a stunning design is uncanny. Throughout the process he also involved our builder to iron out the technical details and elements that were a foreign language to us.

Mike’s desire to design the perfect home for us, his understanding of building practices, and attention to detail resulted in a plan set for a home that is beyond our wildest dreams. If ever we were to engage in another home project would not hesitate to use him again. It gives us pleasure to recommend him to anyone else looking to have their home designed.

Cheers to you Mike!

Alan O. (January 6, 2009)

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter of recommendation for Mr. Mike Blondino of Blondino Design. 

Since our first meeting with Mike to discuss our dream home design, Mike was excited about our project.  During the initial meeting, we discussed our desires and what key elements to incorporate into our new home.  We essentially started with some ideas and a blank sheet of paper. 

Early on, Mike visited our building site and quickly understood our vision.  We gathered information with regards to CC&R’s, Architectural Review Requirements, building requirements, etc…and the process was on the way.

The initial design and drawings Mike provided were great thought starters and good for discussion.  We were all challenged to build something very special and unique, a home design that would be timeless and allow us to maximize the view potential of our property.  After several meetings and design changes, the plan started to evolve into our dream home.

Throughout the design phase, Mike was willing and able to make changes or “tweak” things as we came up with new thoughts and ideas.  Mike did a great job communicating via phone, e-mail, or by putting a meeting together at the last minute.  

Bottom line, my wife and I stepped out of our comfort zone and into the unknown to design and build our dream home.  We asked a lot of questions and challenged Mike non-stop.  He remained easy to do business with and professional throughout the process.  I would personally and highly recommend Mike as an architect and designer.  – Jim M. (July 10, 2007)

(This home won the 2008 Building Industry Association prestigious “Home of the Year” over 1 Million dollars)

We have worked with Mr. Michael Blondino on designing our three story house in Felida, WA.   Michael has done a tremendous job and showed a lot of effort making our new house to be exactly what we wanted.  The following are the qualities we valued the most about Michael’s design work:

• We have met weekly and Michael spent as much time on our initial design as we needed
• For several weeks he worked on our changes and upgrades making the house look exactly the way we wanted
• Michael showed his professionalism by suggesting great ideas and helping to guide our construction choices in an efficient manner
• He always met the dead lines and completed the design in a timely manner
• Michael took our ideas and made them into reality
• Worked with new designs of the floor plan as we evolved to our final design

It was our great pleasure to work with Mr. Michael Blondino. We anticipate anyone else who chooses to have their house designed by Mr. Blondino can expect a conscientious, collaborative and methodical professional who will work to achieve distinguished results.

Geoff K. & Yelena K (July 7, 2006)

To prospective clients

Recently I had need to employ Mike to draw up a set of house plans. I had an idea of what I wanted and some very specific requirements. I had spent a lot of time drawing up what I thought was the "perfect plan". I came to Mike originally only to draw up this plan. Mike came up withmany good ideas and enhancements. Mike's experience and creativity improved the plan 100%. Mike also came up with ways to cut construction costs and was very willing to price out tradeoffs between design options. Mike is thoughtful and considerate; a pleasure to work with. I would recommend Mike and his designs to anyone interested building a unique and economical home.

Thomas R. M. (July 14 2006)

Mike Blondino helped my husband and me with two designs over the last year. One was a remodel of a 2nd story and the other was designing a new house. In both cases he was professional and knowledgeable. Trying to figure out the end product can be tedious and we appreciated that Mike gave us choices and recommendations to help us decide. He went the extra mile to give us an end product we would love. I would (and have) recommended him to friends and co-workers.

Stephanie N. (June 2006)

This letter is intended to serve as a reference for your home design work. Please feel free to use it as needed. We would be happy to talk to people personally as well should anyone wish to do so.

Mike Blondino designed our home in the Columbia Gorge area of Washougal, WA in the fall of 2005. Mike took our simple draft floor plan and turned it into a stunning showpiece. He has incredible artistic talents and an ability to turn common home elements into works of art. His understanding of the importance of key focal areas of the exterior and interior of a house ensure that those areas are given the attention, detail and creativity needed. His attention to these details makes his home designs a cut above the rest. Mike proved these talents on the look of the front of our home as well as our front entry and fireplace.

Mike uses the latest software tools for home design. His plans are very detailed, accurate and professional. His 3D design program makes it easy to visualize the finished product. Mike was also very effective at working with our builder and structural engineer. His communication skills and technical knowledge of construction enable him to address all aspects of home design. Mike listened to what we wanted, made recommendations based on his experience and created plans that reflected our decisions. When decisions were being made Mike was very helpful in explaining the options and offering his opinion. Because he cared so much about our needs and satisfaction with the end result, it was easy to trust and seriously consider his recommendations and concerns.

We found Mike to be exceptionally easy to work with. He is very personable and has a great sense of humor. Most importantly, he is a man of his word and holds himself to high standards of personal integrity. If that isn’t enough, he is also a great father, a musician and he can cook! Through the process of designing our home, we have come to consider Mike a good friend and we hope to continue that relationship.

Sincerely,
Jeff & June J. (December 2005)