well, it's an embarrassment of riches.
people say nice things about me, but I am eternally grateful to them.
For their faith, their humor, their kindness, and the opportunity.
Carole Hunter is everything you would wish in an architect: skilled, tireless, attentive, always kind, and immediately responsive. The level of knowledge, brilliant, and her taste level—invariably lifted me one rung higher than I'd have managed on my own. What I want to say is that she not only drew our kitchen renovation in precise blueprints for our contractor to follow, but she also accompanied me to choose cabinets, offered guidance on appliances, and yes, design items too. Most people think of renovation as hell—well, I'm here to say, mine was heavenly—fun, on time, and on budget. Seriously.
- Jane
After we hired 2 different contractors to work on our vacation home across country we were worse off than when we began. That's when Carole Hunter came along to save the day. We were at our wits end, with financial demands and no clear picture of how to proceed. Carole turned that all around. She listened to our wants/needs and began to help us sort through the information to get the home we wanted and could afford. Though not an architect, but with decades of experience working with them, she was able to plan and execute drawings/plans that would meet our needs and complete our vision.
Carole is organized, punctual, realistic and knowledgeable. Her ability to listen carefully and then direct you to the products that fulfill your wishes is always met. Carole has a way of leading you to the right answers, while taking into account all the input you have given her. As the eyes and ears of our project, Carole turned a challenging undertaking, into a home where we will be making happy memories with our family and friends, for years to come. She earned our trust, and we are truly grateful for her. We know we couldn't have completed this project with such satisfaction if not for her.
- Ellen
Carole is a gem! We purchased a house was about 2/3 of the way completed, but one that had hastily made "habitable," but just barely. It needed not just an eye for beauty, but also an eye for reconfiguring, relocating, adding a sense of balance and proportion to rooms, creating flow and functional spaces...the list goes on and on. We were on a tight budget, thinking we'd chip away at the project over a number of years, but because of Carole -- her respect for budgetary constraints, her amazing creativity and ability to think outside of the box, her ability to respond to the client's taste and lifestyle issues, and her genuine sense of humor -- she literally transformed this house and created our dream house. She has a creative eye and a depth of knowledge not only about design, but also about construction that enables her to help clients consider design options having considered price, weighing the relative "impact" a change will have and consider options, both larger and smaller. We were going to add a deck, but once we had a draft of the plans, Carole suggested we might want to enclose it with big, very reasonably priced windows that can be removed during the summer. This has become the go-to room. It's simple but beautiful mahogany floor, expansive windows, ceiling fan, and lighting added a room we literally live in almost all year long. A simple yet gorgeous outdoor shower, transoms above windows, new cottage trim, finding flooring and tile to match what was in the house.... We truly can't say enough about Carole. I recommend her without a moment's hesitation.
- Amy
Constraints enhance creativity, it is said. Certainly that is the case with our project and Carole Hunter's plans for renovating our old small house and adding improved kitchen, living and bedroom space.
We had a tricky building site - all sand - and the old house was at the edge of the property line. So there were lots of issues re zoning and codes. Carole did a superb job of adding a connector from the old to the new house and positioning the new wing at a slight angle, esthetically appealing and conforming to requirements.
Included in the overhaul of the old house is a superb dividing wall between the main bedroom and den - tv on the den side and alcove with built-in shelves on the bedroom side. The old house had overhanging rafters. She kept this look in the new part by insisting on having rafters. In order to maintain a sealed envelope, the rafters had to be scabbed on.
Our view was most important to us and it was maximized! When we are asked what we do when we're at the house we always answer "look out the windows."
Carole worked well with all four of us - me, my husband, my brother and my sister-in-law. We find the house stunningly understated - just what we wanted.
- Betsy
Carole Hunter founder of Hunter and Company orchestrated a complete rebuilding, from the foundation up, of our house overlooking the Menemsha harbor in Chilmark, MA. There were many hurdles to clear with conservation groups, as well as complex engineering issues. Carole is a brilliant and seasoned architect and designer. She seems to relish difficult challenges, and none seem too much for her to solve.
Carole has worked in the field for over 25 years, including with our family on other rebuilding/remodeling projects. She works with traditional architectural and design tools, as well as with state-of-the-art technology.
With the small lot size at 26 Harbor Hill, Carole was able to find ways to meet all our needs: An upstairs open deck; social areas and reading nooks; bedrooms, each with private bathrooms, and all still conforming to the original footprint and rigorous building height restrictions.
Carole knows and works well with the top subcontractors on Martha's Vineyard; she takes a personal interest in projects; and she meets deadlines. Our home at 26 Harbor Hill came in on budget, and is extremely cost-conscious.
Carole was responsible for the entire effort, from foundation and architectural drawings, to interior design features and finishings. We could not be happier with the result.
- Carol
After visiting the Vineyard for over 40 years, our family purchased a wonderful old property in Chilmark. The property was comprised of a charming farmhouse, bunk house, and barn/guest house. The makings of a perfect family compound, the buildings presented all kinds of exciting possibilities for a truly great project over the next several years. We loved the feel and history of the place but were confused about what if anything to do with it and were looking for some inspiration. Our builder gave us three names but suggested we contact Carole first.
Carole was the perfect choice. We spent several months discussing ideas, working within the constraints of maintaining the "bones" and not spending too much. We had lots of discussions, led by our vague ideas, which were refined by Carole's suggestions and ability to understand and visualize space and style. Also, she knows the ins and outs of completing a project on the Vineyard. What Carole ultimately produced for us was a complete set of drawings that serve as a road map to guide our decisions as we settle into a property that we hopefully will own for generations. It was a pleasure working with her and put to rest the sleepless nights trying to imagine what this summer home should be.
- Peter
Just returned to NY from the Vineyard. The porch is GREAT!! I had a "vision" and you improved on it. Many thanks for a wonderful design - our family and friends will enjoy it immensely!.
- Karen
What a pleasure it was to work with Carole. She has a great sense of design, is a careful listener, has creative solutions, can stick to a budget, offers excellent advice, is a patient problem solver, and to top it off, has the sense humor necessary for any big renovation project. We are so happy with our addition!
- Nancy