James McCalligan Architect

Jim Just thought of something that I do not know Peg, or, I have ever said to you in about 30 yrs. 'We love our house that you designed for us. The high ceilings, trusses exposed, all the nooks and crannies. Every day I look at different things in the house, and the great views out back never end. We do our best to live in the moment, that includes little things like watching the trees change into fall colors. You gave us the vehicle for us to enjoy as much as we do here on 5 acres in Sebastopol = thanks.' I forgot to mention the cedar barn that you and Mike designed together, it is still beautiful after 10+ yrs. Bob & Peg

Jim is amazing! It’s been an absolute delight working with him and everyone at JMA. We bought a lovely vineyard in a great area, but the house on the property was terrible. I’m an interior designer trained in space planning and can usually figure out tricky homes but this one had me stumped. I reached out to Jim because everything in this house was challenging. He completely reinvented the floorplan and turned a dark confusing house into a light filled home. The house is on a hill overlooking the vineyard, but very few rooms could even see the amazing view. Jim removed walls, added 30 feet of glass sliding doors and moved the kitchen to the south side, instead of the north side of the house. This brought sunlight throughout the whole first floor and created panoramic views. He figured out how to raise the 8’ ceiling in some spots, which completely opened up some important areas. His creativity and vision are truly exceptional. We have always thought that anyone living in Northern California should take advantage of the great weather and, if possible, create an outdoor living area. Jim designed the most amazing deck for us. Actually, there are several decks so that we can be outside and be comfortable at any time of year. Jim is also one of the nicest people we’ve ever met. He has been very accessible and easy to work with and generous with his time. We feel very fortunate to have worked with Jim McCalligan and can’t recommend him highly enough.

We engaged Jim and his team to design a home and barn in Healdsburg, California. Jim’s expertise, experience and creativity were invaluable. The process was truly collaborative as Jim listened to our thoughts regarding design elements that were important to us. Jim took our input and designed a modern farmhouse and barn with amazing spaces, flow and creative architectural details. His easy going approach and genuine concern for the project and us made the process thoroughly enjoyable. He was mindful of our budget throughout and incorporated this into the final design without sacrificing quality or aesthetics. In addition to design, Jim helped guide us through the builder selection process, made recommendations and facilitated builder meetings. During the construction phase, Jim was always available and responsive as questions arose. He made regular visits to the site to ensure quality workmanship and assist the builder in implementing his vision. The end result is a home beyond our wildest dreams. We highly recommend Jim and his team! Best house ever…

After the devastation of losing our home in the Tubs Firestorm of 2017 we were just able to conduct everyday life and navigate through the insurance maze. Jim had built the home we lost and contacted us to start thinking about putting architectural plans together. His encouragement was exactly what we needed to move forward. This will be the third time he and his staff has designed a home for us. We are always fascinated to ‘watch’ his brain design and develop plans. His understanding of space and structure from all angles; inside, outside, and around is amazing! Jim and his staff prepared our drawings as promised and were timely in response to our questions. The plans are of high quality and complete allowing them to be quickly processed through our building department. He is gifted in his craft and equally enjoyable to work with.

When my husband and I decided to embark on the journey of building a custom home on a lot we had previously purchased, we hired Jim McCalligan for his expertise. I'm an Interior Designer and, although I wasn't too familiar with the Santa Rosa/Sonoma area at the time, I saw the benefits of using Jim over the others we interviewed. We chose to work with Jim because of his brilliance and meticulous attention to detail. Being in the industry, you have no idea how important this is when building the home of your dreams. He and his team answered every call and were always there to steer us in the right direction. There was never a moment where we doubted our decision. I highly recommend using Jim on your next project, hands down!

We enjoyed working with Jim from our first meeting. Ideas seem to come quickly to him and we were always impressed with his ability to find a new solution when some impediment occurred. We are thrilled with the end product of our collaboration with him.

This was our first experience with building a custom home and we were new to the area. We talked with several builders and architects in the area who felt the lot had some difficulties. After we sat down with Jim and talked about some ideas it became clear that his imagination and character were what we were looking for. Jim and staff took us step by step through the sometimes confusing permitting process with little to no involvement. He exceeded our expectations(which were way higher than our budget) and as I've come to learn added many details and designs that don't typically come with what we contracted for. There was never a time where Jim wasn't there to answer any construction questions or detail changes. We still get a thrill a invited friends and family to our home.

James designed our dream house that after years of delays we are building. After a couple of interviews asking us questions and getting to know what we wanted he was able to design a house better than what I could imagine. He made the process fun and rewarding. Jim made several trips out to our property and was able to best utilitize the views, the sunlight and wind to create a house that is both beautiful and functional. We are looking forward to moving in and choosing Jim as our architech was a great decision.

Jim and his staff did a great job designing a new wing to help us take advantage of a previously neglected river view for our Russian River home. We now enjoy dining in a room surrounded by windows that bring-in the redwood-forest and the river below. He also recommended top craftspersons to implement the design. We still have more to do (an office over a new garage), and look forward to completing the project. Jim has also been generous and helpful with other architectural questions which have come up regarding our home and our business ventures. He's top-notch!

I can't recommend architect, Jim McCalligan, more highly. We contacted him just days after our 1890s farmhouse burnt down. He was immediately responsive, reassuring and confident that he could design a new house for us that would incorporate the spirit and nuances of our beloved century-old home. Within a few weeks he had produced a set of drawings that incorporated relatively minor changes (enlarged windows, built in cabinets, a changed wall here and there) that transformed our former home into a stunning and beautiful new farmhouse. Jim ushered his plans thru the county permitting process and we were permitted and rebuilding four and a half months after the fire. He and our contractor, Brian Evans, worked easily and efficiently together. Throughout it all, Jim was gracious, good humored, patient and available.

Jim designed an 1,100 square foot addition. We had already fired one architect when we interviewed Jim; Jim stood far above the many others we interviewed in his enthusiastic sharing of his ideas and vision at the first interview. He embraced all of our ideas about materials and came up with an elegant and simple addition which transformed our property. He also helped us through the contractor bid process and we eventually used one of his recommendations and were very satisfied. He sheparded the project through the permit process with very little in the way of glitches or additions. He met deadlines, his work was on budget, and he was very easy to work with. Having interviewed at least 8 architects, and wasted a couple of months with the first one we had to fire, we feel like we have a good basis to say that Jim and his team are excellent.

JMA has provided architect services for three homes we have built over the past 22 years. The most recent being completed in 2011. The homes have ranged from a Victorian farm house to contemporary ocean front homes. We have found working with this firm a very satisfying experience from project conception to build-out. Homes ranged from $250,000 to more than $1,500,000.