"I am writing to attest to the experience, creativity and thoroughness of Sharon Ranney and Eric Michaels as Architects in the firm, Ranney Michaels Architects.

In 2004 my wife and I were trying to decide if we should sell or remodel our home. We live in the beach area of Fairfield and we really wanted to stay but the house was dreary, unattractive and it had no character or curb appeal. Eric and Sharon were able to change our home in such a way that it is now one of the most attractive in the neighborhood.

Our particular problem was that our house truly needed a facelift and they were able to give us a grand design that actually transformed our home. In doing so, they kept our home in scale to our lot size and made it look original to the beach area as opposed to a builders spec home that is commonly too large for the lot and the neighborhood around it.

Eric and Sharon used shingles and window sizes, dormers, specific moldings and a "wave" on the house to give it the kind of detail that makes it "fit" but also be unique.

Finally, Eric and Sharon were a pleasure to deal with. They were responsive, listened intently to our needs and were patient with us as we worked through all the details that must be considered when remodeling your home. We highly recommend them and will use them again if we have future design and architectural needs."

Daniel P. O'Brien
Mara Sheehan-O'Brien
309 Penfield Road
Fairfield, CT
Residential Addition and Alteration

Our project was constructing a screened-in porch over our back deck. A small simple project one would think, except for two things: the roof enclosing the porch had to be gabled to fit the existing roof line as well as dealing with existing skylights which would be covered by the new roof, and we had to go for a zoning variance for 1.5 square feet!

Our home is located in the Compo beach area of Westport. Sharon and Eric came up with a terrific design which impressed my wife who was initially not on board with the project. They worked with us very closely to satisfy the never ending stream of requests from the building department until we got our building permit.

The completed project came out better then expected and we have received a steady stream of compliments on the addition. I would not hesitate to recommend Sharon and Eric as architects.

Ron Pascale
Principal
Pascale & LaMorte LLC
203-337-8155
www.pascale-lamorte.com
Residential Addition

Linda and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the beautiful addition you designed. The addition is not only beautiful but flows with the rest of the house. You are true professionals and artists. Your knowledge of construction and design work was not only very creative and beautiful but very detailed. We hope to work with you soon on future projects, namely the kitchen. We hope that you share this with other potential clients because the both of you epitomize architecture!

With warm personal regards,
Nick and Linda Palumbo
Katonah, NY
Residential Addition and Alteration

"We first worked with Eric Michaels ten years ago when we got married and started a family. We love our neighborhood and wanted to stay in the house, but it was too small. Eric designed an addition that was exactly what we had envisioned, and was instrumental in gaining the variance we needed for the project.

Now, ten years later we still love the neighborhood but need even more room. Plus, we wanted to update the exterior of our home. We worked with Eric and Sharon on our project and they gave us a design that we love. The new addition blends beautifully with our existing home. The interior flows nicely and has many amenities that we never considered. The design for the exterior carries the original 1900 theme but adds details that we feel set our home apart. Working with Ranney Michaels Architects was the first and most valuable step we took when starting our projects. We will not hesitate to rely on them again if we ever feel cramped in the future."

Mark and Robin Shannon
Fairfield, CT
Residential Addition and Alteration

"We were very focused on keeping the cost of our project under control. Eric Michaels accomplished that while providing us with some excellent design concepts."

Larry S. Merriam
Key Lincoln Mercury Hyundai
425 North Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06606
203-335-7539 x309 Tel
203-394-6276 Fax
203-981-5558 Cell
Automotive Dealership

I have worked with Ranney Michaels on two renovation projects in Manhattan. The firm did not use a cookie cutter approach but is very versatile in creating designs that work within a given space. One apartment was very traditional with classic molding and dark woods and the other, a very bright look and feel with contemporary finishes.

Space is a luxury in Manhattan, and I was extremely impressed that Ranney Michaels understood the need to utilize every nook and cranny for storage. This was not something that other non- New York based firms and even NY based firms specializing in city apartments understood. New York spaces also require unique solutions to create the feeling of space and to address structural issues inherent in coops and condominiums in the City. None of this was a problem for Ranney Michaels.

All in all, very special experiences. I would recommend the Firm without question.

Carol A. Strickland
Managing Director & Corporate Secretary
U.S.Trust Corporation
114 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
212-852-1330 voice
212-852-1341 fax
cstrickland@ustrust.com
Apartment renovations New York, NY

Our house was a 2 bedrooms 2 1/2 bath ranch. With our growing family we realized that we needed more space. We wanted to convert our ranch to a colonial. After interviewing several contractors and architects, we were not sure how to proceed until we met Eric Michaels.

Hiring Eric was the best decision we made for our project. Eric was very patient with us. By asking us questions about our life style, he was able to design a 5 bedrooms 3 1/2 bath modern colonial exactly the way we wanted it.

The final product was perfect and seamless. Eric is knowledgeable and creative. We can not say enough about Eric's attention to details, his vision and integrity. We are very pleased with our new home. We recommend Eric Michaels with out any reservation. If you have any question, we will be happy to talk to you. "

Dr and Mrs. Bruny Germain
Weston, CT
Residential Addition and Alteration

"Ranney Michaels Architects were the architects and designers for a massive renovation we did on our house at 29 Red Coat Road, Westport CT in 2004-2005. This was quite a complex project that involved not only the addition of some 1500 square feet of space but also a complete transformation of the exterior look of our home, which went from being an ordinary, though pleasant, medium-sized Colonial with barn-siding, to a large elegant French country manse, with shingles, beautiful French windows, a Mansard roof, and a porch with stone arches.

The interior of our house was also completely transformed, consistent with our desire to reproduce the space and look of the large and beautiful turn-of-the century, high-ceilinged Paris apartment where we had been living for four years. Based on photographs of that apartment that we had sent to them and conversations we had with them about what we wanted, Eric and Sharon completely redesigned our living room, dining room and entry, giving these rooms a wonderful and spacious sweep and elegance that not only matched but exceeded in beauty what we had had in Paris, and allowed us to put some of our large antique pieces (including a 14 foot dining room table and numerous large vintage posters) in the house.

They also designed for us a beautiful library, a mud room, a guest room, our upstairs bathroom, and a balcony for our master bedroom, transformed our small kitchen into a spacious breakfast room and state-of-the art kitchen, and vastly improved the look of our outside deck so that it matched the rural French architecture of the house. They also completely redesigned our driveway to enhance the viewers' appreciation of the house upon arrival. I do not exaggerate when I say that everyone who has seen our house has been uniformly astonished by the transformation.

In addition to the beautiful results achieved, there are many other things that were impressive about the work of Eric and Sharon in connection with the project. One, of course, was their technical acumen and creativity. Our project involved some difficult technical challenges, including finding a way to expand a house front ways so that the expanded areas had higher ceilings than the rest of the ground floor space, and doing so without adversely affecting either the look of the house or the construction and light on the second floor. They of course, managed to do this in spectacular fashion, with a creativity that has impressed all visitors to the house, including in particular those who knew it before the renovation.

Indeed, Eric and Sharon provided us with a constant flow of creative ideas about how to solve existing problems or further enhance the look of our house. Moreover, when they did so, they always took into account our aesthetic and practical goals, including our budgetary constraints, which they respected and followed. Indeed, despite having very clear ideas about the design, they were always willing to work with us to make modifications in the design that were important to us for practical or aesthetic reasons.

Another significant feature of their work was their extraordinary attentiveness and their general responsiveness to questions and the kinds of crises that often arise during construction. Whenever we had a question (and we had them on virtually a daily basis) or problem, they were there to address it, either in person or by telephone, on weekends or weekdays, day or night, and always without complaint. Indeed, long after the project was officially completed and they had received full payment, they continued to be involved in the project, going to great lengths to help us obtain our certificate of occupancy and generally making sure that everything on the project was in order.

Their attention to detail, from the brand of doorknobs and light fixtures, to the moldings, cabinets and paint color, was phenomenally meticulous. Indeed, they treated our house with as much care and concern as if it was their house. And they fought unswervingly with contractors and subcontractors to ensure not only that the objectives of their design were achieved but also that we were not overcharged, or underserved.

In short, I cannot imagine working with a more competent, more creative or more responsive architectural firm than Ranney Michaels. Our house is a joy to look at and to live in because of them, and working with them to achieve that goal was a pleasure."

Eric and Kate Ordway
29 Red Coat Road
Westport, CT
Residential Addition and Alteration