Testimonials
For additional testimonials see the “What They Said” section, and the Dream Book, on our home page.
“This afternoon, Matt and I met with the contractor to ogle over all the work that has been done over the last few months. We are in awe and are loving the process of watching the progress of this beautiful home you all designed come to fruition! We are also happy that you are keeping a watchful eye on this build. We are grateful for you and are comforted in knowing you are overseeing the creation of our dream. From our family to the ORR Design Team, wishing Yuletide warmth and joy this season!”
“I’ve known Gary as friend for many years and during that time, I have had delight to see many of his firm’s wonderful projects and even locate my company’s offices in one. He is an amazing talent, with a unique and creative vision that is evident in all his design work. I know that he and his staff work extremely well with their clients to the point of knowing exactly what will best fit their needs. Close attention to detail is their forté and includes everything such as colors, finishes and lighting design. Many of his firm’s projects have been breathtaking in their creativity and implementation to the point of being featured in many architectural design magazines. Gary is a rare and fine jewel in his profession.”
“I have had the privilege of knowing Gary Orr for over a decade. I have worked in his office on a variety of projects- from innovative residential designs to regional city planning projects. Gary understands the unique position of architecture within the arts as a discipline with both transformative and visionary potential and as a practice deeply responsive to the everyday lives and needs of people. His ability to poetically integrate structure, form, and space in dramatic ways testifies to his talent and versatility. Gary’s concern for the needs of the client, his ability to think across disciplines, and his attention to thoughtful detailing in both materiality and assembly are trademarks of his office. He is in the truest sense, a great designer.“
“I have a background in architecture and design and can say after knowing Gary for nearly 25 years, his work stands apart. He is a truly inspired designer and experienced professional. He is totally dedicated to his work and performs at a high-level of creativity on each project. Excellent client interface and follow-up are also one of Gary's strengths. Few in his profession have Gary's skills across such a wide spectrum of disciplines.”
“At the time I first met Gary Orr, I was impressed with his creative skills and rapid-fire problem- solving abilities. I have collaborated with his company on a continuous basis as the designer for several unique projects including a resort in Baja, several unique one-of-a-kind custom homes in the East Bay hills, my headquarters office, and a mountain valley golf park. Gary’s imagination and creative skills seem to start where most end. He is always thinking of a practical way to solve very technical details with cost effectiveness and flair. One of my favorite ideas that Gary convinced me to install was to place a car-sized black granite boulder in a plaza in front of my office building. We traveled to the quarry together and picked out the best boulder and had them cut it into two pieces and polish the interior cut faces to a mirror black. Gary had the two pieces elevated on spacers to appear to hover above the surface and installed flood lights under them. He said they were glowing meteorites.”
“ORR Design Office created the design and detailed plans for a two-story guest home shop and professional art studio adjacent to our historic manor 1929 house. Gary and his staff were very easy to communicate with and were receptive to all ideas and questions. The resultant design exceeded my expectations by using design elements, proportions, and construction techniques to make the new building perfectly compatible with the older home on the same lot. They shepherded the project’s design through the review and permit process, communicated clearly with contractors and resolved all questions in the building process. I am beyond satisfied and very happy with ORR.”
“Gary is amazingly creative—a blend of an “artist, architect, and inventor.” He and the entire office goes above and beyond to make a project a success. They blend cutting-edge technologies and budget sensitive value engineered options that make their projects exciting and affordable. The ORR team is organized and professional. I worked with Gary and his team on a new project in the sierra foothills that is out of this world amazing — a dream project! — A private event center and residence with an acoustically engineered hillside amphitheater for live music performances and hosting of non-profit fund raisers. This project may be the most sophisticated of its type I’ve ever worked on.”
“Our magazine publishes projects that are well designed and that showcase the unique lifestyle of the West. We are fortunate to have published many of ORR Design Office’s projects because they are beautiful and exemplify indoor-outdoor living. Their work is top notch and inspiring. Congratulations, the Wilson Project has been honored with a Western Design Award!”
“ORR Design Office is amazing to work with. Gary and his team put together such incredibly detailed plans which leave nothing to question which is important with any project. However, it is extremely important with high-end projects like they produce.”
“Gary and his staff have been an essential part of the design team here at Mercy Hospital. They have been responsive to our needs, have provided valuable scheduling coordination between numerous projects proposed and have provide an extremely deep level of creativity and design insight that are missing in most consultants we work with. Gary brings a high-level of energy and creativity to all the projects ORR designed for the hospital. And, he has developed a staff that shared his enthusiasm and talents. Of special note, Gary intuitively understood the faith-based mission of our hospital and created key outdoor spaces that supported spiritually and mindful healing.”
“We just spent several hours exploring the design and plans you left us! God, you are a genius! I cannot imagine how you did it. The more we look at them the more we discover and love the design — we didn’t know that we loved the Butterfly roof design until we realized how perfect they are. We are both really stoked about the project — hope you are, too!”
“As a real-estate developer, I have designed several projects where Gary and the ORR Design team were an active member of our development team. Gary is an extraordinarily talented designer with lots of hands-on construction and supervision experience. They are my go-to visionaries when I need a brilliant idea!”
“Gary and his team have a real eye for the whole project. Nothing is foreign to the theme, yet each space has a distinctive feeling and purpose. Their nuanced use of materials and lighting is remarkable. I have hired him for two custom homes and would ask for his services again. I feel that he understands the customer and communicates very well. My favorite room in my last home was the great room. It flowed from outside to inside and out again. I still miss that room!”
“I believe that you have hit the mark with the new design for our house and have delivered what we wanted in the look and feel we wanted for our property here in the Moraga foothills. You are a genius at what you do! We would like to go with it--you made my week!”
“Having seen some of ORR Design Office's award-winning work, we met with Gary to talk about a dramatic transformation for our home. It was clear to us from our interactions with Gary during initial conversations, site visits, ongoing conference calls and emails that an important part of his process is getting to know us — our lifestyle, how we live in and use our home. We learned over time that Gary and the team have a reason for every design element and detail. Gary is also a highly talented landscape architect, and this was a part of the project scope. He created an outdoor room into which our new kitchen opens. Gary is extremely knowledgeable not only about architecture styles and history, but also about the latest materials, furniture, fixtures, techniques and technology. He is driven by doing work that speaks eloquently for itself and that yields thrilled clients. The completed project elicits "WOWS" when people experience “our new old home” the first time.”
“We had the great pleasure of working with Gary to design a full dramatic remodel of our home in two stages. He is a visionary, able to provide cohesive elevated design that is way beyond what you could possibly conceive. He is considerate and helpful at every stage of the process from start to finish. I highly recommend the ORR Design team to anyone looking for a superior project.”
“The design team at ORR Design are truly exceptional. We used them to transform the front of our home 10 years ago and the response was so overwhelmingly positive we hired them again to complete the rest of our Sierra Oaks 1920’s one-of-a-kind home. Their design has truly transformed our home and lives and connected our house with our landscape to create a completely updated indoor/outdoor feeling. Gary said our house was weird and unfunctional and that it was less charming than irritating. He said we needed to take out the irritation and amplify the unique idiosyncrasies to make the house charming. After a one-year renovation…the result exceeded our expectations, and the response has been overwhelming-and charming!”
“Gary has great creative mind. He has designed several projects for our family including our restaurant remodel, a professional office, and a dramatic modern home. His designs are out of the ordinary, one of the absolute best in this region!”
“I have been a real estate developer for over 40 years. I have pretty much done it all and seen it all. When I worked with Gary and his team for a nearly tear-down design of a complex project, I discovered that ORR Design was an entire higher measure of talent and quality above the other designers, architects, and engineers that I have worked with over the years. I look for efficiency and expect a yeoman’s outcome but, Gary and his office team stand far above the average standard and deliver a design to the client that is on point- practical, beautiful, and imaginative and of the absolute highest quality.”
“The ORR Design Office designs some of the most interesting and unique homes I have seen. Gary Orr envisions each house as an experience, not just a dwelling. When exotic angles or sloping intersecting planes are called for in service of the architectural vision, Gary uses them. This no holds barred design approach has required me to be at the top of my game as a structural engineer. Working with ODO has been a meaningful growth experience for me as a professional, and it is my pleasure to work with Gary and the team at ORR Design to engineer these one-of-a-kind, high end, conceptually rich homes.“
“I am in high-end residential real estate sales. I have opportunities to meet and interview designers and architects regularly. Gary’s creative mind is unsurpassed, he does not settle and is determined to provide outstanding results! His vision keep’s everyone on track at-all-times and he works well in challenging situations. Our beautiful custom home in the East Bay was creatively designed top to bottom — every detail including the lighting, landscaping, swimming pool and even the flowerpots were planned. The way that it connects the inside with the outside and to the rear guest house was stunning. The house won several awards for its design and detailed features.”
“Gary and his team are true visionaries in all their design work. He has a thorough knowledge of contemporary building materials and state of the art products. His service ethic is top notch. He designed three significant projects for me and has always been immediately available to humble me with his endless design vision. Gary has cross skills that are equally brilliant from architecture and landscape to interiors that can't be found in one person.”
“Gary is a rare combination of a visionary with reliable and spectacular follow-through. We served together on the Board of the Discovery Museum in Sacramento when it was making a difficult transition from a "working, founder's Board" to one focusing on strategic planning, policy, fundraising, and the kind of future the capital city in a region of 2.5 million people deserved in its science museum. Gary designed our vision and made it three-dimensional for us--real in a way that helped us move toward an ambitious goal. During that time, the Board faced some interesting challenges. I am convinced that Gary was instrumental in our not wavering in our belief that the organization would eventually deliver that dream. It would be a great honor to work with him again!”
“ORR Design's new custom projects have a special sensitivity in their relationship of the design to the site and/or to the existing structure in the case of remodeling projects. Gary and his talented staff combine a creativity of design with a good functional program that not only solves problems but gives a special flair to the results. The Magazine as well as several of our special publications have regularly published ORR’s work.”
“ORR Design Office completely transformed our back yard and the adjoining interior spaces of our home making the interior and exterior flow and connect like a personal resort. It was an extensive re-model but well worth the effort. I highly recommend ORR Design for anyone who truly wants something special, tasteful and elegant.”
“Just had a chance to see ORR Design’s Davis project! True to form — they have thought of everything. From the moment you walk to the front door to the newly transformed outdoor living space — every detail has been thought of; and you are taken on a journey that is both captivating and thoughtful. If you are looking for innovative design that supersedes your expectations, ORR Design is a firm that can execute more than what you expect!”
“Gary and the ORR Design Office staff are creative talents. Their ideas will stretch your own. They are passionate about their work, and it shows in the beautiful and detailed plans they designed for our custom home. They will get you to think outside of the box!”
“ORR Design created our sophisticated modern-styled home that is perfectly designed for the site and understands our lifestyle and requirements. From beginning to end Gary and this team was involved in every aspect of the project including plans, landscaping, interior design and working with contractors. The design is purposeful and reflects a dynamic vision for a custom home and while balancing the many challenges of the property and project. ORR Design spent an unparalleled amount of energy and time on the project and was committed to it through and after completion. The new lifestyle that the home provides is thrilling and the frequent complements received are still surprising. It is a real showstopper in the neighborhood. ”
“We purchased a classic ranch house knowing that we wanted to add on a master suite and create my dream 3000+ volume library. We hired ORR Design to design and manage the construction and were very pleased with the results of the project. Gary’s attention to detail helped us get the construction completed at a fair contracting cost. The original garage was converted into the library and it is important to note that because the porch and roof line were extended there is no tell-tale sign of changes to the home. There is great attention to detail including picture molding and impressive coffered ceiling that carries through the design from the older part of the house. Gary, also as landscape architect, designed the hardscape and plantings for our yard. His firm’s work is a whole level above anyone I know.”
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