Bergez & Associates Design Studio

I am writing this review for Jean Paul Bergez, Bergez & Associates Design Studio. Jean Paul Bergez was recommended by a personal friend and he is a talented designer. We first met with him November, 2018, to discuss our driveway project. On December 6, 2018, we agreed to hire Bergez & Associates Design Studio to create the design plan for our driveway, walkway and porch. He delivered his contract to us requesting our signatures and a $1,000 deposit. We did sign the contract and included a $1,000 deposit check, which he then cashed. He expressed interest in completing this design by the end of December, 2018.. We were looking forward to working with him. This was the last time Jean Paul Bergez has been in contact with us. We called and sent e-mail and never heard back. This is the first time I have ever left a negative review for anyone.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - The Good: JP is a talented designer, and extremely personable, and easy to work with. He's adaptable to feedback, and is great at balancing his vision with your goals, input, and feedback. Our in-laws used him as well, and reported that he was very good at reviewing work along the way and spotting errors in construction that didn't conform with the plans. They in retrospect thought they actually should have used more of his time in this way! - The Bad: well, he's not cheap. But we thought it was worth it to get it done right the first time. - The Ugly: (it is a one-star, review, right?). As in dating, it was great at the beginning. He was responsive, friendly, and it was a good relationship. Things slowed down a bit on our end, but then we were ready to re-engage. We had some final changes we wanted on the plans, and needed to get a new paper copy as one of the concrete contractors we were getting a bid from had then stolen from his truck. We asked for JP to send us a copy. No response. After about 5 calls/emails/texts and 4 weeks, he apologized for the delay and said he'd send them right over. That was over 2 months ago...and add another 12 or so direct calls to his cell, texts, and emails with NO RESPONSE. Completely ghosted us, after being a few thousand dollars in the hole with NOTHING to show for it. No plans, no nothing. We've been pleading with him on voicemails to just tell us something (like he's just too busy, we're too small a job, something) with no response. We've had a neighbor who's used him leave him a voicemail on our behalf. Nothing. We're now considering if we just need to cut our losses and start fresh with a new designer. UPDATE on 8/13/19: JP reached out, and we got to a solid resolution. He took responsibility for his part in the issue, and (most importantly) got us a soft copy of the plans so we can move forward. I've revised my rating to reflect this.

JP of Bergez and Associates Design Studio is an amazing architect and landscape designer. We had a large project with a pool/hillside areas requiring an interesting design and hillside landscaping. JP was and still is a pleasure to work with and always took into consideration our requests (likes and dislikes). We are very happy with the results and would highly recommend JP and his Design firm.

We've used JP Bergez for our backyard landscaping and plants since 2010. We initially worked with JP to design part of our backyard and recommend plants based on our likes and dislikes. It turned out great. After working with JP and learning a tad from his design work, we briefly thought about designing the rest our yard ourselves based on some initial designs by JP. Thank the higher beings we did not! Our ideas would have handcuffed in so many ways based on our lack of insight and experience. We immediately called JP and provided ideas of what we wanted and his designs were spot on. JP and his staff are wonderful and very professional.

We hired Bergez & Associates three times over the past five years. Our first project involved a lot of structural hardscape including a deck, two sets of steps and a ramp for my disabled sister. The design incorporated all those components in addition to beautiful plants. We receive compliments all the time. The ramp looks like a beautful walkway but serves the double purpose of allowing a person with disabilities access to our home. Our second project was a partial renovation of our back garden, again including some hardscape as well as plants Our recent project was a lawn conversion. JP designed a beautiful layout of native plants to replace all existing lawn in our drought stricken state. JP is an excellent designer with plant and product knowledge and attention to detail.

JP and his staff are producing the highest quality design work in the Bay Area. I have worked with JP on several large, up scale projects and have found him to be easy to work with, experienced, well organized and insanely creative. JP's authentic knowledge of construction method's and a variety of materials separates him from other designers and architects we have worked with. His works speaks for itself!