Harrell Design + Build

Harrell Design + Build operates as a general contractor out of Mountain View. The firm is woman-founded and fully employee-owned. It handles full-home remodels along with additions, kitchens, bathrooms, and universal design work. Homeowners reach them at the showroom on Old Middlefield Way or by phone at the listed numbers. Their service covers Palo Alto, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Saratoga, Cupertino, and other nearby spots in the Bay Area. The company has run since 1985 and lists whole-house projects, specialty spaces, outdoor living, and green remodeling among its offerings.

Customers describe kitchen and bathroom remodels, home extensions, deck replacements, and smaller repairs. One job involved a motorized pergola where the crew sorted gutter direction and roof line heights before finishing on schedule. Others mention whole-house work that stayed on budget while the team handled permits and subcontractors. Reviewers note quick fixes such as a disposal repair on Thanksgiving and consistent guidance on materials like floors and cabinets that fit the stated budget. Names that come up include Lisa Parramore for pergola details, Gloria for design suggestions across two projects, Kai for the emergency call, Lino for daily oversight, and Sara for kitchen and bath layouts.

The crew responds fast to calls and emails, including weekends, and keeps homeowners updated on costs and timing. Projects finish on or ahead of the original date with transparent numbers from the start. They manage design through construction and permits without leaving gaps between teams. Work stays inside the listed service towns and draws on the showroom for finish selections. Reviewers point to low stress because the same group covers every phase from first drawings to final walk-through.

Feedback shows a 4.8 Google rating along with many five-star comments on communication, schedule keeping, and attention to property during the job. Recurring notes cover quality workmanship, staying inside budget, and follow-up after completion.

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“Harrell Design Build (and in particular Lisa Parramore and her team) are simply outstanding. They built a motorized, louvered pergola for me and took care of every detail (i.e, which way should rain gutter face; how high should structure be given 2 different roof lines?). The list of issues they solved just goes on and on. Started early and finished on time with great communication! Worth every penny.”

“Harrell brought knowledge and experience to assist with our remodel project. They guided us in a direction with great ideas we had not considered. The entire Harrell team was a pleasure to work with. They took amazing care of our property and insured top quality workmanship. The subcontractors they brought to the project were simply the best. They completed our remodel two weeks ahead of schedule and on budget.”

“This is my 2nd project with Harrell. My designer, Gloria, was excellent - great ideas, kept my budget in mind when making suggestions for floors, counter tops, tiles, cabinets, etc. and a great sense of humor! She ALWAYS got back to my emails and calls very quickly, even on weekends and Sundays! I had Kai with my first project and, in fact, he was the reason I came back to Harrell for my 2nd project. After they had done my kitchen 12 years ago, I had a problem with my disposal on Thanksgiving day (my project was completed the March before) with a house full of guests. I called their "emergency" line (which was Kai's phone) and he came out THAT DAY and saved my dinner party. For that action, they got my business for my 2nd project. Erick was my head carpenter and he was amazing. His cleanliness and organizational skills (getting the subcontractors all scheduled and there on time) stood out for me. Plus his carpenter skills are superb - he's a perfectionist. Every afternoon before leaving, he moved and cleaned his work area outside so that my dogs could play as usual even though he had to set everything up again the next day. Overall, the entire Harrell "family" is friendly, puts you”

“I am so glad we chose Harrell for our kitchen and family room remodel. Their being design build made the project smooth and headache free. They covered nearly all aspects of the job, including design, project management, construction, subcontractors, and permits. I never had to worry about communication between our designer and construction. As our designer, Gloria was creative with visuals and problem solving to give us a great looking and highly functional kitchen. Lino was wonderful in overseeing the day to day construction. I appreciated their communication throughout the project. Gloria listened to our hopes for the kitchen and brought them to life in the design. She referred us to great vendors to select materials (e.g. tile and appliances). Lino regularly kept us up to date on what's been completed and what's coming. We are grateful for the thorough, high quality work of Harrell and their subcontractors. We're left with a beautiful kitchen and family room that we get to enjoy!”

“We wanted a bathroom remodel that optimized space, maximized storage, was durable and easy to clearn, and included safety and accessibility features - without sacrificing design aesthetics. Our new space is trouble-free, peaceful and personalized - the same attributes I'd apply to our working relationship with Harrell.”

“Harrell Design+Build was outstanding to work with on our remodeling project. From start to finish the process was very low stress because they really are a full-service organization. Every step of the way they were communicative, and completely transparent about how much things would cost, and how much time they thought it would take. The result is just incredible, completely exceeding what we dreamed possible. After many years considering this remodel we are so glad we finally made it happen, and that is in large part due to Harrell's involvement. Their extensive experience and dedication was evident as they noted details we would have missed throughout the project. From the design phase to the final walk-through they were always on the lookout for potential issues, often addressing problems before we even noticed they existed. We always felt confident the work was being done correctly and expertly. They made tremendous effort to protect surfaces and minimize dust, debris, and disruption. They were extremely quick to respond to changes that are inevitable in this kind of process. Their subcontractors were great, responsive, and well-managed. Harrell was clear about budget up fron”

“We had an amazing experience with Harrell's team of professionals! Our home extension and remodel in Los Altos exceeded our expectations for beauty and function. Designers Sheila & Margarita were meticulous and creative in elevating our wants and needs to create new bathrooms that are truly a joy to use. Their build team was precise and thorough, and their follow-up has been appreciated to ensure things are working just the way we want. Highest recommendations!”

“We have done two remodeling projects with Harrell over the past three years, kitchen and master bath. We cannot recommend Harrell highly enough. Our designer on both projects, Gloria, listened carefully to us and consistently suggested products and ideas that we loved and were within our budget. Everyone we worked with was professional, responsive, friendly and reliable. They stayed on budget and on schedule. Our space was completely transformed, is gorgeous and more than meets our needs. It was a pleasure working with Harrell.”

“27 years ago, we completed a whole house remodeling project for our young family of five with the company then called Harrell Remodeling Inc. It was such a positive experience from our first meeting with owner Iris Harrell to our final walk-through once the job was finished (and afterwards whenever we had small maintenance issues over the years) that when we decided it was time to “re-do” our house again, the only company we called was Harrell. They now have a new name that clearly states the breadth of what they do, Harrell Design+Build. However, as an employee owned firm, their values, their customer care, and the quality of their entire team have not changed. That is what drew us back. All the people we worked with, including the subcontractors they brought in, were professional people of integrity who took pride in their work, paid attention to detail, and were respectful and pleasant to be around. Our project, led by designer Gloria Carlson and project manager Mario Rivera, was a collaborative process in which our input was always solicited, welcomed and incorporated. If there were reasons our ideas weren’t practical or technically possible, alternative creative ways to try to”

“Harrell Remodeling exceeded all expectations without exception...a very professional team that performed well at every level of the organization. The craftsmen and project management did not fall short in any area of their service delivery. The project was very well planned and painlessly executed without disrupting our living inside the house during the repairs. The professionals who did the work were smart, competent and fun to work with as they completed the projects. Communications with every level of Harrell was professional and very effective...thereby avoiding any misunderstanding about the timing and completion of the projects. I plan to have Harrell work on additional projects on my 60 year old house and would not hesitate for a minute to hire Harrell again. I am actually very thankful that the entire Harrell team handled the extremely delicate task of completing the projects while we were living in the house. Due to the complexity of the projects the work was done on a "Time and Materials" basis and the invoices were accurate with the hours per project per day and the materials used for the variety of tasks. The invoices were clearly detailed and presented on a li”

“I can't say enough good things about Harrell Remodeling. Reputable, responsible, responsive, thorough, professional, the list of positive qualities could go on forever. We hired Harrell Remodeling for a rather large remodel using Gloria Carlson of Harrell as our designer. Everything went incredibly well. Some highlights: for a whole house remodel Harrell was able to procure the necessary permits in less than one week. On a seven month project, with change orders, Harrell finished within fourteen days of the end date they gave us at the start of the project. Harrell stands by the price they quote you. When Harrell found unexpected asbestos in one of the old materials they were demolishing they covered the cost of the remediation at no expense to us as the remediation was not included in the original job quote. Every step of the way the Harrell team did A+ quality work down to the finest details. At the conclusion of the job, even the smallest detail finishing touches were dealt with within two weeks or less. Additionally, once the job is finished Harrell stands by their work. They guarantee their work and the few tiny issues that cropped up (truly minor issues like drawer”

“We have used Harrell Remodeling since 2004 for numerous projects on our home, inside and out. The most important things to know about Harrell is that they always met their deadlines, always performed quality work and always listened to my ideas--even the most outlandish. They have remodeled my house top to bottom over the years. Always tackling a new project to melt with my design aesthetics as well as what was already completed. We used other contractors before finding Harrell and those experiences were awful! Harrell is outstanding in their design, project management and quality. I highly recommend them.”

“I can't believe how smoothly our remodel went. From the initial design consultation to the final walk-through, everything was a breeze. Our designer, Sara, worked with us to come up with the perfect kitchen and master bath design. The construction crew was incredibly respectful of the house and worked great with all of our requests to make sure our cats were kept safe during the process. They immediately alerted us to any issues that arose during the project and were great at coming up with solutions that made us totally happy. The best part about it? They finished on schedule! Not only did they finish on time, but they've kept in touch with us after the project to make sure that we are still 100% satisfied. I would recommend Harrell to anyone looking to do a remodeling project.”

“Many years ago, in the midst of a major remodel, Iris Harrell told us she wanted Harrell Remodeling to be "your contractor for life". You might be tempted to dismiss this as mere marketing fluff, but you'd be wrong. It's real, and it's valuable. Here's why: We recently needed to replace a bathroom sink, under-mounted beneath a marble countertop. Local plumbers weren't up for the job--- under-mounted sinks are tricky to deal with. Typical general contractors wouldn't want to disrupt the schedules of their mega-projects to deal with such a small one as ours. But when I asked Harrell Remodeling if they were still our "contractor for life", they said they absolutely were. Shortly thereafter Nigel appeared at our door. He's as capable, multi-talented and meticulous a craftsman as you'll ever encounter, and a pleasure to have in your home as well. In less than two days we were back in business, job flawlessly completed. Way to go Nigel! And way to go Harrell Remodeling, our contractor for life.”

“From the time I decided our kitchen needed remodeling, which was exactly 25 years before I could convince other household members, I always knew I wanted It designed by Harrell. 25 years ago, its headquarters was along the stroll to my son’s preschool. And it seemed like every house I liked along the way had a Harrell sign. This year they designed the kitchen of my dreams - there’s even a baking station for that son - now a professional baker. When we finally decided to redesign I thought it would take months to even talk to anyone, but Gloria Carlson, returned my call at once. I didn’t give her much to work with other than “More light, more space less Wall” and she designed a spacious light filled open kitchen retaining our original footprint. All the paperwork and permit and inspections were handled professionall by the Harrell team. Our project manager Dee saw to every detail and the lead carpenter Calvin became a member of our family. I know our choice to live in the house while some pretty nasty work was going on made their job harder, but my husband and I were always treated kindly and courteously. The team graciously took care that the lumbering 45 pound tortoise staye”

“I have dreamed of working with Harrell Remodeling for more than 20 years, such is their reputation for smart, impeccably designed and crafted spaces. The danger of such dreams is creating unreasonable expectations, but Harrell exceeded all of them in the rebuild of my kitchen. There are few people who can boast of having fun during a kitchen remodel; I am one of them. Unbelievable attention to detail, quick problem solving, spectacular communication (including on the job site, where I learned so much that has made me a better home-owner) . . . We simply could not have done this with anyone else and emerged with our day-jobs and marriage intact!”

“Like most of our PVR homes, our 50-year old decks were either too hot in the summer, or too cold in the winter, and often swarming with groundwasps. Additionally, our aging redwood decks were, essentially, fuel! Given the recently enhanced need for fire-hardening, we sought to replace the decks on all four sides of the house. We have worked with Harrell Design + Build on several remodeling projects at our PVR home over the past 30 years, but this recent project was by far the most complex, adding more than 2,100 fire-resistant square feet of multi-level decking. The Harrell team first brought in a certified arborist whose advice facilitated the deck construction without harming the centerpiece of our back deck: a massive heritage oak with a five-foot trunk diameter. We then explored many types of the newly available inflammable class “A” fire-rated deck boards (Azek) with a steel deck framing and stair system.These materials were not traditional to the Portola Valley Ranch Community, but the need for fire-hardening took precedent. The Harrell team got everything approved by the city, including the meticulous steel post and beam engineering that also makes our home more earthquake”

“After doing a considerable amount of research for a recent remodel, we picked Harrell Remodeling and are so delighted that we did. We liked that this is an employee owned company. Our thought was that all HRI employees would be more invested in their performance. We were so right. Our lead designer, Genie, was simply top-notch. She has amazing design vision and was such a pleasure to work with on our laundry and linen closet project. She also led a complete décor refresh throughout our home. We could not be happier with the outcome. We also had an Asian-inspired garden renovation and drip system installed. Lisa has deep experience with Japanese gardens and we are also pleased with the results. All team members on our project were consummate professionals and contributed to keeping our projects on time and within budget. We are already planning additional Harrell projects. -Marie and Doug Barry”

“We've collaborated with Harrell Remodeling as the flooring contractor on countless projects for over 10 years. Not enough can be said to praise them for their excellent work and attention to detail. As a collaborator with them, they are easy to work with - something that is big for us and not common in the industry. Job sites are always ready for us to get to work on and the communication we have with their job supervisors is always smooth and easy - making our job, in turn, much easier. We're looking forward to many more years of projects with Harrell Remodeling!”

“This was 4th project we've done with Harrell. As pointed out elsewhere they are very expensive but you know that they will provide an excellent result on time. In this case we used them to repair and remodel a kitchen in a rental condo unit that had suffered substantial water damage. The design team headed by Lisa Sten listened to my ideas and came up with an exceptionally well-designed, beautiful new kitchen. As others have pointed out, they provide constant communication throughout the project and work hard to keep the project on schedule.”