James McCalligan Architect

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.