It was an absolute pleasure working with Miriam to realize the vision for our remodel - we wanted to preserve the character and bones of an old turn-of-the-20th century Craftsman, while pretty much completely completely changing floor plans for all new living spaces in the home. Miriam worked with us all the way from early conceptual drawings, to architecture and site plans, organizing bid sets for general contractors, researching finish options, recommending color combinations and fixtures and ultimately serving as our project manager through the construction process. We couldn't be happier with the result - the home is an expression of her creative vision with our preferences and crafted with detail and care by the collaboration with our general contractor.

Two characteristics stand out in Miriam above and beyond the many creative and technical qualities that one might expect in an architect/designer/project manager -

* Empathy for the people who would ultimately live in the home - this comes across in the way she expertly balances the aesthetic with the function, and

* Ownership of the process throughout - even after the completion and move-in, staying on top of the little fixes that are often required. We are grateful for having worked with her during this process, and would wholeheartedly recommend her for any project! - Seattle Family, Project Completed in 2023

We are so grateful for all the work Miriam did for our addition. Miriam took our limited budget into consideration, designed our beautiful master suite addition, found reputable and relatively affordable contractors, took care of city permitting, and managed our project throughout construction from beginning to end.

Not only is her design absolutely beautiful and included exactly what we wanted for a price that we could afford, but she also knows a lot about construction and coding. Her instruction ensured that we understood the construction process. Miriam took what we thought was going to be a very scary endeavor and made it painless and enjoyable.

She is responsive, communicative, and your advocate when you need her. We can’t recommend Miriam highly enough! - Kirkland Family, Project Completed 2022

Can't say enough good things about Miriam and Story LLC - she is a consummate professional, excellent at her craft and so committed to her clients. Miriam designed our living room/entryway remodel during the height of COVID, all virtual with minimal to no adjustments once we were able to see each other in-person and on-site. Her design hit all of our asks right out of the gate, we felt like she listened and grasped our style and needs so quickly. Once we actually got the project started, there was a great deal of issues we experienced with the chosen contractor and Miriam jumped in to mediate, project manage and problem-solve. The amount of care and support she provided us was nothing like I've ever seen - she helped us find a new cabinet maker mid-way through the project and got us an amazing outcome because of her commitment to us and seeing everything through. She has an amazing attention to detail and really designed a space that looks gorgeous but is truly functional as well. I've already referred Miriam to anyone that asks because I believe she has the perfect combination of expertise, knowledge and care. She won't accept anything less for her clients and we are so grateful for her support through a longer than anticipated process. Miriam will be who we use again when we tackle the master bathroom in a year or so! - Seattle Family, Project Completed 2021

Miriam created a kitchen for us we'd been dreaming about for 15 years. We have a small home and desperately needed a remodel of our old and dated kitchen. She also created much needed space in my office/closet and laundry/1/4 bath- adding gorgeous yet practical cabinets to both spaces. We loved working with Miriam and would happily hire her again for any project. She is incredibly skilled, pragmatic, thoughtful and budget-conscious. Moreover, she has a savvy design aesthetic. Above all she is honest, direct and has integrity. We are so grateful to have worked with her as she made our first remodel experience truly a delight. - Kirkland Family, Project Completed 2021

[Our] remodel was definitely a family affair from the start. Sara had a vision for what she wanted the kitchen to look like, including a mix of blue and white with wood to warm it up, and I knew that I wanted to be hands on and take on some of the work myself. We were so fortunate to have Miriam with Story Architecture, who was able to bring Sara’s vision to life… Completing a kitchen remodel in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t always easy, and we feel so lucky that [the contractor} was also amazing with our kids - providing them with their own safety glasses and hearing protection. They were thrilled that he let them work the paint sprayer and help remove old carpet. We all were able to contribute to create our new kitchen which is the heart of our home…Being able to do the flooring, tiling, wood finish work and other projects helped save some money but was also a meaningful way I could contribute and was a welcome respite from endless video conference calls. Finishing the 11 foot walnut island top was definitely a highlight. On the last day of the project our 5 year old was hiding [the contractor’s] tools because he didn’t want him to be done. - Finn Hill Family, Project Completed 2021

Miriam at Story was a breath of fresh air. We moved into a 80’s split level that needed a lot of work. Over and over no architect would even talk to us unless we were willing to expand our budget by hundreds of thousands of dollars and add tons of square footage to the house. (NOT in the cards.) Miriam listened to what we *needed* from our home, and built a plan within our budget to make our house work for us. No additions. Hundreds of thousands less than anyone else said was possible. We love her work, and we loved working with her! - Kirkland Family, Project Completed 2020

Miriam designed my kitchen back in 2005. I had just moved into a new condominium which had a pretty basic no frills kitchen. The challenge was the space is relatively small -- perhaps 200 or so square feet. She worked with me to come up with an efficient but professional kitchen that allows me to continue to explore my passion for cooking. She had great ideas, but was always anchored in trying to figure out my vision of what I wanted. The result is a kitchen that I still enjoy immensely, and that won a design award. In addition, she worked extremely well with the construction company, which was in fact a design build shop that had its own ideas about the design (they came into the project later). There was never any tension or competition between the two of them. I cannot recommend Miriam highly enough. If I were to do another remodel I would hire her in a heartbeat. - Seattle Family, Project Completed 2005

Architect Miriam Larson of Story designed the plans and is providing impeccable construction administration on a large addition and full house (3 story) remodel we are working on in the Seattle Capitol Hill area. Throughout the project, the clients have lived in another state, and Miriam has kept the project on track, quickly solving any issues that come up, steering open questions and decisions toward closure, and driving all parties toward the shared goal of efficiency, quality, and timeliness. It is hard to overstate how valuable this service is. With boots in the field, time really is money, and this particular remodel was a tricky one: a 1905 home that experienced a not- good-quality remodel in the 1980s and with its current addition, needed to come up to 2020's code. It required a lot of structural problem-solving on the fly and a knowledgeable team. Miriam's advocacy has been the secret sauce of project success, serving to simultaneously hold all parties to high account while maintaining an encouraging, collaborative spirit. The level of trust this earns from all parties is what it takes to navigate complexity with confidence. From a contractor's perspective, in addition to a beautiful design, you really need an architect with these skills to realize your remodeling dreams. For this reason and many others (including beautiful design!) we highly recommend Miriam Larson/ Story Architecture. - Blue Sound Construction, General Contractor in the Seattle Area