– We purchased a double fronted inner city terrace with heritage overlay that had been occupied by the same family for 60 years. The house needed significant work to realise its potential.
Gary Windiate listened well and encouraged us to consider beyond our initial design ideas, to good effect. Gary helped us negotiate council & maintain perspective during an extended process. The end result? We now have a modern, light and bright, spacious and enjoyable home that still pays respect to its 1890 roots.  GM & CM – Fitzroy North

– We engaged Windiate Architects in both consultation and design services. Gary Windiate and his team were great to work with, professional and prompt in response to questions. Gary’s creativity, commitment, passion and desire to fulfill our vision was a joy to behold. We highly recommend Windiate Architects for their residential design and expertise. – LM – St Kilda

– Windiate Architects were engaged to design, provide drawings and documents, tender to builders and then manage the building contract for the renovation of our single front 2 bedroom Victorian property into a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom property.
Gary was very professional, experienced, positive, enthusiastic and had lots of great idea’s.
The design process was very well done, with some great concepts that reflected what we wanted, but also challenged and provided more than we had or could have considered ourselves. Gary’s experiences also enabled us to have confidence in the selection of many items (materials, paints, finishes, fittings) that took a lot of stress out of the renovation process. ‘Gary Windiate was involved from the very start, designing the renovation of our single front home, preparing all the tender documentation, reviewing builders and then managing the building process to completion. Other things that he did during the process was to work with council, provide great advice on interior fittings and where to get them and generally be a great sounding board on any matters that cropped up during the renovation, no matter how small or large. 10/10 for a great design, service, commitment and dedication to our renovation.’ Thoroughly recommend! – MW & JW – Brunswick

– Windiate Architects helped with the design and contract management of our home renovation project. The existing house, a project home, was subject to various body corporate constraints, which meant that it was not possible to extend or substantially alter the exterior of the house. The original house layout had numerous circulation problems, including a garage tacked on a side of the house that had no direct access to the home (requiring a 100 metre walk from the garage to the front door). Windiate Architects worked closely with us to provide practical solutions to the circulation problems. The design solutions meant that the way in which we use the house now is entirely different. There is now no longer any wasted space in our home, the main living areas have been shifted to the north side of the house and is connected to the north facing courtyard as well as through a new exit at the rear of the house to the garage. Windiate Architects provided solutions to practical problems, helped to save money by advising us on the selection of materials, and liaised with the builder throughout the project build. We would recommend Windiate Architects to any home renovators who want a designer who is down-to-earth, easy to access and understands what works for a family home from a practical perspective. CT – Surrey Hills

– I have worked on 3 different projects with Gary from windiate architects 2 residential and 1 commercial on all three occasions i found the relationship to be very professional, respectful and inclusive.
The extra help and advice give is invaluable from sourcing products to best practice with the final outcome being as good if not better in some cases as expected. MW – Brighton

– We have just completed a large renovation designed by Windiate architects and had a great experience all the way through. Gary Windiate is very easy to work with. He is honest, hard working, professional and was very patient with us (especially when we kept changing our minds which created more paperwork for him!). We are absolutely delighted with the design of our house which is a result of working together with Gary who listened to what we wanted and kept tweaking the design/layout until it was perfect. Gary and his team were always quick to respond to emails or phone calls and communicated well with our builder, interior designer and surveyor. We would highly recommend Windiate architects if you are considering doing a renovation. TK – Middle Park

– We, ‘have found the service provided to be professional and thorough in all aspects of the project’.

– ‘we worked well with Gary Windiate, who was both professional and diligent in his approach, helping us through the town planning process through to obtaining Building Permits. As i am the owner builder of the project we did not require the full services offered by Windiate Architects’. ‘we were very happy with the services Windiate Architects provided and would happily engage their services again in the future’. – MH – Abbortsford

– ‘We first met Gary in November 2009 to talk through our needs in renovating our very tired and small 3 bedroom terrace in Hawthorn. We had a very small site to work with and have a lot that we functionally require from it. For us, every inch is important. We also wanted our home to have some style and elegance that we did not believe that we would achieve through simply engaging a drafts person. We were also very conscious of our budget and ensuring that no dollar was wasted. Through the process of renovating our home I have gained an enormous amount of respect for Gary both personally and professionally’. NM – Hawthorn

‘Gary is extremely creative and brought with him the ability to cleverly design our tiny site into a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home, plus study whilst maintaining a feel of space, continuity and proportion. It is a wonderful house to live in and my family are proud to call it ours’.

‘Gary has fantastic interpersonal skills. He listened to our needs very attentively, he has worked very well as our spokesperson to the myriad of people that are involved in the renovation process and has also been a calm voice of reason when stressful situations arose during the build’.

‘In addition to these things, we felt that Gary really cared about our home and family. He helped us choose the colour scheme. He took me to the lighting, bathroom and tile galleries to sort through what would be best in our home. At the end of the project it is also clear that he is proud of the work he has done, which is important’.

‘I would recommend Gary and his team to anyone and I thank them for the fantastic effort that has been done to change a drab, rundown house into a stunning and inviting home’.

– ‘From tender period to completion Gary and his team were very attentive and incredibly responsive when it came to providing detailed drawings and information to support the project. All RFI’s were quickly resolved which allowed the project to drive forward without delay. Gary’s knowledge and willingness to problem solve with BD Projects resulted in a beautifully constructed home that finished on time. We would highly recommend Windiate Architects for not only providing well thought out architectural homes but for the overall experience he provides’.    JD – Richmond

– ‘We are absolutely delighted with our new home.  The design brief was to build a new “contemporary coastal” home that captured the bay views while screening out the noise from the rail crossing.  The new house does this and so much more, the views are spectacular and the noise reduction is so good we cannot hear the boom gate bells.  Beyond that we have a beautiful, family friendly home that blocks the southerly winds and provides a substantial north facing garden.  Clever bedroom window design means we are not looking directly over the neighbours, but the rooms are full of light.  Material selections for the exterior of the house are low maintenance and designed to last years of salty sea air. Gary and his team were a pleasure to work with, with great suggestions, while staying true to our brief.  During the build phase there were very few issues and all were smoothly resolved with little impact on time or cost of the project.  We would highly recommend Gary to anyone planning an architectural project’. JW & PO – Hampton

– We met with several architects before choosing Gary Windiate to work with us on a major renovation and extension to our heritage listed home. We could not be happier with our choice.

Being a builder by trade and my wife with a keen eye for design, we both wanted to be hands-on during both the design and construction phases. Gary was very flexible to accommodate our involvement and structured his service offering and costing proposal to reflect that. He was such a calm yet dynamic force throughout the long process. His understanding of our end goal, fresh ideas and genuine passion for our project was tireless.  He is supported by a skilled team and together they successfully managed our timeframes and the vast red tape involved with Council’s town planning and heritage departments. The result is a beautiful heritage home that functions flawlessly as a modern family.

We were impressed with how Gary listened to us and was able to visualise the indoor and outdoor spaces we wanted, his ability to hand sketch as he talked and create an end result that we love. We have well-proportioned rooms that are flooded with natural light, visually appealing and comfortable to live in. Gary was able to translate our very specific wish list into a reality.

We highly recommend Gary and his team for any residential project, particularly heritage listed homes and complex projects. MT &  AT- Kew

– The success of any building project is heavily reliant on the ability of all sub-consultants (within the team) to work effectively and efficiently with the chief project architect.
In all my experiences with Windiate Architects, I have found their informative, collaborative and engaging approach refreshing and a key element as to why their projects are completed to the highest levels of architectural and building excellence. CG – Preston

More reviews can be found at our page on Houzz.