Last updated on May 27th, 2024 at 06:38 am
Tucked away in the southeastern corner of Orange County is the affluent city of Laguna Niguel. The city has everything: gorgeous beaches, neighborhood parks, and outdoor trails for recreational activities. As much as one-third of the city is designated as open space, a fact which shapes the form of the city. While residents of Laguna Niguel enjoy a quiet lifestyle afforded by a minimal population, their homes reflect the upscale quality of living in the city. From modern and contemporary mansions to coastal enclaves, the homes in Laguna Niguel come in a diverse range of architectural styles. This same diversity is present in the practice of the best residential architects in Laguna Niguel—the architects responsible for the city’s stunning housing landscape.
The top residential architects on this list have been ranked according to their company profile, experience, services offered, customer satisfaction, awards received, and media features and coverage. With these firms’ unique designs and services—and their high levels of quality—clients can be sure that their discerning tastes and preferences will be satisfied, whichever firm on the list they choose to work with.
Anders Lasater Architects
384 Forest Avenue, #12, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Anders Lasater Architects is an award-winning architectural studio specializing in custom homes, galleries, salons, restaurants, fashion, and boutique retail, as well as other commercial projects. The firm’s work reaches across coastal Orange County into Palm Springs, the mountain resorts of California, and to the Big Island of Hawaii, finding a unique resolution in each location, tailored to place, time, and users.
The award-winning firm is headed by Anders Lasater, AIA, who leads the team through its mission of finding resolutions to each project where modern materials and innovative spatial relationships converge into unique solutions that suit its client’s needs. This approach has resulted in stunning, highly-awarded homes which have also been featured on the pages of publications like Luxe OC, Design OC, Archello, Bluedoor Magazine, California Business Journal, Laguna Beach Magazine, Coast Magazine, Architect Magazine, Professional Builder, Voyage LA, and Modern Luxury OC.
Benjamin John Stevens Architect
25251 Via Piedra Blanca, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Benjamin John Stevens Architect, Inc. was founded in 2009 by licensed architect Benjamin John Stevens following seven years of design experience with architectural firms in cities from coast to coast, including Baltimore, San Diego, San Francisco, and Laguna Beach. Benjamin has made it his duty as an architect to provide a broad range of services at every stage of the design and construction process.
Given his extensive background and experience in design, Benjamin believes in using his training to assess project requirements in great depth, explore ideas jointly with his clients, then translate their wishes into a built form tailored to suit their personality, needs, budget, and lifestyle. As an architect, Benjamin serves as his client’s advocate throughout their project, addressing compliance with applicable codes and regulations, assisting in the processing of required approvals, overseeing the work of the contractor, and coordinating all technical and aesthetic aspects of a project. He is proud of providing intimate “one-on-one” client care relationships throughout design and construction and well beyond a project’s completion.
Everson Powell Architecture and Design
1278 Glenneyre St., #450, Laguna Beach , CA 92651
Everson Powell Architecture and Design’s architectural philosophy starts and finishes with a commitment to design, quality, and client service. The firm’s designs encompass a variety of styles from period presentation to contemporary to rustic mountain dwelling. Whether it is designing a dream home, a commercial building, or remodeling an existing structure, the firm seeks to fully understand all aspects of its client’s goals and aims to create a unique vision that combines architectural and interior design perspectives equally.
Pictured below is the work the firm did on a Long Beach Nantucket stone and shingle-style new home, completed in 2015. The 4410-square-foot, two-story home features four en-suite bedrooms, an en-suite office, an upstairs media room, and a deck with views over Alamitos Bay to the ocean beyond. The entire width of the first floor is an open great-room concept with a large kitchen, dining and family entertaining areas with bay views, and easy access to the barbecue, spa, and docks.
Eyoh Design
1050 Calle Cordillera UNIT 102, San Clemente, CA 92673
Eyoh Design is a full-service architectural design firm that specializes in custom building design and interior design for residential projects. The firm aims to be a full-service company that offers a holistic approach to the entire project, from the first concept sketch to placing the final piece of art on the wall.
Headed by principals Dustin and Alex Morris, the firm operates on the philosophy that design is a way of looking at the world. Following that philosophy, Eyoh Design creates spaces that allow people to function with freedom and comfort, but inspire an appreciation for living and working in a space that speaks about who they are. Ultimately, Eyoh Design is a part of every aspect of a client’s building, ensuring a clear concept and vision is carried through both the design process and brought to life in the build.
FoxLin Architects
392 Camino de Estrella, San Clemente, CA 92672
FoxLin Architects is a full-service architectural office with projects at all scales in all parts of the greater Los Angeles area. The firm also provides international work in China and Israel. The highly praised firm has received many awards, including “Best of San Clemente Award: Architects” from the San Clemente Award Program in 2019. The firm has also been featured in Archinect, Dwell, Architectural Record, ARCHITECT Magazine, California Home + Design, Surface Magazine, and Handyman.
FoxLin Architects is headed by principals Juintow Lin and Michael Fox, who met at architecture school in MIT almost 20 years ago. After graduation, they went their separate ways—Juintow to London and Michael to New York. Both relocated to Los Angeles in 2003; in 2005, they opened the office of FoxLin in Venice CA. In 2008, the office relocated to Southern Orange County where it continues to offer its services, both locally and internationally.
Horst Architects
247a Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Horst Architects, Inc. was founded in 1990 by Horst Noppenberger, AIA, and is based in Laguna Beach, California. The firm’s practice has evolved into a multi-disciplinary group whose work bridges technology with cultural and environmental awareness. Horst Architects’s approach to design affirms the possibility of fulfilling the rigorous requirements of the client while engaging in a spirited and robust dialogue with the site.
With Horst at the forefront of the firm’s practice, the company has gone on to receive many awards such as the 2016 Merit Award for the category “Residential Planned Development, Multi-Family Residential in San Clemente” by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Horst Architects has also been featured in World Architecture, Ville Giardini, Vogue, Luxe, OC Register, Dwell, Idealista News, Imagicasa Magazine, Interiors Magazine, The Luxury of Home, OC Home, Ocean Home Magazine, and Laguna Beach Magazine.
Jon Eric Christner Architect
33181 Blue Fin Drive, Dana Point, CA 92629
Established in 1990, the office of Jon Eric Christner Architect, Inc. has provided architectural services throughout Southern California, the northern bay area communities of Watsonville, Sausalito, and Woodside, and on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii as well
The firm is led by Jon Eric Christner, whose personal design approach is never limited to any one set of design conventions. This approach is the result of Jon’s belief that architectural design is subject to an array of personal and continually evolving influences, and his nature of not remaining focused on an individual style. As the firm has been designing for over 30 years, it has built a diverse clientele list whose homes, from Mediterannean to Tuscan styles, are representative of the design versatility that the firm is more than capable of applying to projects of any scale.
Kristine Sprague Architect
944 Calle Amanecer, Suite D, San Clemente, CA 92673
Since 1999, Kristine Sprague, founder and principal of Kristine Sprague Architect, has been expertly designing new residences as well as additions and renovations to existing homes. Now practicing in San Clemente, CA and serving south Orange County, her firm has an extensive portfolio of projects ranging from $100k renovations up to $1 million new homes. When it comes to remodeling, Kristine is extremely conscientious of working with the existing home’s style and character as well as integrating the clients’ vision and desires for their project.
A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional, Kristine received a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University in 1989. While at Cornell she participated in a semester in Rome and a semester in Washington D.C. and was the recipient of four academic scholarships. Today, Kristine leads her own firm as it continues to build a reputation for excellence, the likes of which land the firm and its work on the pages of publications like Berkshire Magazine, New England Home, and Berkshire Eagle.
Lampert Dias Architects
P.O. Box 4565, San Clemente, CA 92674
Based in San Clemente, California, Lampert Dias Architects is a firm that provides custom residential & commercial architecture services in Southern California and around the world. With the combined experience of principals Christine Lampert and Carolyn Dias, the firm is able to work on commercial, retail, school & government projects, banks, libraries, custom residential, senior housing & community centers, as well as historic renovations & master planning projects.
Lampert Dias Architects’s designs are unique and distinctly beautiful. The firm designs with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind and is proud to be present throughout the entire design process, always taking great care of its clients. In addition to being a member of the AIA and having LEED accreditation, Lampert Dias Architects has been featured in Orange Coast Magazine, Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper, The Courier-Journal, Schenectady Gazette, and The Oshkosh Northwestern.
Michael H. Masilotti Architects
25124 via Catalina, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Founded in 1999, Michael H. Masilotti Architects is a prolific firm with dozens of projects filling out its portfolio. When it comes to building in site-specific settings, the firm is versatile, able to manage anything from coastal, bluff tops, hillsides, mountains, to flatlands.
Michael H. Masilotti Architects’s ultimate goal is the creation of high-quality buildings, appropriate to their settings while at the same time being extremely functional. The firm offers a wide range of architectural services: planning and program development, design and construction documents, and on-site inspection. With more than 20 years of design expertise, the firm continues to excel in its creative and design pursuits, while simultaneously growing its business acumen.
MYD Studio
57 Vantis Drive, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
MYD studio, or Moss Yaw Design studio, is an architecture firm in Southern California specializing in custom residential design for new homes, renovations, and additions. MYD works closely with clients, consultants and contractors to provide innovative, sustainable and efficient solutions, resulting in spaces that are beautiful and responsive to the needs of each project. MYD studio has completed a number of residential projects in Laguna Niguel with a focus on contemporary and mid-century modern architectural styles, several of which have been featured on Dwell.
Based in South Orange County, the firm is headed by Lauren Moss and Jason Yaw, both LEED Accredited Professionals with experience in green building practices and sustainable design, along with extensive backgrounds in residential architecture and construction.
Peters Architecture
23177 La Cadena Drive, Suite 101, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Founded in 2006, Peters Architecture has established its presence within Southern California as a highly respected design firm. The company believes that the basis of any project begins with the cohesion of people, continues with the exchange of ideas, and ends with enduring relationships. Peters Architecture’s practice combines the discipline of professionalism while maintaining a very human approach.
While the firm takes on projects of any scale, its areas of expertise include single-family, multifamily, and workspace design and architecture. The Peters Architecture team specializes in creating warm and welcoming single-family homes, meshing multiple families into one cohesive and thoughtfully designed structure. The firm also creates clean, bright places of work that are clear reflections of the creativity and magic that comes from within while optimizing the efficiency needed to flourish. This unique design approach has resulted in stellar work, the likes of which have been featured in publications like the Los Angeles Times, California Home+Design, The Spruce, Atomic Ranch, and Home Adore.
South Coast Architects
13 Corporate Plaza Drive Suite 210, Newport Beach, CA 92660
South Coast Architects, Inc. was established in 1992 to introduce leading-edge concepts to its practice of design. For the firm, creating beautiful, luxury residences while nurturing a close relationship with each client is the abiding philosophy and hallmark of its award-winning practice. With an extensive portfolio of lavish lifestyle homes reaching from coast to coast, and throughout the mountains and deserts of the United States, South Coast Architects is known for a stylish collection of diverse designs.
On six different occasions, the firm has been the recipient of a Golden Nugget Merit Award for the category of “Best Custom Home.” South Coast Architects has also been featured in Luxe, Modern Luxury Interiors California, Luxury Home, California Homes Magazine, Palm Springs Life, Western Art & Architecture, Extraordinary Homes California, 21st Century Homes, and Architectural Digest. Today, the firm continues to cement its reputation as a go-to design firm capable of delivering diverse designs for discerning clients.
