• CHRIS | Nashville

Gerald Barksdale of Barksdale Design was recommended to me by an engineer that I had worked with on numerous projects in Southern California to assist with some of my custom home remodels. I have been in the remodeling industry since the early 1990’s primarily focusing on the West Coast, Portland, Or and San Diego, Ca, and now Nashville, TN.  I have been a licensed remodeling contractor most of the past 30+ years specializing in Custom Craftsman and Victorian home remodels and custom builds, and have owned and redeveloped Mobile Home Parks, Apartment Buildings, and well over 150+ single family homes.

I have worked with literally hundreds of contractors, engineers, designers, and every type of contractor you can imagine, some good, some not so good over the past 30+ years. I have worked side by side with Gerald in the field, and he initially really impressed me with his knowledge, and tenure in the building industry prior to his design work, and since then I have the utmost and highest respect for him.

I do not need to promote his design work.  It literally speaks for itself.  If you are designing a simple home to live in or looking to have someone build and design a dream you have spent your life working towards, you have really come to the right person.  The craftsmanship is unequal. He can turn a simple design into something that you never could imagine.  I cannot begin to emphasize what he can turn a minor idea into.

As someone who spent 10 years in the building industry prior to his design and engineering career, he spent his time learning the craft prior to becoming a design specialist.  Most do not.  They are either contractors or start and complete their design work at a desk. If you look at his work in the finer zip codes in San Diego, Rancho Sante Fe, Del Mar, La Jolla and Coronado, you will see projects he has designed, built, and how his vision and focus is more of a portrait and a canvas.  His design work is exquisite and defines the owner’s vision, unlike designers who have not spent time with a hammer in their hand and understand the start to completion or a custom project. The work he has accomplished for my company, whether a simple custom shower, or a custom build, is exemplary.

• AMY | Baton Rouge

The owner has contributed to many animal rescue projects in south Louisiana and has made an impact in many dogs lives. There is more to being a great business owner than being strong in your industry, it is also the ways in which you make your dent in the realm of thankless volunteer work which survives solely on the kindness and compassion of charitable contributions.

• ROB | Ambergris Caye

I highly recommend Gerald and Design Build CA for a truly professional and high quality experience. I interviewed 4-5 architects in an effort to begin concept design for our dream home on the island of Ambergris Caye, Belize. While none of the local architects had really completed a project similar to the style we were looking for, I met Gerald personally and he was very accommodating, responsive and truly listened what we were trying to capture in our 2nd home. He was not only up to the challenge, but truly excited about the possibility of doing something unique and different. In addition, I could just tell he was real deal and trustworthy. Our experience was a very smooth and he met all our requests without complaint and went beyond on some details as if he was building it to live in himself. I appreciated that personal investment as he had to put in quite a bit of time making it all come together at a fair price. We asked for a very unique blend of styles and he nailed it. We also had unique requirements including hurricane considerations, security, caretaker quarters, pier style construction and CC&R's on a very small odd shaped beachfront lot that had to maximize water views. He delivered on all. We are on to the next phase with finding a builder on the island and we plan on having Gerald be involved in the next phase of the project. He will be one of the first invites once completed to enjoy his creation!

• JENNIFER | Bird Rock

No words to describe how amazing Design Build is. 3 years later and our fitness studio looks as gorgeous as the day they built it. Design Build was actually the lowest bid we got, and of our friends who used some of the other contractors who we also received bids from, ours by far came out the best quality. Gerald has an amazing sense of design, functionality and was a dream to work with!! Most people are happy to be rid of their contractors, but he made the process so easy, I can't wait to use him in the future!!

• CHRIS | Sorrento Valley

Gerald has been fantastic to work with. He has been responsive, fast, knowledgeable, and offered good guidance and direction with our project. I would definitely recommend their help with any residential or commercial project.

• COREY | Multiple Projects

I've found Design Build San Diego to be an outstanding team to work with. Gerald is very talented and has an amazing eye for design and space. We were using overseas designers previously but found there is no substitute for a local team especially when they are as good to work with as Design Build. They are now our first call when considering a new project and an integral part of our team.

• LESLIE | Bay Park

Design Build assisted us with our 900sq ft addition and roof top deck. Gerald was great to work with, as was able to achieve everything we wanted in the space we had in a layout we love. He was always very quick to respond to my many questions, suggestions and knowledgeably guide us through the entire process. Highly recommend!

• RICKY | Davis California

Gerald and team are awesome. Would love to hire them again. We did a complete demo and add on. We live in Davis, Ca. And out of sheer luck I found Gerald online when our local design build contractor had a change of heart (no worries I'm not going to mention your name. All's well that ends well I say.). We had talked to lot of designers and architects locally. And then online. 

The most shocking aspect to DBCA was how responsive and always there Gerald was from 600 miles away compared to the locals. Funny thing is Gerald has been to the site twice already. 

Gerald did the design and plans but was there on the phone answering questions from contractors and subs esp. the tricky foundation questions whenever and as often as needed. 

At the end Gerald created a home and space for us that is making us never want to leave. (Which is becoming a problem btw.) 

I highly recommend Gerald to anyone anywhere in the US. The level of service is unmatched even from locals. 

Gerald, homeowners, if you want to talk about particulars or want to know the process and the lessons learned and what we would've done things differently and where to buy things, ping me.

• BILL | Scripps RanchBill

"Great person to work with. Amazing designs and forethought on every aspect of the design.  Awesome modeling skills to express what the design will look like so the owner can get an understanding of scale and aspect of the final product.  Look forward to do other projects with Design Build | San Diego."

• JESSICA | La Jolla

"Amazing experience from start to finish. Gerald offered suggestions and design options that we wouldn't have thought of on our own, and our kitchen looks super high end now, without blowing our budget. We are already thinking about the projects we want to do next with him."

• PETER | Clairemont

"Background:  Gerald remodeled the kitchen top to bottom.  We got other quotes from various contractors and his was by far the best.  His estimated timeline was also the quickest.

Once the space was demoed, Gerald sketched a design on the wall that really improved the space more than our original design.  We also found that the extra cabinets we wanted would have taken up too much space.  Changing the cabinet layout at the last minute was no problem.  Using his cabinet source, the cabinets look great, lead time was only a couple of days and the price/quality was better than anything else we found in Miramar. 

Since we stayed in the house during the remodel, we were able to inspect the day’s work every night.  Every question or concern was instantly addressed and we felt confident and satisfied throughout the entire process.

Since the timeline and the budget of the remodel was going so well, we had enough left over to redo the flooring, paint, and trim in half of the house.  We were also able to add can lights that were not in the original plan.

Jack, the tile guy, was phenomenal.  He was very detail oriented.  He gave us an idea for the sink backsplash that we really liked.

Thank you for a great job.  The finished product looks better than we ever could have imagined.  There were no surprises with final price and time.  Any extra work was clearly defined as options in the original bid.  We were just using this as a contingency in case his numbers were off.  They were not!  And now half of the house looks brand new.  The company name really lives up to his skill set, Design and Build.

He will be my choice when it comes time to redo the bathrooms."