Santiago A.

Architect and kitchen designer for kitchens, homes, restaurants and custom cabinetry. I design the layout, then draw the floor plans, 3D renderings and permit sets your contractor or millwork shop builds from. A home or a restaurant design is won or lost in the decisions made before anything gets built. I am an architect who also trained as a chef and as a cabinet maker. 15+ years designing interiors for clients across the US, Spain, Australia and Colombia. Top Rated Plus with 100% Job Success. Since 2025 I also run SALA Studio, which designs and builds, so every drawing that leaves my desk has been tested against what it costs to put up. WHERE I HELP MOST: - Residential interior design and renovation: Luxury residential interior design for homes and apartments, and full home renovation design where the whole plan is in play. - Space planning: Joinery and storage, materials, lighting and finishes, resolved room by room so the house works as one piece rather than as a set of good ideas. - Luxury residential kitchen design: The room I am known for. Layout studies, island and storage strategy, appliance and plumbing placement, cabinetry direction. Designed from how you actually cook, store, clean and move, then drawn so your builder can price it without guessing. - Custom cabinetry and millwork: Drawings at the level a fabricator needs. Runs and elevations, door and drawer schedules, hardware, clearances, fillers and scribes. Time at the bench means the drawing matches what the shop builds. - Restaurant, hospitality and commercial interiors: Interior architecture for hospitality, from dining room and bar through to the line. Restaurant kitchen layout shaped by your menu, your covers and your staffing. Commercial kitchen design covering station sequencing, equipment schedules, hood zones and back of house circulation that holds up on a Friday night. The same thinking carries into bakeries, cafes and industrial food production. - Kitchen showroom design and retail interiors: Showrooms and retail spaces that route visitors past the displays you most want them to touch, with vignettes built to survive daily traffic and quick product swaps. - Outdoor kitchen design: Outdoor kitchen design for patios, pool decks and terraces, planned around weather, ventilation, utilities and the way people gather around food. DESIGN, OR DESIGN AND BUILD: Most clients here hire me for design and documentation, and take the set to their own contractor. Through SALA Studio I also deliver the build, which is worth knowing if you would rather hand the whole thing to one team. WHAT LANDS IN YOUR INBOX: - AutoCAD floor plans and elevations, dimensioned and coordinated SketchUp 3D views and walkthroughs so you see the space before it exists. - Construction documents and permit set drawings packaged for your GC or local authority. - Cabinetry and millwork schedules a shop can quote from. - Finish, fixture and appliance direction with alternates at three price levels. HOW WE GET THERE: 1. Use study: A structured conversation about who uses the space, how often, for what, and what annoys you about it today. For restaurants: menu, operation, service style and staffing. 2. Layout options: Flexible layouts with the trade offs written in plain language. You pick the direction. 3. Design development: Joinery, materials, lighting, appliances and detailing, developed in AutoCAD and SketchUp, with 3D views at every decision point. 4. Documentation: The drawing set your builder, fabricator or permit office needs, plus a call to walk your team through it. WHO THIS SUITS: - Homeowners planning a serious renovation or a new build. Restaurant owners, F&B groups and hospitality operators. - Cabinet shops and millwork fabricators who need design and shop drawings. Developers, GCs and interior designers adding a specialist to the team. - Showroom and retail brands. TOOLS: AutoCAD, SketchUp, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. LANGUAGES: English and Spanish. Useful on US projects where the fabricator, installer or site crew works in Spanish. HOW I RUN A PROJECT: You stay the one making the calls. My job is to put the options in front of you with the consequences spelled out, then draw the one you pick properly. Updates come on a set rhythm, files arrive named and organised, and nothing moves to documentation until you have signed off on the layout. Repeat clients are where most of my work comes from. Send me your plans, photos or even a rough sketch, plus a line on how you want to use the space. You get a straight read on what is possible, what it takes in time and money, and the smartest first move.