RECOGNITION
Publications
Featured in Houston House & Home magazine, February 2020 article, 'A Modern-Contemporary Reno that's Doubly Good'
Featured in Houston House & Home magazine, September 2019 main article, 'Tree-house Modern in the Heights'.
Published multiple projects on AECCafe.com, an online Architecture and engineering showcase: 2020, 2019.
Featured in Houston House & Home magazine, July 2017 article, 'Now You're Cooking'
Featured in Voyage Houston magazine, September 2017 article, 'Meet Architect Charles Todd Helton'.
Featured in Houston House & Home magazine, February 2016 article, 'Front Exterior Makeovers, How to keep your remodel simple and stunning'
Featured in Houston House & Home magazine, December 2014 article, 'Kitchen Contest Winner - 1980's Kitchen Opens Up.'
Featured in Houston House & Home magazine article, 'Open a New Door', November 2012.
Featured Residence in Houston House & Home magazine, June 2012.
Featured in Houston House & Home magazine article, '2011 Kitchen & Bath Tour - Official Guide', October 2011.
Featured in Houston Design Resources, Issue 2, 2011, 'Interior Design - Modern Classic'.
Featured on the Western Window Systems website, as a product showcase home for their custom all glass folding doors.
Published multiple projects on Arthitectural.com, an online Architectural website: July 2012, October 2012, November 2012, twice in January 2013, and September 2013.
Television
Featured 'Dream Home' on the upcoming pilot episode of Tricon Films & Television's new show, 'Build the View - Houston's Dream House', on HGTV.
Awards
Winner of the 2021 - Best of Houzz Design.
Winner of the 2021 Most Client Focused Residential Architect - Texas.
Winner of the 2021 Best Residential Architect CEO (USA) Award
Winner of the 2020 Best 10 Architect Award
Winner of the 2020 Global CEO Excellence Award - Best Sustainable Architecture CEO (USA)
Winner of the 2020 - Best of Spring Award - Architects.
Winner of the 2019 - Best of Houzz Service.
Winner of 2018 Build magazines - Best Full-Service Architecture Firm - Texas.
Winner of the 2018 - Best of Houzz Design.
Winner of the 2018 - Best of Houzz Service.
Winner of the 2017 - Houzz - Star Houzzer Award.
Winner of the 2017 - Houzz - Recommended on Houzz Award.
Winner of the 2016 - Houzz - Influencer Award.
Attained the '50,000 Saves' milestone on Houzz.com.
Winner of Houston House & Home magazine's Kitchen Contest, December 2014.
Winner of the 2014 - Best of Houzz - Houston Architect.
Winner of the 2013 - Best of Houzz - Houston Architect.
Home Tours
Featured on the 2019 MA+DS Houston Modern Home Tour (The Walji-Raissian Residence)
Featured on the 2017 MA+DS Houston Modern Home Tour (The Stratulate-Forotan Residence).
Featured on the 2013 Woodlands AIA Home Tour (The Nguyen Residence).
Featured home on the 2011 Houston Modern Home Tour (The LeBlanc-Cox Residence).
Featured home on the 2011 ASID Kitchen and Bath Tour (The LeBlanc-Cox Residence).
TESTIMONIALS
Following are testimonials from prior clients, additional refererences are available upon request.
As a builder, I have had the pleasure of working with Charles on some of his clients' projects and was very impressed with his professionalism as well as the amount of detail he puts into his drawings. He was referred to me by another builder who was very pleased with his work. From a builder's standpoint, it is very important that the drawings are not only clear and organized in a way that is easily understood, but also in designing concepts that work in a real-world scenario and not just on paper. What stood out to me when I first met Charles 7 years ago was that he is a genuinely good person with great integrity, and does what he says he is going to do. He delivers on what he promises, which to me is one of the most important characteristics I look for in business relationships. I have referred clients with very challenging projects to Charles and they have been very impressed with not only how pleasant he is to work with, but also how creative and efficient his work is. If you are looking for a professional architect to design your dream home, whether you are building a multi-million dollar custom home or a starter home, or a home addition/renovation, I would highly recommend using Charles Todd Helton.
-- David Mills, owner of Magnolia Patio Covers
I work with a lot of designers and Architects and I have to say Charles is one of the best, and always does beautiful work. He does a great job listening to his clients needs and then delivers with the best designs to fit their budgets. He is a lot of fun to work with and very professional and I highly recommended his company.
-- Brandon Kuehler, owner of Light it Right
Charles and I worked together when he designed a set of plans for a home I am building in Bellaire, Tx. He was very easy to deal with, listened attentively, and was quick to respond to all inquiries and deadlines. I am the builder of the home that is currently under construction. Charles has been great to deal with while the owner and I bring the 2D plans into reality. I highly recommend him to anyone wanting to design their dream home, as his pricing is very competitive for the high level of professionalism he brings.
-- Jason Guyer, owner of Legion Custom Home Builders
I have consulted and worked with Charles Todd on several occasions over the past 15 years. He has been most knowledgeable with everything we encountered. I would recommend his services to anyone wanting a professional architect who is available to you, the client.
-- Jay Adams, owner of MJR Services, Inc.
It was a pleasure to work with Charles. He was patient with our many changes. Would we hire him again, yes.
-- Sam & Shelby Plitzuweit, clients
When it eventually became clear that my dream home was going to be built according to an ancient Indian architectural philosophy or Vedic principles called Sthapatyaveda
, finding a architect willing to listen, comprehend and follow through with the idea yet at the same time be economically viable proved to be a challenge. After much searching and interviewing a couple of architects, I finally found Charles Todd Helton Architect, Inc right in my own back yard. When Charles heard that my dream home incorporated green building principles and had a holistic approach towards the environment, he was very eager not only to learn more, but also be a part of this project.
Working with Charles was a wonderful & pleasant experience; he would always his full attention to listen to your dreams & ideas no matter how ridiculous mine sounded at times. Never rushed you to make a decision but somehow managed to keep the project going and eventually delivering on schedule. Charles witty sense of humor and intellect at times fuelled some interesting conversations during our meetings.
I saw the first glimpse of my dream come alive when Charles showed me the model of my dream home which he had built. I knew right then that I had made the right decision with going with Charles Helton as my architect. Today, many a people have commented me on the uniqueness of my home. I owe their appreciation & my pride of the Casa to the skill and talent of Charles Todd Helton. Without a minds hesitation, I will willfully recommend Charles for an architect. Especially if your dream home is radical like mine and no roll of the mill architect will want to touch.
-- Savio Saldanha
I am pleased to be able to recommend Charles Todd Helton to anyone looking for architectural services. He did a fine job replicating my old Louisiana Victorian house into a modern steel frame design for Houston. He was always eager to listen and respond to suggestions and concerns in a prompt, courteous, and professional manner. You will like working with Charles Todd Helton.
-- Sincerely, Donald W. Arnold
We hired Charles to help me realize my visions on building a man cave and an out door kitchen for our house. The key requirement that I had was to seamlessly blend the man cave into the main house structure and not look like it was an add-on project. I can't be any more happier than what Charles has delivered. He took time to listen to all my needs and carefully put together the best design plan that fit my budget and aesthetic requirements.
Got a lot of positive feedback and inquiries from neighbors driving by everyday and see the project from inception to completion.
I'd highly recommend Charles and his team!
-- Mahesh Vandanam
While I was preparing for retirement and our move back to Kentucky, we employed Todd Helton to work with us, and our builder, to design our new home. Todd spent numerous hours with us determining our wants and needs, and working with the contractor to ensure his design would stay within budget and would work well with the building site. Todd and his wife came to our home in Texas for dinner occasionally, and he would watch us cook and ask questions. He looked in closets, and every room in the house. He kept us informed at every step in the design process, to insure we were pleased. We have now been in the home for eight years, and we have loved every minute of being there. It is exactly what we wanted. The kitchen is a cooks dream! In my profession, I worked with architects on a daily basis, and found Todd to be among the best. I would never hesitate to work with him again, or to recommend him to others. The home is beautiful, inside and out; it fits its environment well, and was within budget.
-- Joe Ward
My wife and I chartered Charles Todd Helton to design our 1400 SF addition to our home in Houston. The addition included a Media Room with Fireplace, Wet Bar overlooking Balcony, Hobby Room, Storage Room leading to new floored attic, and another Bath Room. These rooms on the second floor were over the garage and driveway and connected to the main part of the house through a “grand” opening. We are extremely pleased with the way the added space is configured and how it blends internally and externally with the original house. Charles’ use of stone and brick is exceptionally well done to blend new with the old. The addition provided a wonderfully large Porte Cochere for outside recreation. Space utilization is amazing! An added value: Charles is a pleasure to work with in every possible way.
-- Mike Jackson
I hired Charles to design my home in the 4th ward area. I told him what I wanted. He drew it out and made it look even better than I could imagine. He is easy to work with. This is the first home I am building from ground up and Charles has been extremely helpful with the first steps before building can begin.
-- Casey Repa
Charles is great to work with. He designed our home in 2010/2011 and the design phase was the best part of our home building process. He listened and provided a design that was perfect for us. He was patient, thoughtful, and creative.
We were so pleased with his work, we contracted with him again to design an outdoor kitchen and office space. Once again, we are very pleased.
-- Lois McQuade
In early 2005, we found a very thin cul-de-sac lot to build a 1-story house on. We could not find any custom builder that had a floor plan which would fit on this lot, as 1-story foundation typically is more expansive than 2-story.
We contacted Charles. We met the next week at the lot. A week later, Charles came back with a brilliant preliminary floor plan. Charles called it Y-shape; we called it A-shape. The joke between us was - We started in the beginning (A) and worked forward the end (Y); and Charles started at the end and worked backward. It was apt of our partnership. Our vision; Charles' imagination. Our practicality, Charles creativeness.
All the qualities you look for in an architectural partner, Charles delivered - he listened to our feedbacks, he challenged us with new ideas,and he timely delivered on of every phase of the project. For a new independent architect, Charles demonstrated amazing maturity and intuition.
The best part about working with Charles, the one quality that still resonates with us +10 years later was Charles architectural integrity. It took almost a year, multiple meetings and many changes to get the final design approved. Charles helped us persevere by making the design changes requested, but still maintaining the integrity of the overall concept.
We have now lived in this house for 11 years, and could not be happier with it. Secretly, we have been telling our children it is truly a unique house in The Woodlands. Though we are not 100% certain, it is the only prairie-style, newly-built custom home we saw in The Woodlands. With a nod to prairie-style roof lines and elevations, ours is an updated twist inspired by these houses, all with Charles' exceptional architectural grasp for taking concept to reality.
Could not have done this without you, Charles!
-- Nguyen Nguyen
Mr. Charles Helton designed our new home. He was most helpful with his knowledge, attentiveness and suggestions. He was very patient with our ideas and helped us find the design that proved to be most satisfactory. We are greatly enjoying our new home.
He is an outstanding professional and guided us tactfully through a very complicated process.
-- Miguel Ormazabal
Very responsive, creative, and flexible!
-- Mitch Marcel, client and builder
I am working with Charles on a large remodel/addition and he is excellent. He is great to work with. He really listens and incorporates everything that I want into the house design. His work is meticulous and he is completely professional. It is a pleasure working with him. He responds quickly and I can tell he cares about the project. I started this project with a construction company designer and it quickly became apparent to me that the job was over his head. $4,000 dollars later I reached back out to Charles and hired him. It was the best move I could have made. Now I know my plans will be done right and that they will reflect my wants/needs in the best way possible.
-- Karen Jolly, client
I hired Charles to design a single-family residence and couldn't be happier. He was very thoughtful, responsive, and innovative. He's a superb listener and really took the time to figure out exactly what I wanted and how to make that happen. This was a real collaboration and Charles made me a partner in achieving the design I wanted. He's wonderfully attentive and personable and has been such a joy to work with. He's also a wealth of knowledge and very tactfully pointed me back in the right direction every time I made a suggestion that wasn't so practical or affordable.
-- Carrie Sakert
Charles Todd is very professional and detailed with respect to listening to a client with the goal of delivering best-in-class services. It was an absolute pleasure working with Charles and I will be using his services on future projects. I found his fees extremely reasonable, based on the quality of his service.
-- Al Irving, client
My wife and I hired Charles Todd Helton to help us turn our mid 70's home into the dream home we've always wanted. Our project was a complete remodel and addition. Charles met with us countless times to make sure every detail and every idea we had made it into the project, all the while making efficient use of every space. Charles' creativity and vast experience often helped make our ideas a reality through his designs. Through Charles, we also found our builder, and Charles worked every step of the way through the project to assist, clarify and adjust the plans in order to make sure everything moved along smoothly. We highly recommend Charles Todd Helton for all areas of architectural work desired. We were more than pleased with the final product and fell in love with our new home. Charles helped make our dream home a reality.
-- John Ourso