The Whatcom Housing Alliance recently opened a public competition to source ideas for the design of accessory dwelling units. The purpose is to increase awareness of the ADUs. They believe hosting a competition with foster ideas about what an ADU can be and to give...
Hey All! Consider this an informal invitation to come play pickleball with your favorite Bellingham architects this summer. Last week the office took the court for some competitive (and at times sloppy) pickleball. A few people came prepared, playing warm up matches...
Accessory Dwelling units, or ADU’s, are a growing building type in America. Wander through the neighborhoods of most West Coast cities and you will begin to spot them. This primer will outline some of the reasons that ADU’s are beneficial for homeowners, communities,...
Bringing the outdoors in Our client wanted a modern home in a forested property that would allow an open view of the outdoors with a large patio for entertaining.
Birch Bay Modern Having waterfront property can be an ideal place to live. It can also provide some challenges in the building process, which was the case for this home. With required setbacks from the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM), steep slope, property lines, and...
Step One: Budget No matter the size of the project, an appropriate budget should be the first thing you establish, for all projects you can do this yourself. During this preliminary stage, through careful research you can establish an initial project budget, then once...
A place to work and play We had our annual retreat at a “cottage” in Glacier, Washington. As you can see, the word cottage doesn’t seem appropriate. The retreat wasn’t all fun and games though… although we did have a lot of good food and fun… we discussed goals,...
The Project Planning Packet is an interactive tool that will help you define your needs and prepare both yourselves and your architect for our first exploratory meeting. Download your Project Planning Packet
1 – Architects can stretch your budget Your project starts out with two competing factors: Wish List and Budget. Sometimes not everything on your Wish List can happen within your budget. But an architect will help you get as much value as possible. And, they can...
I don’t even know where this desk concept started. The idea existed before I started here more then a year ago. Like many designs the execution resembled a game of telephone where the result only loosely resembled the original idea. I think Sean started the...