We found this as a common question in an internet search and immediately took pause to determine exactly what the question is asking. With two possible interpretations, we thought we would take a moment to answer both from our point of view.

Clients have come to us many times with comments like, “I’m not sure if this is something you’d even be interested in,” and others that boast about the multiple quick-flip properties they assume we would be thrilled to take on. In actuality, those assumptions are usually far from the truth.

As designers, we were taught how to do niche, trade-specific drawings, not only because we are expected to create them for technical understanding, but also to be able to coordinate all of them systematically and converse intelligently with the highly-trained specialists who develop the physical aspects of our projects.

As a female designer, I found that I had to suppress my experience and knowledge when communicating with contractors. It was much more productive to plead ignorance, bat my lashes, and go along with the playful teasing often found on construction sites. I grew accustomed to being called “honey” and “kiddo” and playing up my lack of knowledge of how things were actually built to utilize their expertise.

Style is a particular way of doing things, a distinct appearance determined by design principles. It is a way of arranging your appearance and the appearance of the spaces around you. It may be influenced by environmental factors, cultural influences, and economic factors among others.

According to one of our favorite furniture retailers, Joybird, Washingtonians love Eclectic design. My favorite part about this is that we are the ONLY state that preferred this design style above all others. Ready for this to get even better? Eclectic design is described as “a type of interior design that blends different styles and motifs together to create a unique aesthetic” (Master Class). We chose a unique aesthetic, and we were the only ones to choose this.

We hear it all the time “green materials,” “sustainable practices,” but what does this mean? Sometimes it is a marketing ploy, something to convince people that they are making the right moral decision by purchasing that vinyl flooring that “meets sustainability standards.” Other times, it means that firm is doing the very best it can and are constantly working to do better.

Influence from cultural exposure is an inherent part of design that undoubtedly helps to make any design more unique and interesting. Without exposure to different cultures in design, we wouldn’t have Chinoiserie, the gorgeous influence of Chinese art on French design. We find that travel encourages a designer to see the unique characteristics of other designer’s (creators) work that then allows us to look at our own work from different perspectives with fresh influence.

You’ve made the decision to relocate or purchase a beautiful summer home on Vashon Island!!! Super exciting! Once the excitement dies down, the logical side of our brains kick in and the questions start piling up. We are happy to answer these questions and provide insight as to how working long-distance can actually reduce stress and be a wonderfully fun process.

The burning question is often, “how long will it take”, and understandably so! A home renovation can mean displacement or incredible discomfort. Most of our clients come to us hoping the design will take a week or two and we can jump right into construction. What we forget is that it takes time to work through all those details and thoroughly consider each goal and need to tailor your home specifically to you!

One of the most common misconceptions I face is that a designer shops retail. While this is true for some designers, it is not at all true for others. We almost never shop retail. That is not to say that we will not utilize our local hardware store for products that are local and yes, retail.

We’ve all heard about the cost of lumber going up, but that’s not the only price increase we’re seeing. Estimating projects appropriately has been quite a challenge for us over the past two years, and we're definitely getting the hang of it. I’d love to share why it was so difficult for so long and what we are doing to help our clients navigate through the unknowns.