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Commercial, Interior Design, Third Places
Elements of Great Café Design
Think about your favorite café. What stands out to you? When it comes to designing amazing café spaces, there’s a lot to consider, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. Here, we break down the basic elements every café should include to achieve a great design that elevates your brand and your customers love.
Read more.Interior Design
Vintage Shopping for Your Design Project
Vintage pieces can elevate your space by adding unique and personal flourishes. If you’re looking to incorporate vintage accessories, antique furniture, or second hand lighting into the design of your home or space, here are a few pointers to help you get started – and stay on track – on your next shopping trip.
Read more.Building Green
The Basics of Building & Material Reuse
You may be familiar with the idea of building reuse in design, but did you know “reuse” actually covers a wide range of project types and approaches? While each type is unique, and some might lend themselves better to certain project types, each kind is integral to sustainable building and design practices.
Read more.Commercial, Third Places
Are Loud Restaurants Really Worth It?
There are certainly reasons why some chefs and restaurant owners prefer a loud space. And, some restaurant patrons enjoy it, too, at least for a little while. Here are a few reasons why loud restaurants exist and a few ways we could make them a little quieter, while still keeping a business profitable.
Read more.Commercial
How Your Neighborhood Can Inform the Design of Your Commercial Space
Neighborhood and community context is important to the success of a retail — or other commercial — space. Here’s how being site-specific can be beneficial to your commercial project and help you make the impact you need to win and retain customers.
Read more.Commercial, Interior Design
How To Create a Residential Feel in a Commercial Space
Are you hoping for a residential feel — that "homey" comfort — in your commercial space? You aren’t alone! Spaces that capture that homey feeling draw people in, and can help people feel more comfortable and relaxed in your establishment. How do you pull it off? Here are our top ten design elements to make it happen.
Read more.Commercial, Interior Design, Third Places
Ten Design Elements to Consider for Your Third Place
Always dreamed of quitting your 9-5 job and opening your own coffee shop? Or perhaps looking to spruce up your existing quaint café? Look no further! Here are ten key design elements you won't want to forget, taking your Third Place’s design to the next level and encourage your clientele to linger.
Read more.Commercial
Design Your Retail Space for Selfies (Yes, Really.)
Maintaining a small retail business is really hard — you need great marketing, and to get your space in front of a lot of eyes. We say, design your retail space for selfies! If your shop or restaurant looks unique and interesting, your visitors will help market it for you. Here’s how to get started with design.
Read more.Commercial, Third Places
Third Places Count
Maybe you've heard the term "Third Place" lately, but aren't sure what it means? Well, we here at Board & Vellum love us a good Third Place, and our own Charles Fadem is here to walk you through what Third Places are, why they matter, and what it takes to make a good one.
Read more.Events
Night School: Architecture & Time – Recap
What role does time play in our interpretation, perception, and memory of architecture? What about the inverse: how are our memories altered – or mediated – by architectural space? Jeff Sandler recaps the discussion that thrived at another successful B&V Night School, this time exploring the complex and symbiotic relationship between architecture and time.
Read more.Events
Night School Recap
Our inaugural B&V Night School was a success! We ate, drank, and watched a wonderful documentary, Citizen Architect. And, then we followed it up with a critical discussion about the role of architects, pro-bono work, student workforce, and adhering to building code, all of which you can read about here.
Read more.News
2014 Highlights
2014 was a wild ride! From the personal to the professional and back again, or all mixed together, Jeff takes a breather to recap what actually happened in this blur of a year.
Read more.Building Green, Events, Seattle Design Community
B&V Slams with NW EcoBuilding Guild
They call it a slam, but it's not a competition. It's a celebration of green building in the Pacific Northwest, and Board & Vellum was there. 10 Projects, 10 Slides, 10 Minutes: It's the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild's annual Green Building Slam!
Read more.Historic & Traditional
Everyday Heroes of the Built Environment
Whether you are pro-density or a full-blown BANANA (a step beyond the ubiquitous NIMBY), you probably have an opinion about how the fabric of Seattle is evolving as the city grows. In this post, Anne explores her thoughts on it, offering praise for the Everyday Heroes who care for our urban fabric.
Read more.News
Awards and Press for Ada’s and The Seattle Box
It's been an exciting week for news at Board & Vellum, as we've just heard about winning a lot of awards for our work at Ada's Technical Books & Café and the Seattle Box Remodel. Rather than spread it out, we'll just announce it all at once, right here.
Read more.News
Ada’s Receives a Citation in the 2014 Residential Architect Design Awards
We are very excited to announce that our work at Ada's Technical Books & Café has been nationally recognized with a citation in the category of "light commercial" for the 2014 Residential Architect Design Awards!
Read more.Commercial, Interior Design, Third Places
Ada’s: A Burst Of Light and a Custom Mobile
Ada’s Technical Books & Café is a project that will always be near and dear to us. And, one of our favorite details (both to design and to make) is the custom mobile of book pages. This is the story of how it came to be.
Read more.News
Thoughts for the New Year
2013 has already come to a close, and we've been so busy that we only now have the chance to write our year-end recap! Better late than never, here it is!
Read more.News
Things This Architect Was Thankful For in 2012
Happy Holidays, Everyone! It's that time of year again, and that means Jeff reflects on all that has happened in the last year of personal and professional life. As always, it's been an exciting year!
Read more.Arts & Culture, News
Hello World! Quilt Bomb Hits Capitol Hill, by Artist Luke Haynes
One of the more exciting projects we're working on here at Board and Vellum, Ada's Technical Books & Café, recently got a bunch of pre-construction publicity when the clients hired artist Luke Haynes to wrap the exterior of the building in yarn scraps spelling out "Hello World"!
Read more.Or, if chronology isn’t your thing…
Here are a couple of posts to get you started. Of course, it’s hard to choose, so feel free to poke around; we hope to have a little something for everyone. And, if you have a burning question you’d like us to cover in a future post, please let us know!
Considering a project? Or, just curious about something?
Send us your questions about design, architecture, interiors, landscape, LEGO rooms… Anything, really. We’re always eager to meet new people, and we’d love to get to know you, your project, and your goals.
Achieved a Just label from the International Living Future Institute in 2023.
Honored as a finalist for residential landscape design.
Our team includes LEED-accredited professionals.
Our team includes certified Passive House consultants.
A Certified LGBT Business Enterprise Since 2016.
Honoring companies that lead in promoting equality.