Board & Vellum has moved to Seattle’s iconic Smith Tower in Pioneer Square. Learn more.
Services
Disciplines
Additional Options
Looking into a bedroom from the door. It's sunny and the bed is freshly made.
Custom Residential, Interior Design

Three Ways to Create a Relaxing Bedroom

Bedrooms are a popular place to make changes when updating your home. From a primary suite to kids’ rooms to a guest bedroom, everyone deserves a restful and calming place to unwind. Here, we walk you through three simple ways to create a relaxing bedroom you'll want to hang out in — awake or asleep.

Learn more.
Looking down the long deck of a historic cabin. The sun is lighting up the old stone wall and the large wooden pillars cast shadows on it.
Custom Residential, Sustainable Practice

Going the Extra Mile for an Unusual Addition

Living in a log cabin just might be one of the more sustainable things you can do. If you’re a city-dweller, you might never get the chance to do so unless you’re like one of our scrappy clients who saved a log cabin by attaching it to their home as an addition.

Learn more.
A historic home with a second story addition that, while bold, suits the home.
Custom Residential

Questions to Ask Yourself About Building a Second-Story Addition

Adding a second story to your home can be a great solution when you want to stay in your house but need more space. Once you’ve decided to build up, though, the decision-making isn’t done. What questions should you be asking yourself before you commit to a second-story addition?

Learn more.
Two people sketching over a low table.
Architecture, Ask a Designer

What It’s Like Working with an Architect

When you see an architect portrayed on television or in the movies, they’re either totally unrelatable, wildly eccentric creative-types, or in all black, mingling at a cocktail party as if they would rather be anywhere else. Inevitably, these characters have egos so big they barely fit in the frame. But what’s it like working with real-life architects?

Learn more.
The blue ceiling and yellow wall of a historic home with modern-made historic details.
Ask a Designer, Custom Residential, Historic & Traditional, Interior Design

Matching a Historic Feel with Modern Materials

How authentic does something really need to be? When you remodel a historic home, or just love a lived-in look, it can be difficult to determine when (and how) to make a new object or material look original. Here, we’ve laid out a few rules of thumb to follow if you’re ever in this predicament yourself.

Learn more.
What is a ranch? – A rendered aerial view of a ranch.
Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

What Is A Ranch?

Ranches conjure up all sorts of imagery in our imaginations. But when it comes down to designing one, what are we really talking about? It’s more than just the land, and it’s more than just the built structures — it is the symbiotic relationship between the two, and cultivating that requires careful exploration and design.

Learn more.
What do all these types of lines in architecture plans mean?
Architecture, Ask a Designer

What Different Line Types in Architecture & Design Drawings Mean

Thick lines, thin lines, lines with short or long dashes (or both!) — if you don’t speak the language of all these line types, an architecture or design drawing can be pretty mystifying. This primer on design drawing linework will give you a starter toolkit so you can tell what you’re looking at.

Learn more.
A remodeled brick home, looking out at the brick exterior through a new patio door.
Ask a Designer, Custom Residential

Remodeling Your Brick House

What should you consider when remodeling a brick house? Sure, brick is just another conventional building material, but remodeling a brick home presents some unique design challenges. Here’s what to look out for and think about when you’re considering a remodeling a house made of brick.

Learn more.
Buying a home you want to remodel? This one had curvy cabinet details the owners didn't love, but now work well with the remodel.
Ask a Designer, Custom Residential

Ten Things to Consider When Buying a Home You Want to Remodel

What if the new home you’re considering most definitely isn’t your dream home? There’s a lot an architect can do to help you achieve your dreams but not every dream is achievable in every home. Before jumping into a huge investment, check out our top ten things to know before purchasing a home you want to remodel.

Learn 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!

Questions to ask an architect at an interview. – Board & Vellum

Questions to Ask an Architect in an Interview: Advice for Clients

What should you ask a designer you are interviewing for your project? A good personality fit helps, but to help you hire with confidence, here are ten questions worth asking.

Questions to Ask a Landscape Architect or Site Design Team in an Interview – Board & Vellum

Questions to Ask a Landscape Architect or Site Design Team in an Interview

What should you ask a landscape architect you are interviewing? From design to fee, to timeline and more, here are ten questions you should ask before you hire.

Considering a project, or curious about something?

Say hello, and send us your questions via the form below. We’re always pleased to make new connections, and eager to get to know you, your project, and your goals.

Get in touch
Board & Vellum is honored to be a Gray Awards Finalist for landscape design, earning the recognition for the rooftop garden at the Lucille on Roosevelt.

Honored as a finalist for residential landscape design.

LEED Certified in White

Our team includes LEED-accredited professionals.

Certified Passive House Consultant in White

Our team includes certified Passive House consultants.

NGLCC Certified as LGBT Business Enterprise – Board & Vellum Recognition

A Certified LGBT Business Enterprise Since 2016.

PSBJ’s Top 25 LGBTQ-Owned Businesses 2016 in White

Honoring companies that lead in promoting equality.