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Learn more about architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture from the B&V Team.
Our blog is a friendly resource for anyone wondering how to approach their project, seeking answers for their design questions, or simply eager for a peek inside our world.
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Ask a Designer, Custom Residential
How to Match Heights of Doors and Windows
Everyone has their little issues; mine has to do with disparate casing heights around windows and doors in the same rooms. (You know, when the trim on the top of a window doesn't perfectly line up with the door it's near.) This is how to solve that annoyance.
Learn more.Ask a Designer, Custom Residential, Interior Design
Top 10 Things to Think About When Planning a Bathroom
Bathrooms are some of the most remodeled spaces in anyone's house. It is easy to see why: we spend a bunch of time in there every day. Coupled with the fact that styles come and go, and the square footage of most bathrooms is pretty small, they're an easy target. Here's what to think about.
Learn more.Ask a Designer, Custom Residential
Let’s Talk Dirty: The Wonder of Small Laundry Closets
Do you really want to haul all that laundry down to the dank basement all the time? If you're bothering to remodel, it's just not that hard to find space for a small laundry closet closer to where the dirty laundry piles up. Here's how.
Learn more.
Other Tangents
Smashing Glass Blocks
Glass block is horrible. Don't use it. Please don't use it. Did I mention that it is pretty horrific? It is. Don't use it. That is all.
Learn more.Custom Residential
Oh, Gosh, You Must Love It Here!
I'm often asked for my opinion on people's homes when they show them to me. Please stop. You're torturing architects. All we know, is that you love it and think it is wonderful. Can't that be enough? And besides, I know that you must love it there. Isn't that all that needs to be said?
Learn more.Commercial
Downsize Your Retail: 15th Avenue East
There is something particularly special about very small retail spaces. The shops on 15th Avenue East on Capitol Hill in Seattle, especially on the northwest end, are an especially good example of this.
Learn more.Other Tangents
Nantucket Architecture
Architects can learn so much from visiting other places and seeing what works well there. Jeff recently returned from a trip to Nantucket, and reports back here.
Learn more.Ask a Designer
Construction Observation: What the Heck Is It?
There are a bunch of typical phases in a typical architectural design process, but all projects don't include all of the phases, though they are available. Basically, it is like a menu of services. Construction Observation is one of the the best things on the menu, and too often overlooked.
Learn more.Ask a Designer, Commercial, Interior Design
Zombie Lighting
What is with dressing rooms that have horrible top lighting? Isn't the point to make you feel like you look really good, and should, therefore, buy the clothes you're trying on? It's so easy to avoid. Don't make this mistake in your shop!
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!
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Honored as a finalist for residential landscape design.
Our team includes LEED-accredited professionals.
Our team includes certified Passive House consultants.
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