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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
Painting Your House Cyndi-Lauper-Style
As Cyndi Lauper once said, "On my darkest days, I wear my brightest colors." What a great piece of advice, especially for a city that can be as gray as Seattle. Living in the Northwest brings enough dark days. Why not think about brightening up your house and helping improve your mood along the way?
Learn more.Other Tangents
Great Street Life in Europe
Every place in the world has something to teach us and if we can be open to learning the lessons from each place we visit, we'll all take home valuable lessons to use in the built environment we add to every day. Here are some favorite examples.
Learn more.Other Tangents
What Not to Build, But What to Love
Sometimes you don't know what you want, but at least knowing what you don't want is a step in the right direction. This bold example of, let's call it, a single-family castle, helps teach us all a little lesson.
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Custom Residential
The Great Book of Your House
Books are awesome. Home Repair is NOT awesome. Combine them, though, into a great home manual and your home repairs become a bit less of something that is too dreadful to think about. Here's what you need to know to organize your home maintenance.
Learn more.Ask a Designer, Custom Residential, Interior Design
Avocado or Harvest Gold
Be careful in selecting your appliance colors. Remeber "Harvest Gold" and "Avocado Green"? Let's all promise to never let that happen again.
Learn more.Ask a Designer, Custom Residential
How to Pick a Window
When you start looking into what windows to pick, it can be very overwhelming. Here's what to focus on: great materials, real muntins, and appropriate measurements. Going in with the right knowledge will help you save money, and protect you from the pitfalls of poor-quality windows.
Learn more.Custom Residential
Going Down Under: Basement Remodels Done Right
Basement remodels are one of the easiest ways to get extra square footage in your house. That's no revelation and we've all seen numerous basement remodels, but unfortunately what we've probably also seen are a lot of really bad basement remodels. Here's how to plan for a great one that's worth the investment.
Learn more.Custom Residential, Landscape Architecture
Footloose and Fency Free
Fences and retaining walls are more than just simple demising lines: they're our walls in our outdoor living rooms. And sadly, so many of the fences that get put up end up being bland, boring, and basic boards. I'm sure that the people who live in these homes AREN'T boring, of course, so what options do they have instead? Plenty. Take a look at a few personalized options.
Learn more.Other Tangents
The Beautiful Critic
A friend of a friend recently sent me a link to a project (which will go nameless) with a comment about how interesting it was and all of the new technologies used in construction. It was also really ugly. "Beautiful" doesn't have to be a taboo word in architecture, let's not forget that.
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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