Residential Landscapes

We’re landscape geeks happy to talk all day about our favorite flowering trees, the optimal spot for that fire pit, or how to configure the outdoor kitchen of your dreams. And we can turn around and back it up with the critical technical skills to address code requirements, setbacks, and coordination with engineers.

Our region has some complicated rules about what you can and cannot do on your property. We’ll navigate the nitty-gritty aspects — like site analysis, feasibility studies, and the permitting process — so we can collaborate with you on what may delight you more, like how you’d like your landscape to look and feel across the seasons, and important questions like, “Where’s the best spot for that pizza oven?”

From big picture site planning to designing intricate custom details, from selecting the perfect plants and hot tub to building a cabana, we’ll think through all the options to transform your exterior spaces into verdant and adaptable outdoor environments making the most of our Pacific Northwest climate.

Landscape designers are future-scapers. We spend a lot of time imagining and planning for how what we’re doing today will change and grow over decades. This can encompass trees and plants, as well as issues related to drainage and climate change.

Landscape projects can also be subject to code and zoning requirements, so we’ll be sure to determine which structures, decks, or built elements, of what size, you can have where, as well as how to design around vegetation or other elements you want to maintain. Expertise in dealing with the various environmental overlays like steep slope designations and exceptional trees (yes, that’s a thing!) is critical when taking on any landscape project in the Pacific Northwest.

Master planning is an important element of projects that either take a while to mature, or you’d like to complete in phases. Together, we’ll talk about what might be next for your household, and create placeholders for DADUs or future additions to your home. The time we take now to prep for what might come next can save a lot of time, effort, and resources down the road.

Whatever the style or scope of your project, our goal is to work with you to create beautiful, landscaped spaces you can enjoy as they mature and evolve for years to come.

Your yard and outdoor spaces don’t exist in isolation, they are an important part of your home, connecting visually and physically to everything on the property, inside and out.

Whether or not your project needs an architect or interior designer, our firm-wide cross-pollination of ideas is invaluable, and we all benefit from a deep pool of shared knowledge.

Maybe you know right from the get-go that your project needs the services of an architect — say, you want to reconfigure your roof to cover a new deck, or want to seamlessly blend your interior and exterior spaces with a large, folding glass wall. Or perhaps you’d like an interior designer to help you realize your vision for the beautiful lighting, furnishings, and fixtures you want in your new outdoor dining space.

Even if you don’t realize it until later, if your project scope evolves to need a multidisciplinary team — or simply a quick consult — our in-house teams are here to help, eliminating the need to find and coordinate with multiple design firms.

With our team as your partner navigating the process from design through construction, you won’t have to worry about getting too far down the garden path only to find out something you’re super excited about simply isn’t going to fly with building code and environmental requirements, or isn’t going to play nice with your budget.

To start your project off with a clear understanding of the lay of the land, we’ll photograph and document your yard using our 3D modeling drone. This enables us to get a bird’s eye view of what we’ve got to work with and how the old and new will fit together to meet both your “right now” and “years-from-now” needs.

Of course, just because we’re planning for the outside of your home doesn’t mean we won’t be thinking about how everything relates to the inside. Designing custom homes and landscapes is where it all started for Board & Vellum, and we’re a bit of a unicorn firm for offering deep residential knowledge from inside to out.

That firm-wide knowledge and our mission of constantly nurturing the balance of our design skills and critical technical credentials underpins our ability to create beautiful residential landscapes. We’d love to show how, translating your vision for your landscape into an outdoor space you’ll enjoy as an integral part of your home.