Our architecture services.

Restaurants & Retail at Board & Vellum – Seattle Architecture & Design Firm

Hospitality & Retail

Our in-house architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture teams collaborate closely to design holistic, stimulating experiences for your hospitality or retail space, enticing visitors to return again and again, and to share their excitement about your business organically.

Learn more.
Offices & Workspaces – Commercial Design by Board & Vellum

Offices & Workspaces

Though the landscape of in-person offices and workspaces is changing, the essentials remain the same: you need a place where you, your team, and your guests can feel both comfortable and productive. From coworking spaces to private office build-outs, we create welcoming workspaces that suit your unique needs.

Learn more.
Community and Civic Design at Board & Vellum – Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture for Community-Oriented and Civic Projects

Community & Civic

Designing community-centric work is about more than physical structures and spaces, it’s about finding innovative solutions to increase access and inspire connections between people. We prioritize building community through beautiful, engaging, and accessible spaces everyone can enjoy, for community-oriented organizations, institutions, and civic municipalities.

Learn more.

Our architecture posts.

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.
Spec Home vs. Custom Home
Architecture, Custom Residential

Spec Home vs. Semi-Custom Home vs. Custom Home

When designing a new home, it’s important to understand the level of service you’ll need to get the particular quality of new home you’re hoping for. From a spec home, to a semi-custom home, to a fully custom home — here are the differences between the levels of service and the quality of the end result.

Learn more.
Building a new home, like this one, brings some advantages.
Architecture, Custom Residential

The Benefits of Building a New Home vs. Remodeling an Old One

Remodeling a home is not always the right call — there are a lot of complicated factors at play (and we’re here to help). If you are wondering about the advantages of building a new home instead of remodeling an old one, here is a quick primer on the advantages of new construction.

Learn more.
Architecture, Ask a Designer

How To Prepare for Your First Call with an Architect

If you’ve never worked with an architect before, it might be daunting to know what to even ask when you start to research a team that will be the right fit for your project. Here‘s what the process looks like if you reach out to us and we set up a call to chat about your project.

Learn more.
Architecture, Ask a Designer

Why Do You Still Need an Architect After You Have Your Building Permit?

Clients often ask us why they still need an architect once they have a contractor and a building permit. In fact, our continued involvement in your project during construction is so critical that we waive our liability if we aren't a part of it. So, why is that? Let's get into the details! (Pun intended.)

Learn more.

Our architecture recognition stories.

Board & Vellum makes Expertise’s list of the Best Architects in Seattle, 2020.

Best Architects in Seattle: Expertise’s 2020 List

Expertise examined 138 architecture firms in the Seattle area and selected only 19 to make their list of Best Architects in Seattle, including Board & Vellum.

Board & Vellum comes in at #3 on Fresh Chalk’s 2020 List of Best Seattle Architects.

Best Seattle Architects: Fresh Chalk’s 2020 List

Board & Vellum comes in at #3 on Fresh Chalk’s 2020 List of Best Seattle Architects.

Board & Vellum wins 2020 Best of Houzz awards in the Design & Service categories.

Best of Houzz 2020: Design & Service

We are so appreciative of our fantastic clients, collaborators, and fans — with your support, we are excited to have been recognized for the 7th year in a row for Best of Houzz awards for both Design and Service. Thank you!

BUILD Sustainable Building Awards: Board & Vellum honored as

BUILD Sustainable Building Awards 2019

We’re honored that BUILD magazine has named us the "Architecture & Interior Design Firm of the Year" in Washington state in their Sustainable Building Awards, 2019.

Best of Houzz 2019: Design & Service – Board & Vellum

Best of Houzz 2019: Design & Service

At six years, we’ve officially reached more than half a decade winning Best of Houzz badges! Many, many thanks to all our fantastic clients, collaborators, and fans out there — we appreciate your support.

Board & Vellum project, Seward Park Gables, wins two REX/T-REX awards, 2019.

Seward Park Gables Wins Two 2019 REX/T-REX Awards

Our Seward Park Gables project takes home not one, but two REX/T-REX Awards: for bath excellence and major remodel excellence.

Our architecture team team members.

Patrick McCoy is an associate at Board & Vellum, an architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture firm in Seattle, Washington.

Patrick Burke-McCoy

Associate, Architecture

Patrick is a residential designer and a Revit modeling master. An avid runner, Patrick finds inspiration as he races through the streets of downtown Seattle or Chicago.

Kyla Clary is a designer at Board & Vellum, an architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture firm in Seattle, Washington.

Kyla Clary

Architecture

Kyla loves the intimacy and detail of designing single-family homes. Her background in sculpture and ceramics gives her a unique perspective on projects, where she enjoys exploring efficient and effective sustainability strategies in client-inclusive ways.

Lucas Johnston – Board & Vellum

Lucas Johnston, AIA

Architecture

Positive and detail-driven, Lucas loves peeling back the layers of a project, asking the right questions to uncover the core driver of every design.

Would you like to learn a little more about us?

We’re pleased you’re interested. Explore more about us and our work via the pages below.

Our Story

Client-centered authenticity is our north star, and we continue to prove that great design doesn’t require great ego.

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.