Topics
Commercial
Designing for commercial spaces is an exercise in balance: often there are tight budgets and timelines, but if you don’t get it right while staying true to your brand, you risk having uninspired clients who don’t come back in again, or employees who’d rather work elsewhere. We love designing inspired spaces, and here you’ll find all things commercial (projects, blog posts, recognition, and more) at Board & Vellum.
Our commercial services.
Restaurants, Retail, Workspaces
Commercial
We build dynamic, multidisciplinary teams customized for the needs of your project. Whether you are starting from scratch opening your first space, or updating your existing brick-and-mortar location, we’ll collaborate with you to design a commercial experience true to your brand and values.
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Cafés, Bars, Third Places, Retail Environments
Restaurants & Retail
In our digitally-focused world, the design of brick-and-mortar spaces is more important than ever. Our integrated architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture teams design holistic, stimulating experiences for your restaurant or retail space, enticing visitors to return again and again, and to share their excitement about your business organically.
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Hybrid Workspace, Open Plan, Private Offices, Coworking
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 and help you get your work done well.
Learn more.Our commercial portfolio projects.
Integrated Design for a Mixed-Use Development
Scott Street Development
Interdisciplinary design for a multi-acre site with dedicated permanent, affordable community land trust homes, mixed-use retail buildings, and market-rate apartments.
Adaptive Reuse of a Historic Structure
Darmer Hay & Feed Adaptive Reuse
Reimagining a historic, unreinforced masonry building in downtown Tacoma to ready it for future tenants in its new chapter as a mixed-use building.
A New Take on a Classic Capitol Hill Café
Fuel Coffee on 19th
Two Seattle brands come together in a reimagined space highlighting the best of both: lively, energetic Fuel Coffee and quirky, homey Ada’s Technical Books and Café.
Office Remodel for a Sustainably-Focused Farm
Roy Farms Field Office
The sustainable, adaptive reuse of an existing farm building to convert it into a field office for a century-old Washington farm.
Our commercial posts.
Commercial, Custom Residential, Interior Design, Multifamily & Mixed-Use
Our 2023 Interior Design Forecast
Trying to stay ahead of the design-trend curve? Us too. And for good reason! There are so many beautiful trends having and about to have their moment – not just ”for now,“ but as lasting elements of beautiful design. Our 2023 Interior Design Forecast is here to help you get to know upcoming trends you’ll love.
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Commercial, Custom Residential, Interior Design
How a Designer Can Help You Navigate Lead Times
Product lead times can play a major role in the success of your project and, these days, they’re longer and less predictable than ever. If you’ve been frustrated trying to find a product in stock and on your timeline, we feel you. And we have some simple ways to help you overcome these challenges.
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Ask an Architect, Commercial
Immediate Solutions for Socially Distant Retail
It has been a tough road for small businesses over the last few months dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. For those small businesses fighting to stay in business, the opportunity to pivot and re-open in some form is upon us. Facing this daunting challenge, where do you even start? This post is for you.
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Commercial
The Rebirth of the American Workplace
Recommendations and trends in commercial office design shift in response to cultural norms, technology, and working styles. Following the 2020 pandemic, how might the design of commercial offices adapt this time? On the spectrum from open office concept, through vast fields of cubicles, to private offices, where will we land?
Read more.
Commercial, Interior Design, Third Places
The Personalized Hospitality Experience
Before Covid-19 shifted our world, personalized hospitality experiences, like private dining rooms and by-appointment-only shopping, were considered luxuries reserved only for an elite few. But, with social distancing recommendations in place — driven first by necessity and later by comfort — it’s possible some of these once-elite experiences become more common. Here’s a look at how some of this could evolve.
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Commercial, Interior Design, Third Places
Commercial Design in the Age of Social Distancing
As commercial spaces slowly re-open, businesses and clientele have to take extra precautions because these spaces were designed to operate in a pre-pandemic world. This post is part of a series on how design for commercial spaces may evolve due to the Covid-19 pandemic, either by requirement or by cultural shift.
Read more.Our commercial sustainability practices.
LEED Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council
Our team includes many LEED-accredited professionals who possess comprehensive knowledge of contemporary sustainable practices across disciplines and sectors.
Our commercial recognition stories.
The Best Retail Architects in Seattle
Board & Vellum is on the list of Best Retail Architects in Seattle, vetted and compiled by Seattle Architects. With architecture, interiors, and landscape in-house we can be the agile team you need to create your brick-and-mortar retail space.
Best Restaurant Architects in Seattle: Seattle Architects’ 2020 List
Seattle Architects includes Board & Vellum on their list of the 15 Best Restaurant Architects in Seattle in 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.
Best Seattle Architects: Fresh Chalk’s 2020 List
Board & Vellum comes in at #3 on Fresh Chalk’s 2020 List of Best Seattle Architects.
Our commercial team team members.
Jeff Pelletier, AIA, CPHC®
Managing Principal, Founder
In 2011, Jeff founded Board & Vellum in his attic and has forged ahead with excitement ever since. Architecture aside, he is a huge advocate for traveling, and takes LEGO really seriously.
Zack Thomas, PLA
Principal, Landscape & Site Design
Zack co-launched B&V’s ”Site Design Studio,” and is excited to take on landscape projects of all shapes, sizes, and scales. He loves to get out of the city on weekends and makes a point of traveling to another country each year.
Kristin Jensen, LEED AP ID+C
Director, Interior Design
Kristin’s passion for interior design is complemented by her love of the outdoors. When she’s not riding her bike or doing other cliché PNW things, you can find her in the kitchen, listening to podcasts and cooking up a storm.
Terry Phelan, AIA
Director, Sustainable Practice
Terry is passionate about educating the public and mentoring designers on the benefits of sustainable design. When she isn’t writing, teaching, or podcasting on the subject, Terry’s spending time in her garden!
Would you like to learn more?
We’re thrilled that you’re interested!
Our Story
Board & Vellum is a young and vibrant firm built on the idea that an informed and engaged team leads to better design and happy clients. We wouldn’t be where we are today without passion and hard work, and those same two things keep us going strong today.
Our Process
Bringing your project from “idea” to fruition is a little different at Board & Vellum. We give personal care to each of our projects, and you’ll be in the loop every step the way. The bonus: we are an integrated firm, so each project has access to plenty of great knowledge — and that leads to better design.
Considering a project? Or, just curious about something?
Send us your questions about design, architecture, interiors, landscape, LEGO rooms… Anything, really. We’re always eager to meet new people, and we’d love to get to know you, your project, and your goals.