When starting a home remodel or new build, you’ll probably have a lot of questions. How do you ensure your goals work on the property? Can you build that house near the water or add an addition to an existing home? Understanding what is possible on a site or property is a crucial part of the project process. And a feasibility study that explores this is essential to ensuring your project’s eventual success. What is a feasibility study? A feasibility study, in the simplest terms, is testing to see if your project or an idea you have for your project is feasible. The best time to do a feasibilit ..read more

Fireplaces create a wonderful mood and a place to gather around. They’ve been the center of a home for ages. Though their origins are utilitarian, as the need to use fireplaces for actual cooking and heating has changed, they’ve moved into items we want rather than ones we need. And as fireplace technology and smart home technology have changed, the options for what types of fireplaces we can have in our homes has changed, too. When we look at the design of a home, we consider a lot of different factors for the best solution. And this remains true for fireplaces. Here are some of the things th ..read more

Board & Vellum is situated right on the doorstep of one of Seattle’s beautiful National Register Historic Districts: Millionaire’s Row. As with the other twelve districts in the area, the Millionaire’s Row Historic District provides a wealth of information (pun intended) on the history and development of the City of Seattle. If you own one of these homes or another home within one of the other districts within the area, what do you need to know about navigating updates to your historic home? What do I need to know about navigating updates to a historic home? Previous posts in this series h ..read more

At Board & Vellum, we pride ourselves on working on many of the beautiful, historic homes in Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest. Each project comes with its own set of unique qualities and characteristics, from the style and age to neighborhood location. And each characteristic contributes to a home’s unique historic character and charm. When approaching the design for an addition or remodel of a historic home, we take many factors into consideration. We always evaluate historic homes within their context – style, neighborhood, era, to name a few – to determine the best approach. Bu ..read more

One of our specialties at Board & Vellum is working on historic homes – bringing out their charm and character while sensitively raising them to contemporary building, energy, and safety standards. But what defines a “historic” home? Is it just an old home? And how does it differ from a “landmark?” In this post, we’ll dive into these questions (and others!) and shed light on their answers. What is a landmark building or home? “Landmarks” are officially recognized buildings and sites within a city or county. They usually have a strong association with a person, place, or event in time, or a ..read more

We recently engaged with the City of Seattle to begin the process for converting an empty office building in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood to multifamily housing. It’s an exciting opportunity partnering with Stream Real Estate — read more about it at the DJC, Seattle Times, and The Real Deal. Much has been said about the need (and opportunity) to convert empty office buildings to housing. But, office building conversion is not actually that easy. Size, age, type of construction — and more — weigh heavily on the project, adding complication (and therefore cost) to the project. Identifying g ..read more

Smart home technology has the power to simplify and enhance our daily life in ways you may not have considered. But how does it look in practice? Kim Olsson, from our collaborator Beemer Smart Home, sat down with us to walk us through a real-life project that uses extensive smart home technology: our very own Laurelhurst Storybook Residence. This project was a full-scale remodel of a Tudor estate that features integrations of various smart home technologies. Beemer Smart Home helped guide the homeowners through each technology, and how it could help accommodate the demands of their home and li ..read more

Smart home technology is an emergent home technology that holds seemingly endless potential. But, with this potential comes many questions. What is smart home technology? And is it right for my home? We were wondering the same! That’s why we sat down with Kim Olsson from Beemer Smart Home Automation to understand what smart home technology is and how it can change your relationship with your house. Getting started with smart home technologies. According to Kim, smart home technology has three core advantages. It can improve the safety of your home. It can provide and elevate entertainment. It ..read more

Looking for a new commercial space for your business is an exciting time. There are so many opportunities available and considerations to make when choosing a location. One major consideration is a space’s existing physical condition, which can vary widely. As you explore your options, you may encounter some unusual terms describing a commercial space’s condition. Commonly, these terms are warm shell and cold shell. We’ll help you break down what they mean. What is a warm shell and what is a cold shell? When you’re seeking out a new commercial space, you’ll probably come across phrases like co ..read more

When it comes to the most successful spaces, we find ourselves drawn to those that are beautiful and most welcoming to all. Designing peoples’ experiences and environments – whether in a restaurant or café, retail shop, or office – is a wonderful way to express the core values and philosophies of your company or organization. It’s a physical and spatial expression of these values and can contribute to the overall success of a business. Thinking inclusively in commercial space design. The Pew Research Center, with 2021 U.S. Census Bureau Data, found that 13% of people report having a disability ..read more