Designed Community

Stories & Interviews From Designing The Way We Live

A Hidden Sanctuary

When Terry and Jackie Lehmann moved to their Bellingham home, just north of Lake Whatcom, the backyard consisted of little but grass and a small deck. After 25 years of work, it has been transformed into an oasis, inspired by Terry’s appreciation of Chinese and Japanese culture.“For me, it’s so tranquil,” he says. The Lehmann’s…
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A Hidden Sanctuary

Shaw Island Timber Frame Home

Set on idyllic Shaw Island, snuggled among the trees, this finely detailed timber frame home really captures the imagination. As with many Pacific Northwest contemporary homes, it masterfully blends a clean, simple, even minimalist aesthetic with warmth from the naturally finished wood throughout.Even the home’s traditional timber-frame-style skeleton and Douglas Fir tongue-and-groove ceilings give a…
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Shaw Island Timber Frame Home

Skagit Bay Waterfront Home

This stunning Skagit Bay waterfront home was once a comfortable weekend cabin that offered a retreat from Seattle city life. But as its owners approached retirement, they turned to principal architect Dan Nelson and project architect Matt Radach of Designs Northwest to transform the cabin, with its low ceilings and multiple additions, into a primary…
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Skagit Bay Waterfront Home

Lake Whatcom House

The stunning views of the lake, city, and Puget Sound set the stage for a spectacular home that blurs the line between the indoors and outdoors. Our clients came to us with three overarching goals for their home: execute a clean, modern aesthetic; use our experience to optimize the home’s high-performance chops; and maintain discipline…
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Lake Whatcom House

A Pacific Northwest Retreat

When I first met owners Ken and Lisa Chovil, they were looking for a general contractor that could work well with their designer, Christine Coder, to upgrade their home in Bellingham’s Ridgemont neighborhood. It had long been their dream to update the interior and add more storage. Over the course of the project, there were…
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A Pacific Northwest Retreat

Chuckanut Crest View Home

Located on beautiful Chuckanut Crest with sweeping views of the bay, this modern home was designed with intent. The kitchen has multi-purpose features, such as the island built on a metal frame with rollers that allows it to serve either as one long island, or, if pulled apart, a separate formal dining area. The homeowners…
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Chuckanut Crest View Home

Architecture

Interviews

Kevin Dalby

Who are you, and what do you do?My name is Kevin Dalby, and I am a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. I currently run an active research group in the field of chemical biology. Work in my laboratory converges on mechanisms in cancer where we discover new cell signaling processes and develop…

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Community Design

In Defense of Bias

Let’s talk about bias. I have it. You have it. As humans all of us have our own opinions towards virtually everything that comes across our plates in our daily lives, be it (literally) a menu option or (the more serious) potentially deadly first impression. And researchers, from the molecular biologist to the cultural anthropologist,…

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More From The Archives

Kevin Dalby

Who are you, and what do you do?My name is Kevin Dalby, and I am a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. I currently run an active research group in the field of chemical biology. Work in my laboratory converges on mechanisms in cancer where we discover new cell signaling processes and develop…

Read More + Kevin Dalby

A Hidden Sanctuary

When Terry and Jackie Lehmann moved to their Bellingham home, just north of Lake Whatcom, the backyard consisted of little but grass and a small deck. After 25 years of work, it has been transformed into an oasis, inspired by Terry’s appreciation of Chinese and Japanese culture.“For me, it’s so tranquil,” he says. The Lehmann’s…

Read More + A Hidden Sanctuary

Bob Giordano

Who are you, and what do you do?My name is Bob Giordano, and I am the Director of the Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation, which includes the Free Cycles community bicycle program. Our goals are to make transportation safe, equitable and environmentally sound. I lead this effort for better transportation, with a focus on active…

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