Sachiko Nakama
Principal and design director
Draws the first concept for every project herself and stays on it through the drawing set.
Design-build · Bend, Oregon
Draw it first. Then decide if we build it.
A design retainer pays for the drawings, the scope and a written build price. Only then do you choose whether to sign a build agreement with us. We work on renovations and additions in Bend and the neighborhoods around it.
How we work
Two agreements, not one
You sign the second only when you have seen what the first produced.
Phase one · Design retainer
We draw it, scope it and price it
The retainer pays for design on its own terms. You get measured drawings, a materials and fixtures list, the design-review package if your neighborhood asks for one, and a written build price for the whole job.
Site visit and measured drawings
Two or three layout options, then one full drawing set
Windows, tile, cabinets and lighting chosen on paper
A build price itemized by part of the house
Phase two · Build agreement
We build what the drawings show
If you hire us, the retainer is credited toward the build and the drawings become the contract set. The project manager and lead carpenter who read them with you run the site.
Permits pulled before any work begins
A week-one plan: who is on site, what is covered, what is shut off
A weekly note on what was done and what comes next
Changes priced in writing before they are built
What we take on
Work that needs a design phase
We take projects where the layout, the structure or the way the house meets its lot is part of the question. A single repair or a cabinet swap is better served by a handyman or a specialty trade.
Whole-house renovations
A 1990s plan on a view lot, or an Old Bend bungalow that closes every room off.
See the workAdditions and second stories
A bedroom wing, a studio over the garage, a floor that wasn't there.
See the workKitchens and great rooms
The room people end up in, redrawn around how you cook and gather.
See the workPrimary suites and baths
Bedroom, closet and bath planned as one suite, not three rooms.
See the workOutdoor living
Covered patios, decks and kitchens for a short, dry, bright season.
See the workExteriors and fire-wise details
Roofs, siding, windows and vents chosen for snow, sun and embers.
See the work
Finished work
Rooms we have drawn and built
The scope is in each caption, so you can see what a project asked for.
Sample photos.
The studio
Who you meet in phase one
The people who draw your project are the ones who build it.
Woodrow Pettiford
Principal and builder
Reads each drawing set for how it will be built before anyone prices it.
Lluvia Villalobos
Senior designer
Runs selections and design review, and keeps the drawings current as choices are made.
Ajay Chokshi
Project manager
Writes the build price and the week-one plan, then runs the schedule on site.
Teodora Juric
Lead carpenter
Leads the carpenters who frame, trim and finish, and walks each room at the end of the first week.
Neighborhoods
Bend's west side, its old core and the resorts
Each part of town asks something different of a project: design review, lot setbacks, snow load, defensible space. We have worked through all of them.
Bend, west side
- Awbrey Butte
- Awbrey Glen
- Northwest Crossing
- Tetherow
- Broken Top
- Summit West
Bend, central and east
- Old Bend
- Orchard District
- Mountain View
- Century West
- Southern Crossing
- Deschutes River Woods
Resort and ranch communities
- Eagle Crest
- Black Butte Ranch
- Brasada Ranch
- Crooked River Ranch
We don't take projects outside Central Oregon, or commercial work.
After phase one
What clients wrote after the drawings
“We had just moved from Seattle and didn't know what the house could be. The drawings showed two layouts and what each would involve, and we chose before anyone mentioned a build price.”
Mona H.Northwest Crossing, kitchen and great room
“I read the build price against the drawings and could see where every line came from. We said yes to phase two a week later.”
Dmitry L.Awbrey Butte, whole-house renovation
“When the price came in above what we wanted, they redrew the bath instead of arguing for it. That is what the retainer was for.”
Liya C.Old Bend, primary suite
Sample reviews.
Before you call
Questions about the two phases
What does the design retainer cover?
Measuring the house, the layout options, the full drawing set, your selections and the written build price. It is its own agreement, with its own scope and fee, signed before any drawing begins.
Do I have to build with you after phase one?
No. The build agreement is separate, and you decide when you have the drawings and the price in hand. Whether the drawings go to another builder is set out in your retainer agreement.
Does the retainer come off the build price?
If you hire us for phase two, the retainer is credited toward the build. The terms are written in the retainer agreement, not promised on this page.
Can you build through a Bend winter?
Interior work runs all year. Foundations, concrete and the exterior envelope follow the weather, so we plan them for the dry months and tell you which phase lands where.
What about neighborhood design review?
Several west-side communities ask for a design-review submission before a permit. We prepare it as part of phase one.
My house was built before 1978. Does that change anything?
Yes. Paid renovation in a home built before 1978 falls under the EPA's lead rule for renovation, repair and painting. The firm must be EPA-certified and use lead-safe work practices when work disturbs painted surfaces. Small repairs under 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside are exempt, but window replacement and demolition never are. We test or assume lead before we plan the work, and we show you how the work area will be sealed.
Start here
Tell us about the house
We write back about a time to talk. A first conversation commits neither of us to anything.
Phone(541) 555-0103
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- By appointment
- SundayToday
- Closed