Bluefoot Architecture & Design works across Bainbridge Island from our studio in Poulsbo — twenty minutes away over the Agate Passage Bridge, with no ferry between us and your site. That matters more than it sounds. Island projects need an architect who can be on site for a survey, a framing question, or a meeting at City Hall without building the day around a sailing schedule.
Bainbridge is its own incorporated city, so your project is reviewed by the City of Bainbridge Island rather than Kitsap County — a different department, different submittal requirements, and its own shoreline and critical-areas rules. We design with that review in mind from the first sketch.
What our Bainbridge Island architectural services cover:
Island lots rarely come flat and empty. We design homes around what is already there — slope, mature trees, the angle of the water — so the house belongs to the site rather than sitting on top of it.
Many Bainbridge homes are worth keeping and worth improving. We design additions and whole-home remodels that read as original to the house, and prepare the drawings the city needs to approve them.
Shoreline property on Bainbridge is governed by the city’s Shoreline Master Program and critical-areas rules. We design within those constraints from the outset, rather than discovering them at submittal.
Bainbridge Island reviews its own permits as an incorporated city, separate from Kitsap County. We prepare the submittal set and stay with the project through review so questions get answered quickly.
Accessory dwelling units let island families house a relative, host guests, or add long-term flexibility to a property. We design ADUs that sit comfortably on the lot and meet the city’s requirements.
Most firms serving Bainbridge are either on the island or across the water in Seattle. We are neither — we are on the same side of Agate Passage, which means site visits happen when they need to happen, and your contractor can reach us the same day.
We have designed on the island before, from a third-storey loft conversion that found new square footage by going up, to interiors built around Puget Sound light. Every Bainbridge site has its own constraint — slope, trees, shoreline setback, a view worth protecting — and the design starts there rather than with a floor plan we already had.
Every Bainbridge Island project follows the same five-phase process, adapted for City of Bainbridge Island review rather than county submittal.
We treat the client as part of the design team. Regular check-ins, clear milestones and honest communication mean there are no surprises when construction begins — and no scramble when the city asks a question about your submittal.
Our five phases:
