Bluefoot Architecture & Design is an award-winning architecture and interior design firm serving Gig Harbor from our studio in Poulsbo. For Gig Harbor clients we design custom homes, additions and remodels, waterfront homes and ADUs, and we prepare the permit documents the City of Gig Harbor or Pierce County reviews. Architectural work is led by Principal Architect Jay Volz, with interior designer Michele Doyle and her team under the same roof. To book a design consultation, call 360-602-2965 or tell us about your project.
Gig Harbor is in Pierce County, not Kitsap County, so the rules depend on the address: a property inside city limits is reviewed by the City of Gig Harbor, and one outside them by Pierce County. We confirm which applies before design starts. Outside Kitsap County the first consultation is usually by video call. See all of our architectural design services, our interior design services, or our architect on Bainbridge Island page.
What our Gig Harbor architectural services cover:
We design custom homes in Gig Harbor around the site and the way you live, then carry the design through 3D modeling and the permit documents for review.
Additions and whole-home remodels that read as original to the house, with the drawings the City of Gig Harbor or Pierce County needs to approve them.
Land within 200 feet of the shoreline falls under a Shoreline Master Program. We check those rules before the first sketch, so the design fits them rather than being reworked at review.
Gig Harbor projects are permitted by the City or by Pierce County, depending on the address. We prepare the submittal set for the right office and stay with the project through review.
Gig Harbor's 2025 rules allow up to two accessory dwelling units on qualifying lots. We design ADUs that fit the lot, the main house and the code.
Every Gig Harbor project starts with the site and the jurisdiction: which office reviews it, what the lot allows, and what you want the finished home to do for you. From there we take the design from concept through permit documents and construction support, with interior design in the same studio if you want it.
Looking for an architect near you? Our studio is at 18820 Front St NE, Suite 210, Poulsbo, WA 98370 (get directions), open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Besides Gig Harbor we also serve Kitsap County, including Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Bremerton and Port Orchard.
Every Gig Harbor project follows the same five-phase process, adapted to the office that reviews it: the City of Gig Harbor inside city limits, Pierce County outside them.
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 reviewer asks a question about your submittal.
Our five phases:
Gig Harbor is an incorporated city in Pierce County. Projects inside city limits are reviewed and permitted by the City of Gig Harbor’s own planning and building staff.
Many Gig Harbor addresses on the peninsula are outside city limits, in unincorporated Pierce County. Those projects are reviewed by Pierce County Planning and Public Works instead.
Rules the City adopted in May 2025 allow up to two ADUs per home on lots that meet the zone’s minimum lot size, each up to 1,200 square feet not counting garage space, with off-street parking for each (Gig Harbor Now).
The City’s Shoreline Master Program covers land within 200 feet of the marine high water mark, plus associated wetlands. Work there must meet it even when no shoreline permit is needed (City of Gig Harbor).
Real Estate by TLC
2026 Best of Kitsap: Best Architect in North, Central and South Kitsap, and Best Interior Designer in North and South Kitsap. Best of West Sound 2024 for Architect and Interior Design.
Principal Architect Jay Volz and interior designer Michele Doyle bring more than four decades of combined experience to every home and commercial project.
We work from Front Street in Poulsbo, across Kitsap County and the rest of Washington — on the lots, codes and conditions we know well.
One team from the first sketch through 3D modeling, construction documents, permitting and construction support — for residential and commercial projects alike.
Straight answers about working with an architect in Gig Harbor. Anything else? Call 360-602-2965.
Yes. Bluefoot Architecture & Design designs custom homes, additions and remodels, waterfront homes and ADUs for Gig Harbor clients from our studio in Poulsbo, and we prepare the permit documents the City of Gig Harbor or Pierce County reviews. We also serve Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo, Silverdale and the rest of Kitsap County.
Bluefoot’s studio is at 18820 Front St NE, Suite 210, Poulsbo, WA 98370, open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, and Gig Harbor is part of the area we serve. Outside Kitsap County the first consultation is usually by video call, so you can talk through the project and the property before anything is drawn.
If the property is inside Gig Harbor city limits, the City of Gig Harbor reviews it. A Gig Harbor mailing address outside city limits is in unincorporated Pierce County, so Pierce County Planning and Public Works reviews it instead. We confirm the jurisdiction before design starts.
Not by law: Washington’s RCW 18.08.410(5) lets anyone design a residential building of up to four dwelling units. The reviewing office still needs a complete, code-compliant submittal set, stamped engineering where the design needs it, and shoreline or critical-area approvals, and that is where an architect earns their place. Our guide Do I need an architect for a home addition in Washington? explains the rule.
In most residential zones, yes. Rules the City adopted in May 2025 allow up to two ADUs per home on lots that meet the zone’s minimum lot size, each up to 1,200 square feet not counting garage space, with an off-street parking space for each. Outside city limits, Pierce County’s own ADU rules apply. See our ADU design services.
Yes. Interior designer Michele Doyle and her team work alongside our architects, so finishes, lighting and built-ins are planned with the structure. See our interior design services.
Call 360-602-2965 or send your project details through our contact form. Tell us the address and what you want to build, and we will tell you which rules apply and how we would approach the design.
