Bellevue: An Architect’s Perspective

Home interior from Bellevue architects
Bellevue architects share the best of the Eastside.

Welcome to Bellevue

No other city demonstrates the dynamic offerings that have come to signify the reputation of Washington State quite like Bellevue. It’s an intersection of the natural beauty of the Northwest environment and the technological ingenuity of its residents. Bellevue’s reputation as an elite community is well earned and we are honored to serve as Bellevue architects.

Bellevue Highlights

  • Top tier school system:  The Bellevue School District is consistently ranked as one of the best in the state. It includes fifteen elementary schools, one Spanish immersion elementary school, one Mandarin dual language elementary school, five middle schools, four high schools and two choice middle/high schools.
  • Bustling hub: Bellevue’s population was estimated to be 145,000 as of April 1, 2019, making it the fifth largest city in Washington. The city is a major hub for commerce and employment, so Bellevue has more jobs, 150,000, than residents.
  • A Best Place to Live: Bellevue is nationally ranked as one of the best places to live, and one of the top five best places to live in Washington State.
  • Ample Recreation: Bellevue is home to well over 100 parks. One of the best features of the city is the easy access to a plethora of fields, trails, forests, ball fields, lakes, and meadows.

Life in Downtown Bellevue

Interior walkway designed by Bellevue architects
Our architects provide custom home design services for the Suncadia region.

Marked by the signature high rise Lincoln Towers, Bellevue residents have convenient access to the bustling commerce district, shopping at Bellevue Square Mall, and an eclectic mix of restaurants and bars. The arts are woven into the cultural fabric with the Northwest Arts Center and the Bellevue Arts Museum easily accessible from downtown. All of this is just minutes away from the signature Downtown Park, where city residents can tap into northwest beauty with ease.

In and Around Bellevue

Bellevue is nestled between the scenic shores of Lake Washington to the west and the smaller Lake Sammamish to the east. Just across the lake from downtown Seattle, Bellevue has easy access to the Pacific Northwest’s largest city via the I-90 bridge. Breathtaking views of Mount Rainier are the norm, and proximity to major roadways make outdoor destination seeking and discovery a common part of the Bellevue resident experience.

Sunset views from a Bellevue custom home.
As architects, we draw inspiration from the natural beauty that dominates the Bellevue community.

Bellevue Neighborhoods Perfect for Custom Homes

Bellevue offers more than just a vibrant downtown area; The surrounding neighborhoods are all exceptional places to live, each with their own unique offerings. Bookended by Bridle Trails to the north and Newport Hills to the south, most neighborhoods have high livability scores and low rates of crime. The Eastgate neighborhood was added as a part of a recent annexation and is considered one of the most family friendly of the suburbs. Meydenbauer is one of the oldest areas of the city and boasts some of the highest property values in the state. Each neighborhood presents opportunities to work with a Bellevue custom home designer to create your perfect home.

Bellevue Architects Provide Home Design Suited to Your Tastes

Bellevue architecture is just as diverse and dynamic as the city itself. The first Bellevue architects relied heavily on streamlined, mid-century modern aesthetics. They designed largely by referencing popular builder spec houses at the time, many of which are forward facing, temporally defined interpretations of prairie-style architecture.

As Bellevue grew and developed into a hub for technology and innovation, home designers felt the freedom to evolve with the shifting demand. Luxury urban living in the downtown area is marked by shimmering towers and modernist styles. Residential architects in surrounding neighborhoods lean into contemporary modern design aesthetics – tasteful and chic.

Custom home designers are always in high demand from residents seeking to establish their presence in these premiere neighborhoods. Bellevue’s luxury architects have made their mark with spectacular homes ranging in style from neo-futurist lakefront mansions, to Spanish villas, to nature-inspired log-cabin style homes.

Featured Project: Wood, Stone, & Water

Interior tresses in Bellevue architecture
This Bellevue home design uses tresses to mimic Pacific Northwest forests.

At Gelotte Hommas Drivdahl Architecture, one of our favorite Bellevue custom projects is our Wood, Stone, and Water home. It lives in its own world, a refuge from the bustle of life and a tribute to natural beauty. The home begins in grandeur. The main living space boasts vaulted ceilings and expansive windows. Structural beams and posts echo the trees outside, drawing the landscape into the architecture. The kitchen and dining room carry the same glass and structural beauty but on a smaller, more familiar scale. The master bedroom grows cozier still with a custom trellis canopy.

Every space in the home—from the main living room to the secluded study—ties directly to the landscape outside. Each room, each window gazes out on a garden. Beams mimic treetops and water features allude to ponds and streams. And, of course, natural light floods the home at every opportunity.

The design is classic, transcending fads with timeless design principles. It’s what seeking art in architecture accomplishes every time.

With three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, Hollywood Hills Retreat makes space for guests and entertaining. The master suite caters to the homeowner’s natural flow of activity as it connects the bedroom, bathroom, closet, laundry room, and mudroom in a seamless, logical path. Hollywood Hills Retreat exists to bring beauty and functionality together, demonstrating that true quality supersedes quantity. This is the art of architecture.

Bellevue Architects for Your Home

As local Bellevue architects, we constantly pursue the art of architecture as the calling for our work.  The constantly evolving community of architecture in Bellevue provides us with an endless opportunity to answer this calling in original and dynamic ways. We delight in the process of merging the preferences and imaginations of our clients with the distinct character of the Bellevue location that they select to build their dream home.

Every project presents a new opportunity to consider more deeply how we merge form with function, and to paint a portrait in architecture of our clients’ unique lifestyles.  Serving that purpose is key to our life’s work and one of our greatest honors.

To learn more about designing your custom home or if we can be of any service, please contact us today.