When you founded your firm 20 years ago, what were your goals? How have those evolved over time?
I was quite young when I founded Ripple Design Studio, but our goals and guiding principles haven’t really changed over the years, it has just become easier to articulate them; we want to work with nice people to create beautiful things.
Why is clear communication so important to your company?
Design should be a bespoke reflection of the client’s goals and the site. We’ve found that the way to get to a true understanding of the client and their goals is simply to ask questions, listen carefully, and then probe each question for deeper meaning. This communication teases out the balance between design aspirations and life’s realities and sets the project up for success as we move forward.
How has your extensive education and focus on LEED Accreditation shifted your perspective toward living in harmony with the environment?
Living lightly with the environment and appreciating its natural beauty has always been important to me. In the early days of our business, we wanted sustainability to be at the forefront of our design work. Over time, we’ve realized that sustainable design is more successful when it is quietly folded into a beautiful home, but still very much a part of the ethos.
What does design collaboration look like for your team?
A truly rich design project comes from the input of multiple parties working in harmony toward a common goal. We’ve been blessed to work with some of the Pacific Northwest’s best design and construction talent, and we preach a “best idea wins” model that encourages all of these exceptional team members to contribute, seeking out the best solution at each level.
Your work is described as “elegant yet approachable, lovely yet livable, and innovative yet timeless.” Tell us about how these principles guide your work.
Beauty lives in simplicity, and we strive to discover it. Often, it’s a journey to tease it out but we know we’ve arrived at the correct solution when we ask ourselves, “Why didn’t we draw it like this in the first place?” The result is a well-edited composition that has everything needed and nothing more.
What steps are taken to create a seamless experience?
Deciding to design or re-design a home is a huge undertaking for any homeowner; we understand this enormity and try and make it manageable and fun. Strong project management from design inception, clear communication along the way, and a good sense of humor have served our clients and our projects well.
How did living in Europe shape your designs?
My first architecture jobs were drafting with an ink pen on vellum in London and Paris; it was fantastic! It drew my attention to the beauty at every scale from broad composition to fine detail that Europeans impart into their architecture. We endeavor to include this same level of richness at every scale of our practice.
You’ve worked on a variety of residential spaces, what speaks to you about these projects?
Opportunity and challenge! We love a challenge and consistently invite clients to push us to achieve something truly special. The variety of work in our portfolio is simply a reflection of each project’s elegant solutions to their own unique design challenges.
Clients appreciate your problem-solving skills and down-to-earth personality; how do these lend themselves to productive client relationships?
Everything in design comes back to communication and trust. Being approachable and leaving our egos at the door makes it easier to have meaningful discussions with clients. Creative problem-solving builds client confidence in our capabilities. Once you have both elements in place, the design and construction process become a pleasure to realize.
