Risa Boyer Architecture

We just moved into the house Risa designed for us. Every aspect of the design process and build, which Risa was very involved in, was a joy and we LOVE the house. Our original plan (as of 2018) was to build our ultimate dream house in Portland, where we were living at the time. I spoke with 7 architects specializing in Northwest Contemporary architecture. Risa was the last one, recommended by a local builder whose work we really like. Not only did we instantly click with Risa, but she was actually excited about the challenge of designing the kind of house we wanted that could be built within our budget. And when she took us to see a gorgeous house she had designed and the client/homeowner came running up to her with arms outstretched to greet her, we knew we were in good hands. Luckily for us, when we came to the conclusion that we would really rather build and live in Bellingham WA, Risa was 100% on board. Once we selected the property, she came up with us, walked the land, did research into geology, permits, etc. and created a house design for the site that NAILED what we wanted with very little tweaking. The plans she produced for us were exceptionally detailed and tight, based on the feedback we received from our builder as well as multiple participants in the process. Throughout the permitting and building process she came up regularly and went out of her way to be helpful. I just wish I could give her more than five stars!

Risa is the consummate architect...from her concepts/drawings/materials to her unflappable business style; she is a joy to work with. The homes we viewed prior were immaculately detailed and had such clean lines! She is direct and to the point and well connected in her industry. We break ground soon and can hardly wait to be walking our new home's construction site! PS Completion AUG 2020 ... this site does not enable you to choose past 2019...

We reached out to Risa after we saw her designs on Houzz. We love/loved her aesthetic and the details in her design work. We were embarking on a major kitchen and basement remodel of our 1929 cape cod and felt confident she could realize the potential of our modest space. She did! From the first moment I spoke with her I could tell she would be great. Risa was an amazing mix of being efficient with her design process, while also respectful of our ideas, finding ways to experiment and fit them in. We had a vision for removing and bumping structural walls and she effortlessly managed all the communication between our engineer, our contractor, and the city. Risa and her team are warm, funny, detail oriented and were extremely patient when decision fatigue really started to kick in. They really walked us through it. The entire process was so smooth and we love love love the final product! If we had to do it again we would definitely use Risa. Can't recommend her highly enough!

I highly recommend Risa Boyer Architecture. Risa was highly professional, organized, talented, and experienced. I appreciated Risa's direct and timely communication with me and the contractor. She followed our project from start to finish and treated us like a priority. She helped keep the project on task on on budget. My kitchen is exactly what I wanted and I attribute that success to Risa and my great contractor Petrina construction. They were a great team. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

I had a vision for my 1954 mid-century modern home. The vision required moving the kitchen from the back of the house to the front, turning a standard fireplace into a see-through gas fireplace and removing part of a brick wall to provide sight lines from my newly located kitchen to the park across the street. I spoke to many architects who told me I was crazy….but then I found Risa! Not only did Risa see and share my vision she also worked with me to accomplish my vision within my budget. Risa was patient and thorough, working hand in hand with our contractor to ensure incredible workmanship. I would recommend Risa to anyone without hesitation. Thanks again, Risa!

Design for kitchen remodel, commercial kitchen into a residential kitchen. Risa was great to work with. She helped us to stay on budget and had lots of great ideas for our crazy requests (like my used plastic baggie drying rack request). She provided us with several different design options at the beginning and worked with us to figure out what configuration would give us what we wanted given constraints of the space (e.g., windows can't move, long rectangular shape of the room). She and her assistant were both very professional but fun to work with at the same time. Risa always stuck to the schedule and worked well with the contractor as well. Her ideas and suggestions only augmented and improved our initial ideas and hopes for the space. It is now our favorite room in the house and is a conversation starter every time someone comes to our house for the first time.

We have known Risa for over 8 years now and she did an amazing job with the design of our first house. When we bought our new house and it needed a complete remodel, the only person we wanted to design it was Risa. The only problem is that she had moved from Los Angeles to Portland. We called her up and asked if she would be willing to come to LA to work on the project and she said yes! Not only does Risa have an amazing talent but she is also the nicest and easiest person to work with. Everything with both of our projects went smoothly and she dealt with any problems that came up (not many) in a calm and professional manner. We highly recommend Risa! Erin & Sergio

We worked with Risa on a remodel of our mid century modern post and beam home. We remodeled the kitchen, living room, dining room and added a covered patio. We added architectural features such as a masonry fireplace (inside and out) an 8 foot long floating divider screen, and terrazzo floors throughout. She was very easy to work with, came up with good creative ideas and was also good sounding board for the ideas we came up with as homeowners. Due to the contractor, the remodel became more challenging than expected and Risa was able to help during a very difficult process. We'd happily work with Risa again for any future projects.

Risa designed an addition to our home, and helped with the details of an exterior remodel. Through various reiterations and scope fluctuations, Risa was responsive, flexible, creative and professional. We valued her knowledge and experience throughout. Risa is fun, friendly and positive, a great partner in any project. We highly recommend her.

Risa was wonderful! She listened to our ideas and put together a great plan for the remodel of our house. She has great taste and helped us find different components to the design, matching details in color, materials and integral design. She was always on our side and flowed with the changes that came up. She worked closely with us, and our contractor, to help make the whole process as easy as we could expect. She followed through on all requests from us with rapid expediency and was always calm throughout our entire working relationship. We are very happy with the completion of our entire remodel. We heartily recommend Risa. We would hire her again without hesitation.

Risa is ultimate professional, an amazing architect who listened to our needs and then created inspired solutions... It was a very successful collaboration.

I have now worked with Risa Boyer Architecture twice and with excellent results each time. Risa is a great listener, taking into account all of our programmatic requirements, aesthetic preferences - materials, etc as well as budgets. The projects went smoothly from design through construction without a single hiccup. She prepares beautiful drawings and materials samples / boards which are very easy to read and understand. The process was collaborative, fun and quite easy - especially compared to others I have worked with. Our spaces are a delight to be in and without sounding silly they make me happy! I have recommended Risa Boyer Architecture to our friends and I am sure they will reiterate the positive experiences and awesome results.