Dan Nelson, Designs Northwest Architects

It was a great experience to work with Dan and his team from designing to completing construction of our house at Camano Island. We were very impressed with Dan's design ability and style, particularly his real-time drawings to reflect our different ideas. His team made the whole process less difficult as we were building our house remotely. Highly Recommended.

My husband and I owned a very small cabin on Camano Island for 20 years, dreaming of the day when we could tear it down and build a new, functional and beautiful home. During those years we watched a number of “Dan Nelson” homes be built, always gorgeous, architecturally interesting, high quality and perfectly suited to the property. There was no doubt who we would use when we decided we were ready for the project. A few years ago we finally began designing a new home from scratch. From the moment Dan unfurled his infamous roll of tissue paper and uncapped his preferred sharpie pen, he began designing a stunning home as we relayed what we needed this house to be, how it needed to function. That Dan is a gifted, deeply accomplished architect is undisputed. Just look at his work, talk to people who have worked with him. It speaks for itself. It’s in a league of its own. The trait that sets Dan apart is he brings an extraordinary calmness to every situation. A slight smile, and an assurance there’s a design solution at hand. There’s a character in the Twilight Saga (we had girls, I had to read along!), James. James’ vampire superpower was his ability to calm the most fraught, sometimes dangerous situations. His mere presence exuded de escalation, a sense of peace. I’m not saying Dan is a vampire. But people who have this power derive it from an assurance they have the skills to navigate, mitigate and evolve situations because they’re gifted, talented and have the breadth of experience affording them this confidence. All this to say, you cannot find a better architect. And Dan designed a house we love. The bonus was working with a calming presence, from literally tissue paper to the home we have today. I hope you get a chance to mine his vision for your own project.

Finding a collaborative and fun-to-work-with architectural firm is an interior designer's dream, and Dan and his team at Designs Northwest Architects are both. The firm's projects are thoughtfully designed to flow with their varied natural settings, resulting in homes that have a strong sense of place and accentuate the surrounding natural beauty. When it comes to fine-tuning the interiors, Designs Northwest's team is collaborative and supportive, allowing the interior design to enhance the original architectural vision. In addition to great architecture, the firm works with some of the best contractors in the area, ensuring the final product is top notch. I would recommend Designs Northwest Architects to anyone interested in a creative and thoughtfully designed home.

What a great experience working with Dan and Matt! We knew from the beginning that finding the right architect who understands our vision was the key to building our dream home. We were after a particular style and started by asking if Dan knew our favorite architect from Japan who is also internationally recognized on our first meeting. Of course, he did and told us the Japanese architect was also one of his favorites! Dan started sketching his idea on paper and we already fell in love with his plan right there. He had a great understanding of our taste, and infused with his own wisdom and style to create our dream home. DAmazing! Once the frame work of design was done, Matt took over and helped us in details to make every part of this house work with our life style. We wanted this house to be not just beautiful, but also very practical for our every day life. There was one area of the plan that we felt that it needed to be modified somehow, but were not sure how to achieve that in specific. Matt listened to us and brought in an idea from other project he worked in the past. We didn’t even think that it was possible to do but apparently it was! Now this portion of the house became every visitors favorite where the most incredible and impressive - absolutely “Wow!” spot and our favorite. This house turned out to be a one of a kind work of Art and it really represents who we are. More importantly this house is also incredibly practical and gives us a big sense of peace and joy wherever in the house we are. All of our guests gave us the complement by saying “what a beautiful and peaceful house”. I’ve enjoyed being a part of this project as an interior designer and very thankful to Dan, Matt and their team for their achievement and commitment to this wonderful place. Dan and Yumi

We purchased our waterfront property and we knew we wanted to build a modern home. The lot was going to be a hard build based on the rocky hillside and how steep the terrain was. That is when we began our search for the style of house we wanted and came upon the Tsunami house that Dan designed in Seattle. We looked up the architect and knew he was meant to design our home. A short time after we met Dan onsite where he began his "Magic". He took out a piece of easel paper and began drawing his vision. Immediately we knew he drew exactly what we were describing. Not very long after we had our first version of our dream house on paper. His team was great to work with during the process and we are so in love with our home. In the summer we are often one of the stopping points for “home tours” and everyone knows the modern house on the lake when we describe it. A dream come true!

As first time custom home owners we didn't know just what to expect with designing a house that existed in imagination only. Dan and his team thru consultation and design realized that dream and did so staying within our budget constraints, resulting in home for us that exactly matches our vision of retirement living.

We first met Dan Nelson of Designs Northwest Architects after touring a house he designed. We loved the house, but it wasn't big enough for our large family. After meeting with several architects, we chose to have Dan design us a home that met our needs. Our first meeting with Dan, he listened to our ideas and sketched a basic house plan. Watching him sketch, as we described our needs, was fascinating and exciting. We are now a week away from moving in and the home is almost exactly what he drew on sketch paper so many months ago. This is a fabulous company to work with! They are responsive, creative, and very knowledgable. I was impressed that their portfolio online includes everything from farmhouses, to very sleek modern structures. Dan has a strong team of architects who work with him. We cannot say enough about our experience with Senior Project Designer Tom Rochon. He took the vision of our initial sessions with Dan and turned it into a reality. My husband and I were very nervous about taking on such a big project. I remember Tom and Dan telling us that we should enjoy the process. I can honestly say that we did. The house turned out better than we imagined. One other thing I found particularly valuable about Designs Northwest is their connections with other professionals in the area. Everyone they suggested, from the builder to the interior designer, was top notch. The photos of the home speak for themselves. A really great experience!

We were first impressed with Dan Nelson and his team at Designs Northwest Architects when we saw other homes he designed on Camano Island. Since we spent many weekends over a number of years on the island at our family’s original cabin, we had some ideas in mind to take advantage of our property’s characteristics. Dan and his team not only created a fabulous and functional design for the home of our dreams but worked with us through various challenges to make it a reality. Dan’s depth of design knowledge, creativity, professionalism and calming demeanor during our project cannot be overstated. We highly recommend Dan to anyone considering a residence that reflects a collaborative process and the design that you will treasure.

Dan Nelson and Designs Northwest are a pillar in our Stanwood/Camano community and beyond. Their forward thinking designs are cutting edge, modern, sophisticated and unique. I highly recommend visiting their new offices for all of your remodel, complete design, and interior design needs.

Dan designed a very rustic-elegant post & beam style home on our ranch. He is an artistically & architecturally brilliant. He has a great sense of the environment, the landscape, and designs houses with a vocabulary that fits the client and the property. From our first meeting his talent was evident—he walked the property from all angles; chatted easily with us about our thoughts, ideas & goals. He drafted a concept sketch at the end of first meeting that we loved—and it is very close to final home he designed. We’ve custom built many homes. This is our favorite one. We love every detail & so does everyone who sees it. He is a gem to work with and highly recommend him.

Outstanding professional with fantastic design ideas ranging from layout to color. I would highly recommend Dan and his team, Designs Northwest, for your project.

We started working with Dan in late 2015 on our Mountain Retreat vacation home. The experience was first class all the way through, Dan and his team were with us from the ground up and there to provide insight and advice while the project was under way. The concept of the project was executed perfectly and we couldn't be happier. Thank you Dan and the team at Designs Northwest.