Welcome to our new website! Same great team, but with a new look and expanded portfolio. Contact us to discuss your project.
From smaller remodels to whole-home renovations, our Seattle design-build remodeling team brings
the same thoughtful design and careful craft to every project. The same team stays alongside you from the first conversation to the final walkthrough.
Our portfolio spans nearly two decades of design-build remodeling across the greater Seattle area. It includes projects of every kind and scale, all shaped by craft, clarity, and care.
Wherever you are in the process and whatever your project’s scale, we’ll meet you there. Bring a vision, a set of plans, or just a list of things that need fixing. From a quick repair to a full renovation, we partner across every kind of project and every kind of client.
Have a vision and want one team to carry it all the way through? Design-build is made for that.
Our designers, project managers, and carpenters work together from day one. They bring construction thinking into design and pre-construction, so the design stays grounded in your budget and your goals. Our refined, practiced process keeps design, budget, and construction in step from start to finish.
This is your home. Ultimately, we’re here to make sure your vision drives every decision, from the first idea to the final walkthrough.
Bringing plans from your own architect or designer? Then you’ve already made your structural design decisions, and you need a builder who’ll honor them.
We step in as your construction partner. We manage the build, coordinate trade contractors, and stay in close communication with your design team throughout. Sometimes plans are in place, but interior selections, finishes, or space planning still need attention. In that case, our design team can help you complete the picture. The result is a finished space that’s true to the plans you invested in. We build it with the same craft and care we bring to every project.
Caring for a home is an ongoing relationship, not a single project.
From a leaky window or a stuck door to a bathroom refresh or small kitchen update, our Repair & Refresh team can help. They bring the same design thinking and craftsmanship as our larger work, on a scale and timeline that fits your life.
As an architect or designer, you’ve invested in getting the design right. Now you need a build partner who’ll carry it forward with the same care.
We work closely with architects and designers from the earliest phases. Together, we align on scope, budget, and constructability before construction begins. Then we stay in clear communication through every phase of the build. Ultimately, the goal is a finished project that reflects the integrity of the design, and a working relationship worth coming back to.
We began as a family lumber business in the 1940s, inspired by Lake Crescent and shaped by the craft traditions of the Pacific Northwest.
Three generations later, we continue that legacy as a collaborative team of designers and builders. We approach every project with humility, craftsmanship, and a deep sense of place.
The difference is sequence and accountability. In the traditional model, you hold a series of separate contracts. There’s an architect for the design and a structural engineer for the engineering. Often there’s also an interior designer for finishes and selections. Once the design is complete, you take it to market to get pricing from general contractors. That coordination is real work. Either you take it on yourself, or you pay your architect to manage it on your behalf.
Design-build, on the other hand, consolidates that. Of course, you still sign a design agreement and later a construction agreement. However, the same team carries through both. As a result, one group is accountable from the first sketch to move-in.
To be clear, both models produce excellent homes and commercial spaces, and we work in both.
Design-build tends to fit people who want design and budget clarity early. It also suits people who would rather have one accountable partner than coordinate a design team and then choose a builder. Our designers, project managers, and carpenters are at the table from day one. That way, construction realities shape the design before anyone locks in decisions. In short, when scope and budget align during design instead of after it, there’s less to unwind later.
Architect-led projects tend to fit when a specific design vision leads. Examples include a distinctive architectural statement, a difficult site, or a designer you already trust. Some projects call for that kind of dedicated design focus. In those cases, we’re glad to be the builder. As your Plans-in-Hand construction partner, we join early enough to pressure-test constructability and cost while the drawings are still flexible.
In the end, the honest answer is that it depends on where you’re starting. So if you have an architect or plans in hand, bring them to us. After all, we partner with design teams regularly and would be glad to be your builder. Starting from scratch and want one team accountable from design through move-in? Then design-build remodeling is often the more direct path for Seattle homeowners.
Here’s where construction costs generally land in 2026:
Design and pre-construction typically add 5% to 15%, and sales tax is additional.
Overall, Seattle runs well above the national average, for a few reasons. Skilled trades and labor are in short supply across King County, and the cost of living here is high. In addition, much of our housing stock is old enough that current code requirements add real scope to a renovation. We’ll develop a realistic number for your project during Discovery. It will be grounded in your actual house rather than an average, well before you commit to construction. For more detail, see our Seattle remodel cost guide for ranges by project type and how to build an all-in budget.
The range is wide. For example, a bathroom remodel typically runs 5 to 8 months from first conversation to completion, and a kitchen 6 to 10. Meanwhile, a full-scale renovation in Seattle runs 12 to 24 months from first conversation to move-in.
Construction is usually the longest single phase. Still, planning and permitting take up more of the calendar than most people expect. Here’s roughly how it breaks down:
Design and pre-construction: typically 5 to 6 months, and 3 to 8 months from smaller to larger projects.
Discovery, Design, and Pre-Construction: programming, schematic design, material selections, budgeting, and permitting. In practice, these phases overlap rather than running end to end. Because we’re a design-build firm, budgeting advances alongside design, and permitting runs concurrent with planning.
A note on permitting. It’s the least predictable part of the schedule, and it depends heavily on where you’re building. Review times at Seattle SDCI shift with permit type and department workload. The same holds in King County and cities like Kirkland, Shoreline, and Edmonds, each with its own process and schedule. Similarly, projects in landmark districts or requiring land use review take longer anywhere. For that reason, we submit as early as the drawings allow and keep design moving while we wait.
Construction: 3 to 12 months, depending on scope. For instance, a single bathroom can be done in about three months. By comparison, a major whole-home remodel typically runs seven to twelve months.
A full-scale renovation sits at the upper end of every range. Real projects also include time between phases for decisions, contracts, and selections. That’s how a 12 to 24 month total comes together. Either way, we’ll map out a realistic schedule for your specific project in our first conversations, before you commit to anything.
Yes. Our Repair & Refresh team handles small projects across the greater Seattle area. Think a stuck door, dry rot on a deck, or a bathroom refresh. The team also offers Annual Home Services for ongoing upkeep. Our design-build remodeling team leads full-scale renovations and additions in Seattle. Same company, same licensed crews, same standards. Whatever the scale, the design thinking and craftsmanship carry through.
So if you’re wondering whether your project is too small to ask about, it isn’t. Reach out and we’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit.
We’re based in North Seattle and serve all of Seattle, plus much of the surrounding area and the Eastside.
North and Central Seattle, including Phinney Ridge, Green Lake, Wallingford, Ballard, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Madison Park, and Laurelhurst
South and West Seattle, including Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Seward Park, West Seattle, and Three Tree Point in Burien
North of the city, including Shoreline, Edmonds, Lake Forest Park, and Kenmore
The Eastside, including Kirkland, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Medina, and Clyde Hill
Don’t see your area? Ask. In fact, we regularly take on projects just outside these boundaries, and we’ll tell you straight if it’s not a good fit.
Yes. Crescent Builds is licensed, bonded, and insured in Washington State, contractor license CRESCB*863BZ. We carry general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage for our crews. We’re also happy to provide a certificate of insurance on request.
Likewise, the same standard applies to every trade partner we bring onto your project. Our subcontractors are licensed, bonded, and insured in Washington State. Each one works under a signed trade agreement with us. That isn’t universal in this industry, and it matters. Above all, it keeps responsibility for the work clearly with us, rather than scattered across a job site.
Finally, you can verify our license and standing anytime through the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries contractor lookup.
