The Robichaux Project - Beauty with a View

A1DesignBuild is a designer and builder of homes in Bellingham and Whatcom County, Washington. We specialize in everything from home remodels to complete high-performance home builds, and our over 70 years of providing excellent service to the community assures that your home project gets done right - each and every time.

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When Katherine and Paul Robichaux decided to remodel their bathroom into a space that reflected the rest of the house and the beautiful views that surround it, they decided that A1DesignBuild was the perfect choice to make it happen. The story about how they arrived in Bellingham in 2023 and navigated the frothy housing market follows is all here, as well as what to look for in a design and build team - especially when trust is the cornerstone of any good project.

How the Two Arrived in Bellingham

Katherine Robichaux: So my husband went to Western over 30 years ago, and we lived down in Kirkland for a long time. We were in our house down there for 20+ years, and when we retired we needed to figure out, do we stay in this house we've been in forever, or do we make a move?

So first we looked at Bend, Oregon. I was pretty high on Bend because of the lifestyle, and after a couple of trips down there, we decided it was too flat and not enough water around for us. So Paul had always wanted to come up here and live. And we had been up here a bunch of times, I'm like, well, maybe it would work. But to be honest, the housing market wasn't great. This would've been 2023 when the market was really hot and houses were going over asking price. We'd make plans to drive up on a Sunday morning to see an open house, and by the time we got up here the house would already have an offer on it.

So it was December. It was snowing like crazy but we had an un-refundable room at the Chrysalis, so we're like let’s just try to drive up and see what we see. I knew I wanted a view, and we knew this house had potential. The owner was very nice, she had just taken it off the market for Christmas, but she's like, yeah, no problem. You can look at the house. And for me, it ticked a lot of boxes: newer kitchen, covered decks. And when I looked out the window, I knew there was water out there somewhere even though it was cloudy. The neighborhood looked good, and I'm like, oh yeah, this could work.

But because it was snow covered, I had to have one more look. So we came up three weeks later and I'm like, yeah, okay, this is great, let’s do it. But the bathroom, I always knew, had to get gutted. It had a pink tub, it had this terrible shower. It had one of those little vanities that would never work. It was pretty bad.

For me, it was a little bit of a leap of faith moving up here, but now I love it.

Now that I’ve been here for two years, I love Bellingham. First of all, it's progressive, so that works for me in terms of giving back. It's part of why I love A1DesignBuild, because they are so involved in the community.

I also like that Bellingham is sort of low key. Kirkland and Bellevue, they were getting a little pretentious, but here nobody cares if I'm in sweats and yoga pants all day, nobody cares.

Plus the town has got a ton of cool stuff. We love the micro-breweries. We take our dog in the summer everywhere we go, to sit outside and drink. I love that there's snow. I like that it's colder up here. There's just a lot of things that feel good about Bellingham. People are nice. Our neighbors came and said hello. That would've never happened in Kirkland. I drive down where there's construction and I wave to the person with the sign and they wave back. Yeah, it just feels good to be up here.

It's cool too that Fairhaven has a whole different feel than downtown Bellingham. And I like both. It feels unique to me.

How the Robichaux’s Found A1DesignBuild

So I happen to be on a Facebook page with the neighbors, and what I did is reach out and ask, ‘Hey, we want to redo the bathrooms. Does anybody have a company to recommend?’ And I might've said, because I've done so many remodels in Kirkland, that I wanted a locally owned company. I was really looking for someone who would manage the project end to end. And I got two or three names, one of which was A1DesignBuild. And when I went online and read about the work they do, both the houses they build and their community work, I just really liked their concept of being a co-op and it being a small group of people we’d be working with. The whole thing.

Like I said, I've done several different remodels over the years, and knowing everybody was communicating with each other, knowing I could talk to Riley, who could talk to McKai, knowing it would get done, was a feeling I loved. The continuity of communication from the design to the build team, all of it. Accountability, from A to Z.

Their process made it so I was not stressed at all during the whole remodel. That’s pretty amazing.

Some of what I've learned about A1DesignBuild is during the month of June they were donating money to PFLAG for Pride Month. So that opened my eyes to how progressive the company is, which made me very happy. I've also seen the gingerbread house video for HomesNow! These were really strong decision makers for me as well.

The Integration of Design and Build

So during design, it was McKai and Sharon who I collaborated with. We must have spent six months in design, which seemed like a long time, but there were so many details and so many boxes to check. And I also realized by spending all that time upfront, the build just went a lot smoother. You learn about all the subcontractors, you look at all the colors and materials, there’s a ton to do.

I had a couple of things I knew I wanted like a toilet closet with a door because I thought, this is ridiculous. This bathroom is so big. How can there not be a door for the closet? I mean, I just thought that was crazy. And I knew I wanted an open shower because the old shower was just narrow and I couldn't stand it. I also wanted big windows so we could see the amazing view.

So I worked with Sharon and McKai, and then when it moved to the construction phase I worked with Riley. And he was great. I trusted the whole team.

What is trust? It’s about people who say hello to you, look you in the eye. They take care of your house. Bring in your trash when you're out of town, you don't have to worry. So knowing Riley was almost always here, and he would always be here when another vendor came in for the first time, I don't know, it was just very comfortable.

Look, I'll just be honest: If you want to do something cheaper, you may not go with A1DesignBuild. But I wouldn't do it any differently. I think it was worth the cost to get exactly what we wanted. And for me, like I said, it was stress free. And that’s priceless

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