Blog

Custom Passive Homes, Commercial, Community, Passive House, Residential 05.12.26

An Interview With Tessa Bradley and Roussa Cassel: Form & Function, Good Community Design, and Women In Architecture

Commercial, Design, Community, Remodel 04.01.26

Community-Building Through Architecture: Franklin Street Harm Reduction

Community-Building Through Architecture: Franklin Street Harm Reduction [TOPIC:...

Home Building, Custom Homes, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Traditional , Residential 03.01.26

How To Choose A Contractor

How To Choose A Contractor [TOPIC: Choosing A Contractor | General Co...

Residential , Passive House, Community, Design, News 02.01.26

Southwest Washington AIA Awards: Dogwood House and Billy Frank Jr. Leadership Institute

Design, Building Materials, Community, Residential , Prefab Home, Passive House, Home Building 12.01.25

The Manzanita House - Passive House Network California Rebuilds Competition

The Manzanita House [TOPIC: California Rebuilds Design Competition | Award-winning passive house design | W...

News, Home Building, Design, Community, Passive House, Residential 10.15.25

New Apartments in Tumwater, WA: Modern, Healthy + Efficient

New Apartments in Tumwater, WA: Modern, Healthy + Efficient [TOPICS: Pa...

News, Commercial, Design, Community 10.01.25

Commercial Architecture Spotlight: The Billy Frank Jr. Leadership Institute

05.13.25

Milk & Honey Nail Studio - Women Owned Business Feature

Meet one of our favorite women business owners, Karen Gonzalez of @milkhoneynailstudio Recently, we talked about ho...

Design, Custom Homes, Commercial, Custom Traditional , Custom Passive Homes, Home Building 02.01.25

Steps To Building A House: Meet All Your Home-Building Specialists

Introduction At Artisans Group, we work with an array of specialists who are involve...

Community, Design, News 01.01.25

How Architecture Has Changed: Industry Trends In 2025

Introduction Recently we caught up with Savannah Blair and Lindsey Barronian...

12.01.24

House Addition Plans In The Real World: Getting Your Pinterest Ideas Off Pinterest

House Addition Plans In The Real World: Getting Your Pinterest Ideas Off Pinterest [TOPIC: Turning insp...

11.01.24

Let Your Mind Be Changed: A Passive House Story in Olympia

Let Your Mind Be Changed: A Passive House Story in Olympia [TOPIC: Passive House living | Passive House comfor...

Community, Design, Commercial 10.01.24

Our Favorite Food Spaces | These Tenant Improvement Superstars Have It All

Our Favorite Food Spaces These Tenant Improvement Superstars Have It All

Remodel, Home Building, Custom Homes, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Traditional , Addition, Residential 08.01.24

Interiors Matter: Why You Should Hire An Interior Designer

Interiors Matter: Why You Should Hire An Interior Designer [TOPIC: Hiring an interior designer | Why interiors...

07.25.24

Velvet and Shag- Women Owned Business Feature

We had a chat with the amazing Julie Childers of @velvetandshagshop who sells select vintage rugs from Turkey, Morocco, and Pakistan. We fe...

Passive House, Testimonial, Residential , Custom Homes, Custom Passive Homes, Home Building 07.01.24

What’s It Like To Live In A Passive House?

What It’s Like To Live In A Passive House A Client Reflects On 14 Years In An Artisans Group Custom Hom...

News, Events, Residential , Community 06.04.24

Madison Del Vigo- Women Owned Business Feature

Madison Del Vigo is a shimmering example of a local, successful woman entrepreneur. As a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic...

Home Building, Custom Homes, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Traditional , Design, Building Materials, Passive House, Prefab Home 06.01.24

5 New (And Ancient) Sustainable Building Materials We Love

Image by New Frameworks, a prefabricated straw bale panel company

Residential , Passive House, Design, Remodel, Custom Homes, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Traditional 05.01.24

What Does An Architect Do On A Project?

What Does An Architect Do On A Project? [TOPIC: What an architect does | Project design & planning | Client-ar...

04.19.24

How We’re Doing Building Development As Architects

How We’re Doing Building Development As Architects [TOPIC: Architect-led development | Small-scale mixed-use p...

News, Community 04.11.24

Linger Boutique - Women Owned Business Feature

Shauna Stewart of @linger_boutique in Olympia is a fierce and focused local entrepreneur who has made women’s experiences and their sexual wellness...

Design, History, Community 03.01.24

How Coast Salish Indigenous Architecture Informs Our Work

How Coast Salish Indigenous Architecture Informs Our Work [TOPIC: Coast Salish architecture influence | Indige...

Design, Testimonial, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Homes, Custom Traditional , Residential , Remodel 02.01.24

How To Work With An Architect: 4 Things That Will Make Your House Design Project Much Easier

How To Work With An Architect: 4 Things That Will Make Your House Design Project Much Easier [TOPIC: Working w...

Design, Remodel, Custom Homes, Custom Traditional , Residential 01.01.24

2024 Architecture And Interior Design Trends — And What We Think Of Them

2024 Architecture And Interior Design Trends — And What We Think Of Them [TOPIC: Architecture trends 2025 | Su...

Commercial, Design 12.01.23

New Commercial Buildings: Why We Love Commercial Design And How We Approach It

New Commercial Buildings: Why We Love Commercial Design And How We Approach It [TOPIC: New commercial building...

Design, Residential , Custom Homes, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Traditional 11.01.23

Do Architecture Firms Do Interior Design?

Do Architecture Firms Do Interior Design? [TOPIC: Do architecture firms do interior design | Architect vs inte...

Custom Homes, Home Building, Remodel, Custom Traditional , Design 08.01.23

A Better Way To Design A Vacation Home

A Better Way To Design A Vacation Home [TOPIC: Designing a vacation home | Custom home design | Comfort & flex...

Passive House, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Homes 07.01.23

Are Passive Houses Worth It?

Are Passive Houses Worth It? Check Out These Benefits And See What You Think

Passive House, Design, Home Building, Building Materials 06.01.23

Sustainable Architecture is the Future

Sustainable Architecture is the Future Healthy buildings can create a path to comfortable, carbon-ne...

Commercial, Design, Remodel, Building Materials, Community 05.01.23

How To Make Your Shop Or Restaurant More Sustainable

How To Make Your Shop Or Restaurant More Sustainable Tenant Remodels That Are Better For The Planet....

04.20.23

Demystifying the Land Feasibility Study

Demystifying the Land Feasibility Study If you’re buying land for a custom home, you’ll need one.

Residential , Prefab Home, Passive House, Design, Custom Passive Homes, Custom Homes 04.13.23

The Benefits of Building a Custom Home

The Benefits of Building a Custom Home Well, OK. There’s really just one. [TOPIC: Benefits...

02.01.23

Hope Is Not A Strategy: Real Talk Before Your Home Design Project Begins

Custom Homes 01.13.23

What To Ask An Architect About Your Custom Home Design

What To Ask An Architect About Your Custom Home Design 10 questions to help you make the right choic...

Prefab Home 12.09.22

Passive Prefab Design

We Don’t Build Prefabs But We Design the Hell Out of Them [TOPIC: Passive‑Prefab design | P...

03.17.20

Covid-19 Update

Community & Health Matters Covid-19 Well - these are definitely interesting times and we hope that you and your lov...

09.23.19

2019 Edg3 FUND

2019 Edg3 FUND Voting is open! And because every vote counts, we need your help. Please vote for our proposal to make sustainabl...

News, Passive House 09.20.19

2019 Tour of Homes

2019 Tour of Homes It's time for the 2019

Remodel, News, Events, Design, Residential 09.14.18

2018 Tour of Homes

2018 Tour of Homes Open House

News, Events, Custom Passive Homes, Residential , Prefab Home 05.14.18

2018 South Sound Green Tour

South Sound Green Tour On Saturday, May 19th, we are e...

04.30.18

Dream Custom Kitchen

Your Dream Custom Kitchen If you are planning on a new custom kitchen or kitchen remodel project, no matter which way you look at it, it...

News, Custom Passive Homes, Commercial, Events, Residential , Passive House 03.21.18

Artisans Group News - Spring 2018

Artisans Group News Happy Spring everyone! There’s a lot going on here at Artisans Group, so let’s get right to...

News, Commercial 02.27.18

West Seattle Café - Olympia Coffee & Artisans Group

Building Materials, Residential , Design 01.29.18

Interior Design Trends for 2018

Interior Design Trends for 2018 Each year industry leaders weigh in on what they believe will be the biggest trends to sweep the world of...

Passive House 01.16.18

Healthy Indoor Air

Healthy Indoor Air Quality - It Matters - We ten...

News, Passive House 12.18.17

Passive House News - December 2017

Passive House News - December Edition One of the great things about working in a building science that’s transforming...

News, Prefab Home, Residential 12.04.17

Passive House Prefab Homes - An Exciting Collaboration

A Passive House Prefab Home? *Update - Visit Our New

Events, Home Building, Community, Passive House, Residential 11.22.17

Passive House Open House

Passive House Open House A giant thank you to our clients, Jeff and Sue! On Nove...

11.10.17

Artisans Group News - October, 2017 - Part 2

Artisans Group News PART 2! As mentioned in our last post, October was such a busy month that we had to break our news post int...

News 10.25.17

Artisans Group News - October, 2017 - Part 1

October Artisans Group News Wow, what a busy past month! We rolled out our new website (thank you,

News 09.29.17

Welcome to Our New Website

Welcome to Our New Website! Here we are, the end of September, 2017, and...welcome to our new website! We’r...

09.12.17

New Pacific Northwest Certified Passive House

New Pacific Northwest Certified Passive House Delphi Passive House

Custom Passive Homes 08.28.17

Passive House News - August 2017

What’s Up - Passive House News - August 2017 Hello! It’s time for another update of Passive House News from your...

Custom Passive Homes 08.14.17

Cool Home - Hot Days

“My house is a refuge on a hot day—eight to twelve degrees cooler on a ninety degree day, twenty degrees cooler if it hits one h...

News 07.24.17

2017 Tour of Homes

Olympia Master Builders’ 2017 Tour of Homes The Tour of Homes is one of our favorite annual celebrations of re...

Commercial 07.10.17

3 Reasons Business Allure Matters

3 Reasons Allure Matters For Your Business 1. Social Media Today, word of mouth is amplified. An Instag...

News, Custom Passive Homes 06.26.17

Passive House Certified Builder

Passive House Builder Certification! Two members of our Design team are now Passive House Certified Builders by the

News, Commercial, Custom Passive Homes 06.05.17

June 2017, Artisans Group News

NEWS TO USE We get so caught up in our excitement that we forget to share sometimes. Design, Architecture, Buildin...

Remodel, Custom Homes, Custom Traditional , Commercial, Design, Residential 05.29.17

3 Benefits of Artisans Group Design+Build

Embarking on a Major Project So you’ve decided to jump into a major home project. Whether it’s a remodel of your existin...

News, Events, Remodel 05.20.17

2017 Remodeling Excellence Awards

2017 Remodeling Excellence Awards The Olympia Master Builders’ 20...

News 05.16.17

Universal Design - Fact or Fiction?

NASA Universal Design - Myth or Reality? The practice of Universal Design is very real. Prominen...

Custom Passive Homes, News 05.05.17

New Passive House

Extra! Extra! New Passive House In The City! A beautiful new Artisans Group Passive House custom home is underway in the Pacific Northwes...

News 04.28.17

April, 2017

An End of April, 2017 As we fully round the corner of spring in the lush Pacific NW, it is busy here at Artisans Group. We’re havin...

Custom Passive Homes 04.21.17

Hot Summer, Passive House Cool

"What a beautiful hot summer day!" and “It feels wonderful...

Home Building 04.15.17

Modern Home Interiors: The Perfect Neutral

Unconstrained by design era elements, the modern home's neutral clean lines leave you free to individualize your home to your heart’s desi...

Custom Passive Homes 04.08.17

Yesterday's Wisdom - Today's Ecological Architecture

Contemp...

Home Building, Custom Passive Homes 03.31.17

Building Your Passive House Dream Home

Designing & Building Your Passive House Dream Home At the Artisans Group, working with you to design and build your beautiful custom home...

Custom Homes, Home Building 03.24.17

Multigenerational Custom Home

Is a multigenerational home right for you? It may be. Family can be a great source of strength and vitality. Family can be ou...

Custom Passive Homes, Home Building 03.17.17

Almost...

It's Getting Close After guiding another custom Passive House from rough idea to reality, it’s incredibly excit...

News 03.10.17

2017 Passive House NW Conference

What: 2017 Passive House NW Conference

News 03.03.17

Artisans Group - Industry Recognized Excellence

Industry Recognized Excellence - Working for You Professional Builder magazine, an industry leading publication “dedicated to se...

Remodel, Design, Addition 02.25.17

Your Home, Improved

Modern Update or Tasteful Addition Whether it’s the architecture, neighborhood, or family history; your home is part of you, and you want...

Design, Passive House, Pocket Home, Residential 02.17.17

A Custom Home, from Design to Build

Design+Build = Your New Home Exactly As You Want It. Just as a kitchen that suits one person does not suit another, neither do entire hom...

Commercial, Community 02.11.17

222 Market - Fantastic Beginnings

Dubbed the “cutest artisanal market you ever did see” by Seattle Refined, Olympia’s highly anticipated

Community 02.03.17

Straight from the Heart, 2017 - Great Cause, Great Time

Last year's Straight from the Heart gala

Building Materials 01.28.17

YAKISUGI – TRADITIONAL JAPANESE CHARRED WOOD

Arigatou gozaimasu, Terunobu Fujimori. &...

Design, Home Building, Passive House 01.20.17

Delphi passive house - Seattle sun sun sun!

Pacific Northwesterners know it, people in lab coats know it, and all those people who moved to California 40 years ago knew it; the kiss of sunlig...

Home Building, Passive House 01.06.17

Madrona Haus, another beautiful custom Passive House on the Puget Sound coming to life!

Madrona Haus, another beautiful, custom Passive House on the Puget Sound coming to life! We always like to share updates on our most intere...

Design, News, Commercial 12.16.16

222 Market a commercial renovation

Notes from the Field- 222 Market, a commercial renovation. During my time as a carpenter with the Artisans Group, I've mostly worked on Passive Hou...

Design, Home Building 12.02.16

Multi-Gen House: Seattle Metro Multi Generation Home

Multi Gen: Designed and built as an enduring family legacy, this incredible home is divided between four soundproofed living units complete w...

Design, News 11.11.16

You are invited to the 222 Market Grand Opening!

You are invited to the 222 Market Grand Opening! Mark your calendars, invite your friends, we are thrilled to announ...

Design, News, Passive House 10.21.16

Featured in PROFESSIONAL BUILDER - Prairie Passive Designed For Aging In Place

Our Prairie Passive home, which was designed for aging in place, is now featured on Professional Builder including an interview wi...

Remodel 10.20.16

Featured in professional builder - Prairie Passive

Our Prairie Passive home, which was designed for aging in place, is now featured on Professional Builder including an interview with Tessa Smith! R...

Pocket Home 10.07.16

Ballard Haus Pocket Home

Behold, our Ballard Haus Pocket Home! We are so close to completing this project and are thrilled to share it with you. This is one of...

Passive House 09.23.16

Passive Home For Sale on Olympia's Eastside

We are pleased to announce that we have completed one of our projects in Olympia and now have this beautiful Passive Home for sale! After months of...

Design, Remodel 08.27.16

Chefs on Tour with Dillinger's!

Last weekend was the beginning of the Tour of Homes, the free yearly event we've been telling you about for weeks now!. This year it all started of...

08.13.16

Artisans Group in the Tour of Homes: August 20-21

Next weekend, August 20-21, marks our participation in the free annual Tour of Homes, where th...

News 07.22.16

222 Market - Coming September 2016!

The past two years we've seen our commercial work greatly expand, and it continues to do so this summer with our masterminds teaming up with the fi...

News, Passive House 07.08.16

North American Passive House Network in NYC!

Architect Tessa Smith and interior designer Roussa Cassel recently returned from the North American Passive House Network (NAPHN) Annual Conf...

Design, Home Building 06.24.16

Dreamy Light & Custom Design

Every design of ours tells a story, a piece of the narrative of the people living inside and what is important to them. And because of tha...

Home Building 06.16.16

The Coolest Awnings in Puget Sound!

The Jewel Box is getting some earrings. The awnings were placed yesterday and look sharp as all get-out. The awning over the entryway to the house...

News 05.20.16

2016 Top Places to Work!

We are pleased to announce that Business Examiner named Artisans Group in their line-up of 2016...

Passive House, Testimonial 05.06.16

Passive House Interview: The Nixon Home

The Nixon Home, located in the Ken Lake area, is a gem that blends in well with the surrounding community. Its wonderful owners wanted to have all...

Design 05.05.16

Leap Frog Images

Leap Frog Images Designed for an active family, this 2900 sf code built home is about entertaining and having a little breathing room. Grea...

Design, Home Building, Passive House 04.22.16

Evolution of a Passive House

At the beginning of this year, we reported on the evolution of the Passive House project we call the Vogel House. At that time, the framin...

News, Passive House 04.14.16

South Sound Green Tour Success

Despite driving rains and aggressive squalls on Saturday, the turn out for the tour was outstanding, and even better on Sunday with the beautiful s...

Design, Home Building, News, Passive House, Testimonial 04.08.16

Olympia, We Love You

We love our hometown of Olympia, Washington. It’s beautiful, by the water, has great history and is home to The Evergreen State College, which many...

News, Passive House 03.25.16

Passive House Northwest & 'Ménage à Trois'

...

News, Passive House 03.11.16

Passive House Design Lecture

Design, News 02.06.16

We're Hiring: Seattle Site Supervisor!

The Artisans Group is now hiring a Seattle Site Supervisor as we expand out of Olympia and into the Seattle market! As a Passive House Design Build f...

Passive House 01.30.16

Ten Myths of Passive House

We recently ran across this article on

Home Building 01.22.16

Seattle Passive House

Just a short ferry ride north of Seattle is the beautiful, historic town of Port Townsend. There we recently completed Heron Haus, a stunning

Home Building 01.16.16

Vogel Haus: A Certified Passive House in the Making

We added all of our Olympia and Seattle Passive Ho...

Home Building, News, Testimonial 01.08.16

Olympia's Passive House and Remodeling Specialists

As our Passive House portfolio continues to grow in the Seattle market, our roots deepen as Olympia's Passive House and remodeling specialis...

Design, News 11.28.15

Seattle Neighborhoods - Putting Passive House in Context

There is a trend

News, Passive House 11.12.15

Energy Efficient Homes in Seattle and Olympia

In the exciting regional market of energy efficient architecture, staying on top of Passive Homes and energy efficient homes in Seattle and Olympia is...

Design, News 10.30.15

Island Refuge Featured by Pental

Our interior design of the Passive House we call Island Refuge was

Passive House 10.23.15

Passive House: Lessons Learned

As with any project, unforseen circumstances can be a game changer, and we are all subject to the effects of Mother Nature. Being based in the Paci...

Passive House 10.17.15

The House That Could Save the World

If the Pacific Northwest is a hotbed of the passive house movement, then Portland, with its temperate climate and progressive mindset, is North Ame...

Design, News 10.09.15

2015 OMB Tour of Homes 'Best of Show'

Design, Home Building, Passive House 09.25.15

Cedar Haus- A Passive House Prodigy

Cedar Haus- A Passive House Prodigy is a testament to the beauty that can be achieved with Passive House or high performing energy efficient home. "I...

Design, News 09.18.15

Award Winning Passive House on San Juan Islands

We are proud to report that we now have an award winning Passive House on San Juan...

Home Building 09.11.15

Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired Passive House

Check out our progress on the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Passive House located on Boston Harbor and overlooking the beautiful Puget...

Design, Passive House 09.04.15

BIG House (Hint: its a really big Passive House)

BIG House will be located on Echo Lake in Shoreline and will be a Multi-Generational Passive House. This home was designed for a large extend...

News, Passive House 08.29.15

Now Hiring Carpenters and Job Supervisors in Seattle!

We are now hiring Carpenters and Job Supervisors in Seattle! As our presence as Seattle's premier Passive House Design/Build firm grows, our 2016 b...

News 08.21.15

Recently in the Business Examiner: Olympia firm...

Recently in the Business Examiner: Olympia firm taking advantage of sustainable home trend Pacific Northwest a ‘hotbed’ for passi...

News, Passive House, Prefab Home 08.15.15

Holy hamburger Batman! Artisans Group is featured on the DWELL website!!!

That's right, we are featured on the DWELL website, the holy grail of modern architecture! Our Island Passive House is getting the k...

News 08.14.15

Come visit us this weekend at The Tour of homes!

Come visit us this weekend at the Tour of Homes! We will have our very exciting Passive House, Cedar Haus on the tour,...

News, Passive House 08.07.15

Olympia Master Builders Tour of Homes 2015!

Come see us at Olympia Master Builders Tour of Homes 2015! We will have our very exciting Passive House, Cedar Haus on the tour...

Design, News, Passive House 07.31.15

The Best of the Pacific Northwest: 8 Residential Projects

The Best of the Pacific Northwest: 8 Residential Projects Much to our excitement, a recent Architizer blog mentioned our Island Passive Ho...

Remodel 07.25.15

Artisans Group Remodel!

Artisans Group has been going back to our roots, historically as Olympia's Remodeler we have done some very exciting remodels over the years,...

Design, Passive House 07.18.15

Queen Anne Passive House, Seattle Washington

We have recently gone to structural engineering on a very exciting and dramatic Passive House slated to be built in Queen Anne, Seattle 2016. Our...

Home Building, Passive House 07.10.15

Progress on Prairie Passive, Boston Harbor!

I know, I know..... You are just dying to know what we have been a up to lately! I'm excited to report we have been busy on our spectacular P...

Design, News 07.03.15

Hospitality Design

The Artisans Group has a couple of opportunities on the horizon in the realm of hospitality design (restaurant, hotel, and commercial interior desi...

Design, Passive House 06.05.15

Can your modern Passive House fit into a historic neighborhood?

The Artisans Group is working on a new modern Passive House design to be constructed in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Washington state: Ebey's Re...

Home Building, Passive House 05.29.15

Port Townsend Passive House Takes Shape!

We couldn't be more excited! The Heron Haus, our Port Townsend Passive project is in the framing stage and speeding along towards completion. Much l...

News 05.21.15

Our new look

As our company has grown, new employees have joined us, and with more client meetings happening throughout the day- our small space was no longer meet...

News 04.24.15

Students Design Passive House!

This Wednesday, The Artisans Group hosted 26 Chinook Middle School students enrolled in a Landscape Architecture class. Things started off a...

Testimonial, Passive House 03.13.15

Testimonial and Other Passive House Poetry

We asked our client Don Freas, a poet and sculptor by trade to wax lyrical about living in the Jewel Box, one of our longest lived in Passive House...

Design, Passive House 03.06.15

Hello Boston Harbor Neighborhood!

You have probably been wondering about the scurry of construction around your area of Olympia. What recently was a muddy slope is rapidly...

Home Building, Passive House 02.27.15

Shou Sugi Ban!

News 02.06.15

Meet Our New Seattle Regional Manager Lucas Johnson!

Bio Lucas Johnson has a complex and exciting background ranging from construction management to clean tech venture capital to environment...

News, Passive House 01.23.15

Seattle Green Building Slam Video, Island Passive House!

Seattle Green Building Slam Video, Island Passive House! Check out this video of Architect Tessa Smith presenting the Artisans Group's Island Passive...

News 12.22.14

Our Newest Design Team Member, Roussa Cassel!

We would like to introduce you to a new addition to our design team, Roussa Cassel. Before joining us at Artisan's Group, Roussa has most recently...

News 12.11.14

Tessa Smith is a licensed Architect at last!

After a lot of hard work, studying, exams and support from Artis...

News, Passive House 11.07.14

2014 GREEN BUILDING SLAM IN SEATTLE

What to do after a week slammed with work work, and more work? Come to the 2014 Green Building Slam, where you’re slammed instead with the en...

News 11.01.14

Browtober event a big success at Uncork & Unwind

The Artisans Group was a proud sponsor of Browtober this year,...

Pocket Home, Passive House, News 10.24.14

A Case for Energy Efficient Housing by Sheri Koones

A Case for Energy Efficient Housing S...

Passive House 10.17.14

Building Dry Houses in the Great North-Wet!

In the course of building in northwest Washington for the last 15 years, we at The Artisans Group often come up on the discussion of...

News, Passive House 10.10.14

We won FIVE awards at Olympia Master Builders 2014 Tour of Homes reception!

News 10.03.14

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month!!!

The Artisans Group is supporting Safeplace of Olympia in fulfilling their vision of building a community free of physical, sexual and psychological...

News 09.26.14

Olympia Tour of Homes Reception, Come Join us!!!

Come join us at the awards ceremony and reception, which is open to the general public for the first time this year. Fingers crossed, ho...

Home Building, Passive House 09.19.14

Cedar Haus, Passive House and Pretty!

Here is an update and some photos on our Cedar Haus project, our prettiest Passive House to date! The exterior walls are going up, and the dr...

Home Building, Passive House, Pocket Home 09.12.14

Finch Pocket House Update!

For those of you excitedly following our progress, our Pocket House under construction; the sheet rock is installed and the siding is days away fro...

News, Passive House 09.05.14

Artisans Group, Tight Houses and World Records!

We have some exciting news to report in the often boring subject of building construction details. We here at The Artisans Group exhaustively&...

News, Passive House 08.29.14

The Artisans Group and The Passive House Farmhouse

Recently featured on the Olympia Master Builders Tour of Homes, The Artisans Group did the architectural design, Passive House energy modeling and...

Passive House 08.22.14

Passive House Q&A!

Passive House Q&A! We received some great questions this week, from a person considering the purchase of a new Passive House. We tho...

News, Passive House 08.01.14

Come tour Artisans Group, top Passive House builder's homes....one of them is not finished but we think its pretty cool anyways.

Olympia Master Builders Tour of Homes is right around the corner, and we have a stunning masterpiece and an efficient little gem to display. &...

News 07.25.14

Artisans Group is hiring, but only if you eat awesomeness for breakfast and sneeze fun....

Artisans Group recently won the Business Examiners Top Places To Work, Integrity Award! The judging criteria for the honor included:...

Home Building, News, Pocket Home, Prefab Home 07.18.14

Update on the Finch Pocket House and The Tour of Homes.....Also, Pirates

For those of you watching the progress of our very first Pocket House, the Finch Haus, with bated breath, I regret to inform you this particular pr...

Design 07.11.14

Gaudi and The Artisans Group Go Together Like Peas and Carrots

One of these things is not like the others… If you grew up on Sesame Street, then you know that refrain well. I have been in m...

News, Prefab Home 07.08.14

Really Cool Prefab Homes by Sheri Koones

Check out this web article by Sheri Koones that talks about how prefab homes can be beautiful, thoughtfully designed spaces in addition to being an...

Passive House 06.30.14

Do Passive Houses Really Pay Off?

Do Passive Houses Really Pay Off? It's a great question, one that Randy Foster, king of the spreadsheeters and Lord of Excel, love...

Passive House 06.20.14

Cantilevers on a Passive House? In the words of George Takei, Oh Myyyyy

We recently received the go-ahead to build the foundation of the Madrona House, in Olympia, WA and yes, it has the design element both feared and a...

Design, Home Building, Passive House 06.13.14

It's Raining Passive House at The Artisans Group...

"Judge me by my size do you?" Any Star Wars, Yoda fans out there? Little Oly II, our smallest Passive House to date is under w...

Design, Home Building, Passive House 06.06.14

Do Passive Houses have to be, well.....Ugly?

I get asked that question a lot, don't worry, I don't take it personally. Some people don't like some of our modern styled houses, which is fine, t...

Passive House, Pocket Home 05.29.14

How to build a Passive House on a limited budget!

Our dreams have finally come true, not the ones about world peace and glass slippers, but certainly about super cost effective Passive House! ...

News, Passive House, Prefab Home 05.08.14

Passive House: The House of the Future by Sheri Koones

The Artisans Group is happy to announce that our Island Passive House has been featured again in an article by Sheri Koones. The Huf...

News, Passive House, Prefab Home 04.28.14

Mother Nature Network features PreFabulous World by Sheri Koones on their website

Mother Nature Network has featured PreFabulous World, a new book by Sheri Koones, on their website. The article, by Catie Leary, notes that the "prefa...

News, Passive House 04.23.14

Come see us at the NW Green Home Tour this weekend!

The Artisans Group is happy to have our Island Passive House on the Northwest Green Home Tour this year! Feel free to contact the Artisans Group co...

News, Passive House 04.21.14

Our Island Passive House is on the Northwest Green Home Tour!

The Artisans Group is excited to be on the 2014 Northwest Green Home Tour. Come see us at our Island Passive House location from 11am-5...

Prefab Home, News 04.15.14

The Artisans Group's Island Passive House featured in PreFabulous World by Sheri Koones!

Today is the day that PreFabulous World by Sheri Koones comes out! It features the Island Passive House, making...

News, Passive House, Pocket Home 04.12.14

Prefabulous World

Very exciting news for The Artisans Group: Our "Island Passive House" is featured in PreFabuous World by Sheri Koones. Available on Tuesd...

Design, Passive House, Pocket Home 11.27.13

Heron Pocket Passive House

This 1100 sf Passive House packs a punch for its modest size, and boasts a high design industrial feel with its exposed concrete interior spine.&nb...

Design, Passive House, Pocket Home, Prefab Home 09.24.13

Sparrow Pocket Passive House

Long and lean with simple detailing, this Passive House responds to its site and offers a large sliding glass wall off of the Great room. Prefabricat...

Design, Passive House, Pocket Home 09.24.13

Wren Pocket Haus, Passive House

Don't let this little bird fool you, it can change its feathers in the blink of an eye. This Passive House rambler can easily shift from cleanly mode...

Design, Passive House, Pocket Home, Prefab Home 09.24.13

Finch Pocket Passive House

Poetic in its simplicity, this modern Passive House is a testament to the beauty of restraint. Prefabricated and adaptable the design can flex for di...

News, Passive House 08.15.13

New York Times article - Passive House: Sealed for Freshness

While Passive House has been a popular building approach in Europe for decades, it's only within the last ten years that it has taken hold in the U...

Design, Passive House 08.14.13

Little Oly II

Little Oly was put on hold last year, and now it is back on target to start construction soon. We made some improvements to the design to help the bud...

Design, Passive House, Pocket Home 08.14.13

Madrona Passive House

Nestled into a narrow, steep site, this Japanese inspired Passive House takes in expansive views of the Puget Sound. Heavily integrated into the si...

05.10.13

2013 South Sound Parade of New Homes

The Artisans Group is participating in the Pierce County Master Builder Association's Parade of New Homes for the first time this year. Please join us...

News 05.09.13

2013 House for Hope

This amazing house will be on the South Sound Parade of Homes this year -100% of all materials and labor has been donated by Pierce County Master...

Design, Passive House 05.09.13

Passive Farmhouse Passive House Images

Well what do you know, a Passive House CAN look like an ordinary home! Traditional and timeless, this 2300 sf farm house has a strong craftsman inf...

Design, Passive House 05.09.13

Cedar Passive House Images

Artisans Group is very excited about this Passive House, the clients are marvelous and the design is superb. This home meets a comp...

05.08.13

East Bay Townhomes

These contemporary units on Budd Inlet incorporate suspended entry bridges that lead to three stories of modern, flexible living. Highly energy effici...

Design 05.08.13

Mod on the Sound Passive House Images

This custom home on Puget Sound encourages serenity and creativity through its timeless, modern design and clarity of form. Walls of glass draw you to...

Design, Passive House 05.08.13

Port Townsend Passive House

This 1800 sf long and lean Passive House is all about the glass, with a strong yet simple visual language and a central naturally lit corridor, life p...

Design, Passive House 05.08.13

Little Oly Passive House House Images

Watch out, this little guy packs a punch! This very narrow 1200 sf home is design for a thin city lot, and will be making its home in the eclectic Ea...

Passive House 04.19.13

Energy Efficient Home Study covers our first Passive House

We have had the good fortune to have one of our super green homes studied by the good folks at the Washington State Energy Office. The home is perform...

News, Passive House 04.05.13

Front Page News, The Artisans Group Passive House produces more than it uses

A couple of newspapers in our region, The Olympian and the News Tribune, just ran an article about one of our homes. John Dodge, the author of the ar...

News 04.05.13

Tacoma Area Energy Efficient Home on Tour

Please come visit us at the public showing of our latest super energy efficient home design, located in the Tacoma area! This house was designed and...

Home Building, News, Passive House, Prefab Home 06.19.12

Super Energy Efficient Home Construction in the San Juan Islands, Part II

In a recent post we talked about the site work and foundation of an energy efficient home design that we are building in the San Juan Islands north of...

Home Building, Passive House, Prefab Home 06.10.12

Super Energy Efficient Home Construction in the San Juan Islands, Part I

We created a super energy efficient home design that is being built on Shaw Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. &n...

Passive House 01.25.12

The Home of the Future

New York based journalist Charlie Hoxie recently made a documentary, Passive Passion, to help spread the word about designing and...

Passive House 01.16.12

Passive House Retrofit Energy Efficient Remodel

Worth a quick read, is an

Passive House 12.14.11

Article: Tree Shaped Solar Arrays

While out hiking in the Catskill mountains, Aiden discovered a new patterning sequence for solar photovoltaic panels based on deciduous...

Passive House 11.30.11

Insulation levels Passive Solar House

Subject: Insulations levels in a passive solar house Question: I’m interested in building a passiv...

Passive House 11.13.11

Q & A on Passive House Appliances

We recently received a thoughtful email from prospective clients who have been giving energy efficiency and Passive House design some seriou...

Passive House 10.26.11

Heat Your Home for $1.63 a week!

“Heat my home for $1.63 a week! Guaranteed comfort and warmth without a sweater in January?” That’s what I’m talkin...

News 10.15.11

Women Making Marks in Construction and Sustainable Design

Recently the Business Examiner printed a feature article about women in construction. Artisans Group Lead Designer and Co-owner, Tessa Smith, was inte...

Passive House, Testimonial 09.16.11

Testimonials-Tooting our Horn

Hey why not? Customer service is serious business around here and for good reason, without them there is no business. We’re grateful...

News, Passive House 08.18.11

2011 Olympia Tour of Homes

Olympia Master Builders Annual Tour of Homes Save the date: August 20 & 21 and 27 & 28 UPDATE: TOUR GUIDES AVAIL...

Design, Passive House 08.05.11

Country Charm Passive House Fly Through

Another amazing example of the design flexibility of the unparalleled energy efficient building standard, Passive House! Green building at...

08.05.11

Automatic Window Shades-German Made by Pazen

Without a doubt, we are all in love with the integral automatic window shades used on the Jewel Box Passive House wind...

Design, Passive House 08.05.11

Hemlock Passive House Images

Hemlock Haus, essential, contemporary, simple and minimal defines this uncomplicated yet extremely energy efficient northwest home. Designed for an ac...

Design, Passive House 08.05.11

Island Passive House Images

Location: Shaw Island, WA Every inch of this ultra modern and sleek , energy efficient glass box is put to good use, from its pinwheel desi...

Design, Passive House, Prefab Home 08.05.11

Le Jardin Passive House Images

This cozy prefab passive house is nestled in the woods with the sounds of nature and country living as the background music for the homeowners whil...

Design, Passive House 08.05.11

Jewel Box Passive House Images

We all love this super low carbon footprint energy efficient Passive House, it feels like it grew from the earth and settled right in as if it’s alway...

Passive House 08.05.11

Past Projects Passive House Images

We’ve designed and built a lot of beautiful homes over the years, the majority of them being a Passive House! We’ll give you a taste for some of th...

Prefab Home 08.05.11

Factory to Site Passive House Prefab Panel Process Images

Prefab or pre-manufactured is the new way of high quality design and construction, and it even works for a Passive House! Folks love t...

Design 08.03.11

The North Project Passive House Images

Eclectic, playful, monochromatic two-tone, modern styling in east Olympia! This cheerful 1900sf home was designed for living and entertaining for a...

Passive House 07.29.11

I Can Make a Cake

What can I say, this little Swedish gal is pretty adorable. At the end of the interview by CNN’s Jim Boulden, he asks the homeowner about cold days in...

Testimonial, Passive House 07.06.11

Interview 2: Living in a Passive House

The North family hit the road running w...

Passive House 07.01.11

Passive House for Beginners

Martin Holladay strikes again! He most concisely and eloquently gives us a the basics of Passive House in this superb

Home Building, Passive House 06.18.11

The Jewel Box: Moving In

Well, the homeowner of the magical Jewel Box moved in recently, surrounded by boxes, unplaced furniture, lost minutiae, and excitement for setting...

News, Passive House 06.15.11

Rising Energy Costs

If this doesn’t build a case for Passive House, I don’t know what does. Did you all catch the recent news that Puget Sound Energy (...

Passive House, Home Building 05.25.11

Living in Their New Passive House

The North family recently moved into their new Passive House! A long awaited, big day for them. We haven’t done a formal photo shoot yet, b...

News 05.22.11

Environmental Protection Award

Tessa Smith with her proud dad after receiving award. Recently the Rotary Club of Olympia presented the Artisans Group with their prest...

Home Building, News, Passive House 05.19.11

Kudos From an Energy Nerd

Great blog write up by building science aficionado Martin Halloday, senior editor of

News, Passive House, Testimonial 04.07.11

Passive House Articles

Always fun to read about the burgeoning enthusiasm for the ultra energy efficient Passive House (PH) building standard out there in the world....

Home Building, Passive House, Prefab Home 04.05.11

First Passive House Prefab Panel Success!

We’re excited to report a huge success this week with the installation of our first prefabricated wall sections for an ultra energy efficient modes...

News, Passive House 03.31.11

Passive House Northwest

Our regional Passive House Northwest conference, recently held at the Evergreen Long House, was a great success! The day began with a compelling an...

News, Passive House 03.13.11

Olympia Green Tour 2nd Annual

Daffodils are up… it’s time again for the

News, Passive House 02.26.11

Energy Efficient Passive House in Louisiana

We know that here in the Pacific Northwest we are blessed with premium conditions for easily building of energy efficient Passive Houses (PH). Our...

News, Passive House 02.23.11

Passive House Spring Regional Meeting

Reposted from Passive House Northwest...

News, Passive House 02.20.11

Energy Code Sticker for Your Home

Imagine a day out new car shopping… There’s no information provided about the performance of any of the cars for sale. But, eve...

Passive House 02.17.11

JLC Passive House Article: Part 2

Excerpt “There’s no doubt that the Passive House approach works. Experience shows that buildings constructe...

Passive House 02.17.11

JLC Passive House Article: Part 1

Good write up on the Passive House standard in the Journal of Light Construction this month. See the original article

Passive House 02.17.11

JLC Passive House Article: Part 3

Excerpt “There’s no doubt that the Passive House approach works. Experience shows that buildings constructe...

Passive House, Residential 02.07.11

Can I Afford Building Green

**UPDATE NOTE - This blog was originally published in February of 2011 and does not reflect current market conditions. Please

Design 01.11.11

Siding for the Jewel Box

I’ve been sorely remiss in posting about the beautiful little

Design 12.28.10

House Remodel Part 2

By: Tessa Smith, lead designer Although personally I very much liked the modern aesthetic of the original flat roof (a bit...

News 12.23.10

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! As I sit here winding up the week, getting ready to head over to the Methow Valley for a few days o...

News, Passive House 12.13.10

Superheros Fight Energy Crimes

Excel Man and Passive Derby Girl are dedicated to fighting energy crimes to make the world a better place. Plus i...

News, Passive House 11.18.10

National Passive House Conference

Three of us from The Artisans Group (Randy, Tessa and Zeta), recently attended the three day North American Passive House (PH) Conference in Portla...

Passive House, Prefab Home 10.25.10

Another Cool Passive House

We’ve been so busy around here lately that I haven’t introduced you to another really fun project we have in the works, The JEWEL BOX...

News, Passive House 10.24.10

Passive House Makes Front Page News

We were on the front page of the Olympian a couple days ago with one of our current Passive House projects.Very nice article written by John Dodge, wh...

10.23.10

Hydronic Radiant Heat

Hydronic radiant heat installation Hydronic radiant floor heating systems are one of the most energy efficien

Passive House 10.21.10

Energy Performance Monitoring

Some of you are curious to know how our Passive Houses (PH) in the Seattle and Olympia area will perform over time and how accurate the PHPP modeli...

Passive House 10.20.10

Humidity Control in a Passive House

We’ve recently received some great questions about humidity control in our Passive Houses, read on to see how we address this hot topic:...

Passive House 10.18.10

Is Passive House Overkill

This excellent post is reprinted from a June 16th, Building Capacity blog posting.

News 10.15.10

Judges Choice Best Green Features

The Tour of Homes is behind us and I can say it was the most fun we’ve ever had in 13 years of participation! We were fortunate to have good weathe...

Passive House 10.14.10

Comfortable Vaulted Rooms

We’ve had several inquiries during the recent Tour of Homes about the 17’ vaulted ceiling in our featured home. Mainly the question was about heat...

Passive House 10.05.10

Passive House and SIPs

Thanks to a recent reader comment, we’ve taken the time to address the question (one we often get) about structural insulated panels (SIP) and why...

Testimonial, Passive House 10.01.10

Passive House: Homeowner Interview

I recently caught up with DT North to interview him about his experience so far in building the

News, Passive House 09.28.10

Cost to Upgrade to Passive House

Not a big surprise, we received some juicy emails as a result of the

News 09.24.10

NPR Interview: Passive House Project

NPR contacted The Artisans Group the other day to interview us about one of our Passive House projects. It’s gotten great press lately having been...

News 09.15.10

2010 Olympia Master Builder's Tour of Homes Oct 23910

The Artisans Group is featuring three homes on the Olympia Master Builder’s Tour of Homes this year. 1 :...

Passive House 09.13.10

Quick Passive House Refresher

It’s so simple it’s elegant. Passive House, or Passivhaus as it’s known in Europe, is not a brand name, but rather a design and constructio...

Passive House 09.13.10

Part 1: Ground Breaking 2nd Passive House in WA State

After several months of creativity, diligence and perseverance by the homeowners and The Artisans Group, we recently broke ground...

Passive House 08.12.10

The Scope of Green Building Q&A

A recent inquiry on our website rendered some great feedback from our designer, Tessa Smith, worthy of sharing: Query:...

Home Building 07.29.10

The House that Saved the World

The House that Saved the World is a thirteen part production featuring Eco-Home Builders that are breaking the trail for sustainable buildings....

News 07.14.10

Green MLS | Green Homes For Sale

Do you like window shopping for real estate? Or are you trying to get a sense for the cost of a green home in your area? It’s commonly accepted the...

Passive House 07.06.10

Passive House Heating 101-Energy Efficient Homes

Passive Houses are energy efficient homes that are so efficient, it often it takes mentioning a few times for the reality of this statement to sink...

Passive House 06.28.10

Very Green Homes- Passive House

This is another great article outlining what Passive House is… it even mentions Dan Whitmore’s house in Seattle, the first Passive House cur...

Passive House 06.28.10

Green Homes in Olympia-Permit Friendly

Reposted from Passive House Northwest Blog, posted by Albert Rooks 5.26.10 Passive House could move to the head of the line in Thurston Co...

Passive House 06.19.10

Passive House Upfront Costs & Payback

We get loads of questions about Passive House, but the two bottom line biggies are: How affordable is the upgrade to desig...

Passive House 06.09.10

Brooklyn Cohousing Project-Passive House

Another well written Passive House article worthy of a post. This article is written by Ken Levenson who is an architect in Brooklyn, NY. His clien...

Passive House 06.04.10

Passive House-Letter to the Editor

A few weeks ago John Dodge of the Olympian wrote a

Passive House 06.01.10

Energy Efficient Home Program

reprinted from the Olympian Incentives to repair that leaky home Resources: Program examines house’s efficiency...

05.26.10

How to Select Green Cabinets

Choosing what actually makes up a green home these days can be head-spinning, how can you always be certain that what you are choosing is the best...

Passive House 05.20.10

Passive House Fine Home Building Article

For those of you that want a snap shot of what it means when someone says “Passive House Design“, this is the article to read....

Passive House, News 05.17.10

Passive House-Olympian Article

John Dodge, of The Olympian, wrote an article about us that appeared on the front page of last Sunday’s paper. You can read the

Passive House 05.14.10

Passive House Building Materials

People often ask about and are surprised to find out that the building materials to build a super-energy efficient Passive House are the same as wh...

Passive House 05.11.10

Passive House History

In the last two weeks, I’ve had several folks around the Seattle and Olympia area ask me about the origins of the Passive House Standard. Rather th...

News, Passive House 05.08.10

Best Whole-House Remodel Award

The Olympia Master Builders graciously hosted the annual Remodel Excellence Awards (REX) this past week. There were many beautiful projects submitt...

Passive House 05.05.10

Passive House Training

I recently completed the first three days of training as a Certified Passive House Consultant last week. During the first d...

Design 05.02.10

Architectural Styles

Want to test your architectural style knowledge? The Oregonian has a down and dirty list of important architectural styles throughout the ages, fro...

Passive House 04.29.10

Passive House New Construction

Passive House 04.26.10

Passive House Remodel Portland Oregon

I wrote a few days ago California’s first certified Passive House remodel coming on board in July. As Passive House design picks up momentum, I tho...

Design 04.26.10

How to: Outdoor Kitchen

Seems like all us Pacific Northwest -ers like to do ‘stuff’ outdoors, whether it’s raining or not. Fortunately, our winters are mild and the o...

Passive House 04.23.10

Passive House Remodel

I was snooping around this morning to see what’s happening out in the world with Passive House remodels. With housing stock being what it is with a...

News 04.13.10

South Sound Green Tour Reminder

Just a last reminder to check out the South Sound Green Tour

News 04.13.10

Solar Powered Cookies...er.. Cooking

“Free energy“… what could be cooler than that? Well, “free energy” and “food“…...

News, Passive House 04.13.10

Green Tour Workshops at The Artisans Group

Schedule of Workshops and Resources at The Artisans Group Design Center : Sat | Sun | 12pm | The Artisans Group Design Cen...

04.09.10

Greenest Countertops in Olympia

Lots of ‘green’ countertops to choose from out there these days. Many of those products are incredibly viable, beautiful, and green. When consideri...

Design 04.06.10

The Sustainable Future of Lighting

The Sustainable Future of Lighting Most of us are familiar with Solatube type passive daylighting, which is functionally nice, but for my e...

Passive House 04.01.10

Passive House NW Regional Meeting

Last Friday, three of us from The Artisans Group attended the first regional meeting of Passive House Northwest....

News 03.29.10

Best of South Sound Contractors

Pretty exciting news first thing Monday morning! It appears we took the highest place in The Olympian newspaper’s on-line poll for “

Design 03.24.10

Stylish Universal Design-Shower Drain

Shower drain, not the most provocative subject unless there’s a problem. That said, this note just in from our interior designer, Diane Gassman, wh...

Design 03.21.10

Lego Kitchen Island

Lego Island Story by: Miyoko Ohtake Photo by: Celine Clanet Step back, Jacobsen, Utzon,...

Design 03.17.10

Mike Reynolds-Authentic Architecture

Mike Reynolds-Authentic Architecture I’ve always been interested in folks who pursue the ‘unexpected’ and if it’s ‘functional’ all the bett...

Passive House 03.12.10

Passive House Design-The Heating System

We talk about Passive House quite a lot and will likely continue since it’s one of our favorite subjects. I’m excited to r...

03.09.10

Construction and Demolition Debris

At The Artisans Group, we are always looking for ways to reduce our jobsite waste and to avoid putting anything in the landfill. For you DIY’ers ou...

Design 03.05.10

Fuel Cells: The Bloom Box

Fuel Cells: The Bloom Box This is an interesting article on the next generation of de-centralized fuel cells… like much of techn...

03.02.10

Green Home Guide-USGBC

The US Green Building Council recently launched GreenHomeGuide.com. For homeowner...

Design 02.27.10

Disappearing Window Screens

Disappearing Window Screens Now that the leaden skies of winter are receding a bit allowing us to enjoy the beauty of spring, I’m enjoying...

Passive House 02.24.10

How is Energy Efficiency Measured?

If you’ve read my previous posts on the origin of Passive House, you’ll know it originated out of Europe and the Passive House standards were born...

News 02.23.10

June 25 Insulating Concrete Forms

June 25 Insulating Concrete Forms The is the next course in our Green Building Education Series. Everyone completing the course will receiv...

Passive House 02.21.10

How Does a Passive House Work

WHAT IS A PASSIVE HOUSE? The term “Passive House” (not to be confused with passive solar design, though there are overlapping prin...

News 02.20.10

June 20 Wood Window and Door Restoration and Weatherization

This half-day workshop will show you how and why to preserve and weatherize original wood windows, doors and architectural details. Present...

News 02.17.10

Solar PV Design Workshop

Solar PV Design Workshop, June 18-20th Hosted by: NW Eco-Building Guild Space is limited to 10 participants, so...

News 02.14.10

June 18 Rain Garden Workshop

NW Eco-Building Guild Rain Garden Workshop, Thursday June 18th Our monthly educational meeting features David...

News 02.12.10

April 17 & 18 South Sound Green Tour

The South Sound ECO-Builders-Guild Hosts: The South Sound Green Tour Innovation – Education – Inspiration

News 02.11.10

Chamber of Commerce Event

Chamber of Commerce After Hours Event Hosted by: The Artisans Gro...

02.08.10

Cellular Shades Qualify for Tax Credit

I just noted in the latest copy of Dwell magazine (March 2010)

Design 02.04.10

Large 3D Architectural Tile

Large 3D Architectural Tile Daniel Ogassian Tiles are just cool. They f...

02.02.10

No Leak Skylights

Velux is rolling out a redesigned skylight product line this January with major upgrades: Advanced energy efficient glassBeef...

01.27.10

Ultra Grip Green Primer

Ultra Grip Multi Purpose Primer. Though I just discovered a write up on this product, and haven’t tried it yet, it looks like one...

01.24.10

American Clay Plaster

American Clay Earth Plaster is a wonderful, earthy wall finish that ca...

01.19.10

Peace Industry Felt Rugs

The best parts of building a new home or finishing a remodel are the final touches that make it feel like home. It’s hard to resist a perfectly sui...

01.18.10

R-ETRO insulation retrofit

Quadlock is a company that specializes in building insulation systems. I’v...

Design 01.15.10

Crystal Cabinets

Crystal Cabinets One of our favorite, beautifully crafted, consistent, durable products we carry in our showroom is

Passive House 01.14.10

Update: Siding for the Jewel Box

A few days ago I posted a write up by the homeowner of The Jewel Box, a lovely little modest-modern waterfront Passi...

01.12.10

Mid Century Bath Remodel

As the marketing person at The Artisans Group, part of my job is to coordinate photo shoots of our projects. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go...

News 01.09.10

Our Own Passive House Consultant

We received notice yesterday of news we’ve longed to hear… our lead building designer, Tessa Smith, passed her grueling exams to achie...

Design 01.07.10

Natural Poplar Bark Siding update

Natural Poplar Bark Siding update Yesterday I posted about a company in N.C that harvests and sells natural poplar bark building materials....

Design 01.06.10

Natural Poplar Bark Siding

Poplar Bark Siding It’s obvious when I think about it, though my only exposure, until now, to bark siding has been with staged replica “nat...

01.03.10

Top 500 Green Companies in US

Newsweek compiled a 2009 list of 500 US companies by how ‘green’ they are. It’s an impressive list of some big companies. I always find the...

12.31.09

House Remodel Part 3

By: Tessa Smith, lead designer As a sustainability consultant (LEED AP, Certified Passive House C...

Design 12.25.09

House Remodel Part 1

By: Tessa Smith lead designer I met the Demich’s at a tour of homes several years ago, as we stood in my project they desc...

Events 12.22.09

Community Resources-Get involved

For so many reasons, Olympia is a great place to live! I can hardly imagine finding anywhere better. For me it’s a package deal, but the cherry on...

12.17.09

Should I Remodel My Home part II

This is part II of my musings on when it makes sense to remodel. I left off yesterday with a list of general questions that might...

12.16.09

Should I Remodel My Home

When does it make sense to remodel my home? The fact that you ask yourself indicates the possibility of a ‘need’....

12.13.09

FROGBOX A Green Moving Alternative

This is a notable Puget Sound resource I just read about in the Business Examiner, “FROGBOX Brings Totatable Alternatives to South Sound

Design 12.07.09

Handwoven Rugs- Social Purchasing

Handwoven Rugs- Social Purchasing “Green” behavior often means making responsible selections based on the impact to the environment. Equall...

Design 12.04.09

Evaluating Luxury

Evaluating Luxury As with most mornings, today was no different. I woke up to hot breath on my face and eyes loaded with anticipation. That...

12.01.09

Recycled Glass Countertops

Okay! Countertops are blossoming before us. Building green has been great in so many wholesome ways and has been the genesis of so...

Design 11.27.09

ECO by Cosentino Green Countertops

ECO by Cosentino Green Countertops This is a nice product that recently came out on the market; we just received samples for our showroom a...

News 11.20.09

Holiday Food Drive

HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE! Each year, the members of The Artisans Group sponsors a food drive for those in our community who...

Design 11.17.09

Deck Stain Options

Deck Stain Options Late this summer a friend decided to refinish her wood deck in the remaining days of sunshine. Once she completed th...

Design 11.14.09

New home for plastic foam

New home for plastic foam Finally a local place to recycle your plastic foam containers! I read this article in the Olympian the other...

11.11.09

Incandescent Lights Out

There are certainly differing opinions about light bulbs these days, for example rarely do we hear someone sitting on the fence about their feeling...

Passive House 11.08.09

Austria Passive House Update

In an earlier

11.05.09

Green Remodeling Basics

Green remodeling, just how elusive is it? Green building and energy efficient are not the Holy Grail...

Design 11.02.09

Hydroright Dual-Flush Toilet Converter

Hydroright Dual-Flush Toilet Converter Who hasn’t heard the phrase “water is the new oil“? Given that we are even...

Design 10.29.09

Laminate Countertops and Surfaces

Laminate Countertops and Surfaces Can you believe these are little snapshots of modern laminate? Though I work for The Arti...

Passive House 10.26.09

Passive House (PHIUS) Concept & Standards

Written by Tessa Smith, The Artisans Group, for The Nisqually River Foundation The Passi...

News 10.17.09

Best of Show and Best Kitchen - Tour of Homes Awards

Earlier this week our team attended the Olympia Master Builders Tour of Homes Award night at Little Creek Casino. We are very pleased to announce t...

10.13.09

See Green Home Remodeling Part II

Higher Cost Options Of course, if your budget allows, you may wish to really go green and look at a Passive House retrofit. Today’...

10.10.09

Green Home Remodeling Part I

Economical Options When remodeling a home, homeowners are faced with a vast array of decisions. From spatial orie...

Design 10.07.09

The Electric Grid - How does the Borg work or not

The Electric Grid - How does the Borg work or not Though it’s not about design or construction or cool new interior products, if you are an...

10.04.09

A Little Green for Your Green-Compliments of the U.S Gov.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 Hopefully by now, all of you know about the ARRA tax credits and...

10.04.09

Green Washing and Business Ethics

So, you've heard of white-washing, it's a cousin to the ubiquitous white lie. Easy to do, easy to justify, doesn't really hurt anyone. Right...

10.01.09

The true cost of being energy efficient-is it worth it?

Depending on which research study you use or by which methods of energy efficiency you implement, generally it's agreed that there is an upfront co...

09.28.09

Fiddling on a Green Roof

Everything that was old is new again. As we continue to look for the latest, cutting-edge green technology, it’s not surprising to learn that some...

Passive House 09.25.09

Passivhaus (Passive House) II

This blog follows on from our previous post – Passivhaus (Passi...

Passive House 09.22.09

Passivhaus (Passive House) I

With concerns about rising energy costs and detrimental climate changes, it’s no wonder uber energy efficiency is finally starting...

09.19.09

Solar Tutorial Part A - The Very Basics

Creating electricity from the sun has been around since 1954, but using the sun for heat energy has been around since the dawn of time. Have you ev...

News 09.16.09

Solar Tour in Olympia

Come join us October 3rd, 2009, for the Olympia Solar Tour of Homes. For the second year running, The Artisans Group is proud to p...

09.13.09

Homes for a Lifetime Certified Aging-in-Place

As more and more Baby Boomers hit their retirement years, housing for this generation becomes an evermore important issue. According to the Nationa...

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