RESIDENTIAL
DESIGN
Residential design is our premium Service. We provide our clients with the unique design to build or renovate a custom home or cottage. Bjorn & Poulsen Fine Home & Garden Design will take care of every imaginable detail, including helping you evaluate the perfect building site if desired.
• New Homes
• Cottages
• Mountain Homes and Cottages
• Whole-house Renovations
• Complex Additions & Renovations
• Landscape Design for Pools, Terraces, Gardens, and Outdoor Features
Residential Design is our premium service. We provide our clients with the unique design to build or renovate a custom home or cottage. Bjorn & Poulsen Fine Home Design will take care of every imaginable detail,
including finding the perfect building site, if required.
KITCHEN & BATH DESIGN
40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Bjorn & Poulsen is a distinguished Home & Garden Design firm serving clients across West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, with a portfolio that reaches nationwide. The firms’ Principal, Darrin Petersen, has been designing custom homes for 40+ years. His ability to envision beautiful balanced and artful spaces, that reflect the distinct personality of each one of his clients, has resulted in many beautiful, and timeless homes to his credit.
From his early years in Casper, Wyoming, Darrin’s passion for architecture and insatiable curiosity drove him to refine his craft. Largely self-taught, with additional studies at Montana State University, he advanced his skills with each new project. After several years in Aspen and Breckenridge, Colorado, His fascination with the traditions of classical architecture drew him to the East Coast, where, at just 23, he established his own studio in the mountains of West Virginia. There he designed distinguished homes and estates throughout West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, along with commissions in London and Beverly Hills.
Darrin’s lifelong curiosity about place and design drew him to the Pacific Northwest in 2009, where he relocated his practice to the Seattle area to immerse himself in the landscapes and the modern architecture of the region. Over the next decade and a half, his work and travels through British Columbia, the San Juan Islands, and the Olympic Peninsula deepened his appreciation for Pacific Northwest modernism and its dialogue with nature.
By 2025, the pull of home proved irresistible. Darrin returned to the mountains of West Virginia, settling in Charleston and reconnecting with the landscape that first shaped his passion for design. Beyond the studio, he’s an avid traveler and photographer, happiest on mountain trails or wandering through small towns rich in local character. His studies of vernacular architecture across the Virginias—together with his experiences in the Pacific Northwest—continue to shape his creative vision, balancing tradition with innovation and always guided by the natural environment that inspires his work.
“Watching dreams become a reality intrinsically changes people, and I am grateful to be a part of that transformation.”
-Darrin Petersen, Principal of Bjorn & Poulsen Fine Home Design
OUR WORK
DESIGN PROCESS
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
The design process should be an enjoyable and unforgettable experience for clients. Bring only your imagination and a willingness to communicate your dreams and desires for your home. I ask clients to bring in a few clippings and photos from a favorite magazine, website, or pictures of details and images that appeal to you. All I need are a few to establish the “feel” and the “flavor” of what you like.
I encourage my clients to avoid looking at ‘homeplan’ books. Why? Because communicating by looking at floor plans and finished renderings of someone else’s house simply skips many of the essential steps required to communicate your lifestyle. In my process, I focus on how you live.
THE DESIGN PROGRAM QUESTIONNAIRE:
Over the years, I’ve developed a unique design program that helps clients think about and communicate their lifestyle. The process involves an extensive individual questionnaire that is completed by each person (i.e. husband and wife) involved in the project. This questionnaire is not shared between the two. This allows each client to individually communicate what is important to them. These elements are incorporated into the design of the residence. Invariably, this process brings some great laughs and helps to focus on a client’s actual lifestyle…not just the rooms or plans.
THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN:
Next, you will see artistic sketches of what your home will look like and how it will function. I start with hand-sketched floor plans and rough exterior drawings. From there, the plans continue to be refined until we arrive at a design that fits. Remember, you are in control of this process. At the end of this phase, we have a set of scaled preliminary drawings that consist of floor plans and exterior elevations.
THE CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS:
These are the drawings that show your builder the dimensions and custom details needed to construct your home or renovation. After we are finished with this phase, your builder and their team of craftsmen take over and make your new home or renovation a reality. We are always available for questions related to the design and details for your new home or renovation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What type of clients do you prefer to work with?
Darrin: I work with clients who are very particular about the quality and creativity of design work and high-end construction. My clients are looking for someone who can design something very special, and custom-tailored to their lifestyle. Challenging design projects and client relations are my specialties.
Q: What is the firm’s style?
Darrin: My style depends on what is being done for a particular client. “I specialize in your style.” Whether working in Country French estates, Martha’s Vineyard Shingle Cottages, a modern northwestern contemporary, or classical interiors for a single room or entire house, each detail in the various styles is enjoyable. Do you have a unique style no one has been able to articulate?
Challenge me.
Q: What size projects are typically undertaken?
Darrin: I don’t necessarily have a set minimum or maximum project size. The size and type of projects I accept are based on whether the project requires a high level of creativity and skill to complete. Difficult and challenging projects are my specialty.
Q: How many projects are accepted at a time?
Darrin: I accept projects based on the client’s schedule and the size and complexity of my workload. Some clients choose to take more time to work through a project while others want to start immediately. Projects are scheduled to suit the timeline of each client and accommodate individual needs. Usually there is a mix of additions, interior renovations, and large custom homes. There are also a number of interior design and decoration projects of various sizes at any one time. Throughout the year, there are typically 5-7 projects in progress concurrently.
Q: How long does it take to complete design work?
Darrin: This will always depend on the size and complexity of a project. Complex waterfront or sloping sites can take more time, due to a myriad of planning issues that need to be addressed. A typical 3,000 square foot residence, after site issues are addressed, normally takes around 8 weeks, or about 40 business days. I am committed to making sure that your scheduling needs are met. I can shorten or lengthen the time according to your project goals. Additions and renovations can take more or less time, depending on their complexity.
Q: Are status checks done during construction or installation?
Darrin: Absolutely! This is one of the most important things, and also sets Bjorn & Poulsen apart from other firms. I stay in touch and am available for questions from your builder or other subs during construction. I have an open communication policy with your builder. They are encouraged to call to discuss questions or difficult issues BEFORE doing the work that may impact a project. My job is to be here to help get your project built as a valuable part of the team.
At the beginning stages of your project, we meet to discuss the amount of involvement you want from Bjorn & Poulsen. On all projects I am available anytime for a phone conference or to schedule a site visit as the need arises, in addition to occasional site visits. I can, however, have a set date and time for a site visit every week or two, depending on the project needs.
Q: Architect or Residential Designer, what is the difference?
Darrin: Architects are licensed by the state to design commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings, as well as multi-family housing. These building types are subject to complex codes focused on public safety. A Registered Architect’s university education, internship experience, and state licensing process prepare them to take responsibility for those safety and code requirements. When an architect applies their professional stamp to a set of drawings, it certifies that the building meets all applicable codes and regulations for public use.
Architects also collaborate with licensed Structural Engineers (PEs), who design the structural and seismic systems for these complex projects. Both an Architect’s and a Structural Engineer’s stamps are required on commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings.
Only a small percentage of architects—about 10%—choose to focus on residential work. Although a state license is not required to design single-family homes, Registered Architects are required to stamp any project they design, regardless of type.
Bjorn & Poulsen is a residential design firm specializing exclusively in custom single-family homes — projects that do not require an architectural license to design. As a Residential Designer, I am not licensed by the State of West Virginia to design commercial, institutional, or industrial buildings. Custom homes fall under the International Residential Code (IRC), which differs significantly from the complex codes that govern public and commercial structures.
Designing a home requires a deep understanding of materials, construction methods, and the unique character of residential architecture. Homes are personal and emotional expressions of their owners, and creating them demands both technical expertise and the patience to guide clients through the many decisions that shape their vision.
Like many in the profession, my background began in interior design and evolved through years of collaboration with high-end builders, craftsmen, and tradespeople — experience that ultimately led to founding my own residential design practice.
Other home designers may work primarily as in-house CAD drafters for builders of speculative or semi-custom homes, focusing on efficiency and cost-effective construction within residential code requirements. In contrast, high-end residential designers such as Bjorn & Poulsen regularly collaborate with licensed structural engineers (PEs) to address the complex structural and seismic requirements of custom homes. While a structural engineer’s stamp is not always mandated by local authorities, Bjorn & Poulsen requires the engagement of a licensed structural engineer for every project, without exception.
Q: Where are projects accepted?
Darrin: We serve clients primarily in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, but we also work on projects nationwide. We have done projects in these areas.
Projects completed in these areas:
West Virginia: Canaan Valley, Cheat Lake, Morgantown, Clarksburg, Lewisburg, White Sulphur Springs
Virginia: Lexington, Smith Mountain Lake, Roanoke, Hot Springs , Warm Springs
Washington State: Anderson Island, Seattle, Mercer Island, Sammamish, Shoreline, Bellevue, Poulsbo, Sequim, Port Angeles, Bainbridge Island, Kingston, Gig Harbor, Fox Island, Orcas Island
Montana: Whitefish
Tennessee: Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Oak Hill
Maryland: Deep Creek Lake, Potomac
California: Beverly Hills
United Kingdom: London, England
Q: Do you use CAD (Computer Aided Drafting)?
Darrin: No. CAD is a very useful tool for some firms, but our creative nature drives us to use our artistic skills and utilize hand drafting. It gives us much more creative flexibility throughout the design project.
Q: Have you been published?
Darrin: Yes I have…most recently, “Seattle Times Magazine”. I have also had projects featured in “Architectural Digest”, and an Aspen project for actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson was featured in “TIME” magazine.
Q: Have you won awards?
Darrin: Yes, a project Bjorn & Poulsen Fine Home Design designed in north Seattle won the 2016 Seattle “REX Award” for best renovation over $500,000. Generally, however, I don’t enter work into contests to be considered for awards. It can be a time consuming and expensive process. I consider referrals from my wonderful clients to be an “award” for doing nice work. I have been awarded dozens of referrals from happy clients. I accept these with great pride and honor, as a reflection of their confidence in my abilities. I value these much more than an engraved plaque or plexiglass trophy.