Great design gives purpose.
Thoughtful, enduring, and planned with intention—
Seattle-based Seahaus creates architecture for the way you live.
Architecture for every day
Each Seahaus project reflects the owner. We apply expertise, adaptability, and creativity to each design, ensuring that every detail—from materials to layout—enhances both beauty and practicality.
Recently Completed
Designed to create a clear separation between work and daily life, this small, freestanding backyard office accommodates two built-in desks and a sliding partition. The layout allows the space to function as either a shared workspace or two distinct zones.
Project Team
Architecture: Seahaus Architecture
Builder: Sound Builders Northwest
Structural Engineering: Swenson Say Faget
Our Focus
Seahaus is a Seattle-based architecture studio focused primarily on residential projects — including renovations, additions, small custom homes, and accessory structures. Our work is grounded in careful study of how spaces are used, how they’re built, and how they age over time.
We work most often in North Seattle neighborhoods such as Ballard, Sunset Hill, Loyal Heights, Phinney Ridge, and surrounding areas, where proximity allows us to stay closely engaged throughout design and construction.
While residential work forms the core of our practice, we are open to select non-residential and small-scale projects that share similar priorities: thoughtful use of space, material clarity, technical rigor, and close collaboration with clients and builders.
Seahaus believes in intentional design. That means creating spaces that are beautiful, yet functional. Current, yet enduring. And using materials and methods that cause minimal stress to land and water over time.
Our Process
We see the design process as a collaborative effort — one that begins with listening carefully and continues through construction with clear communication and shared understanding.
Our work typically starts with learning as much as we can about how you live, what’s working, and where there’s opportunity for improvement. Through conversations and a detailed pre-design questionnaire, we help clarify priorities around layout, light, materials, budget, and long-term goals.
From there, we explore multiple design options and scenarios, testing ideas against real constraints such as budget, zoning, and constructability. We believe early feedback — including preliminary cost input from builders when appropriate — leads to better decisions and fewer surprises later in the process.
As a project moves forward, we develop the design in increasing detail, coordinating with consultants and preparing clear drawings and specifications for permitting and construction. Throughout, we aim to make the process transparent and understandable, walking clients through decisions as they arise and explaining what to expect at each stage.
During construction, we remain involved as a resource for both clients and builders — answering questions, reviewing submittals, and helping ensure the work aligns with the design intent. Our goal is not only a well-built outcome, but a process that feels thoughtful, steady, and well supported from start to finish.
We listen first, communicate often, and provide guidance that emboldens your decisions. Balancing creativity with function, Seahaus designs meet your specifications with our skill and experience.
Empowering every client
Our People
Emily Robertson
With a background in both home and furniture design, Emily Robertson brings intention and artistry to every Seahaus project. A graduate of the University of Washington’s architecture program, she honed her skills at acclaimed Seattle firms like Heliotrope and Olson Kundig. Emily is a licensed architect and co-founded Seahaus with her husband Chad to offer highly personal, design-forward homes—drawing on their shared experience leading Chadhaus, a custom furniture studio serving clients around the world. Emily’s approach blends creativity with practicality, grounded in a love for thoughtful design and everyday life.
Chad Robertson
Chad Robertson is a designer, builder, and educator who is at home both behind the desk and in the field. With a Master of Architecture from the University of Washington and a background in fine art, carpentry, and fabrication, he brings deep technical knowledge and a love of craft to each Seahaus project. He co-founded both Seahaus and Chadhaus with his wife Emily, designing thousands of custom pieces and several homes over the past two decades. Chad is a lecturer at UW. He has taught design-build and architecture courses in the past, and is currently teaching furniture fabrication and design studios along with digital fabrication courses. His work is shaped by values of simplicity, utility, and care.