April 16, 2026

Design firm Best Practice remains playful through 15 years

Photo credit Dain Susman [enlarge]

Bell’s Cookies from 2021 in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood demonstrates Best Practices playful approach.

Best Practice is a design studio in Seattle celebrating its 15th anniversary. Since it opened in 2011, the firm has become known for its playful approach and creative designs. And over the years the firm has served a wide variety of clients from single family to commercial. Best Practice is led by partners Ian Butcher, Sarah Smith, and Kip Katich. The DJC asked founding partner Butcher about where the firm been these last 15 years and where it is heading.

Q. Why the playful ethos at Best Practice?

A. We definitely take our work very seriously, but Architecture can and should be a fun pursuit. Finding and expressing joyful moments yields rich projects, and the process is a thrill. The playfulness in our work is intentional but has evolved organically. We’re a very collaborative studio environment, and I think it’s true that every team member sees our office as a place to explore fresh, creative ideas. And in turn, that attracts clients who seek that kind of whimsy and delight.

Q. Given this approach, what is involved in approving a project for your firm?

A. We look for projects with interesting and complex issues to solve and for fun clients, engaged in the process and how we work, and looking to discover unconventional and thoughtful solutions. Often, our unofficial mantra that drives us is to “Do cool things for cool people.”

Q. What project has surprised you the most (so far) and how so?

Photo credit Ed Sozinho [enlarge]

The 2018 Big Mouth House in Squire Park, Seattle consists of three units, each with a rooftop deck.

A. Every project has surprises, but the biggest surprises for us these days are how expensive everything has become. But even in this environment, we have always maintained - and have become quite adept - that there is always an opportunity for design and delight in every project. As the cost continues to be a surprise, perhaps more surprising is that we continue finding ways to provide great design and inspired spaces.

Photo credit Dain Susman [enlarge]

Best Practice has designed five Garden State Burger locations in Seattle and Bellevue, the first in 2017.

Q. Your project history covers quite a variety of projects from DADUs to SFRs to commercial projects. How do you manage such diversity in the firm’s projects?

A. We see this as a feature of our work. Bouncing between project types keeps it interesting. I think it’s easy to get a little complacent if you do the same type of project over and over. We have the ethos and the attention to detail that comes with a small firm, but we have a wealth of experience working on lots of project types. It’s afforded us the infrastructure and know-how to be able to nimbly adapt to what our projects need.

Photo credit Lisa Petrole [enlarge]

Oak Cliff Casita is a 2021 garage conversion DADU in Dallas, Texas. Photo credit Lisa Petrole

Q. What has changed the most for you over the 15 years?

A. The biggest change is that people reach out to us because they have seen our work and like something we’ve done. When we first started, we had to hustle like crazy to be considered for anything. We get to be a bit choosy nowadays.

We have also focused on deepening our experience and technical knowledge base, which has allowed us to successfully grow from small residential remodel and TI work to implement larger and more complex projects, ranging from a new technical office, training, movie screening, and recording facility for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in Los Angeles to site-sensitive, fire-resistance high performing single family homes in Eastern Washington.

Q. What do you foresee in the next 15 years?

A. We have lots of fun new projects on the boards, and we look to continue expanding to new and larger hospitality and civic project types, and beyond Seattle. That said, we aim to keep things fun at BP, and we love collaborating with our Seattle partners!