Lettered Street Houses, Bellingham, Washington

Lettered Street Houses in Bellingham, Washington

Architect: Graham Baba

Location: Bellingham, Washington, United States

Photos by Benjamin Benschneider

November 18, 2025

The clients, a firefighter and a high school biology teacher, envisioned two new homes in the historic Lettered Street neighborhood of Bellingham, Washington. One of the homes would be for the couple and their young son, and the other would be for a set of their retired parents. The young couple acted as general contractor for both houses, building much of the houses themselves.

The site they chose was composed of two modest 5,000 square foot lots, each hosting a dated 900 square foot home built in 1910. For the young family’s residence, the GBA team set out to marry contemporary proportions with the traditional form of the classic “four square” house, which is common in the neighborhood. The parent’s home marries contemporary form with traditional materials.

The two homes were designed and built in sequence, beginning with the more traditional 2,730-square-foot residence, which features four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Halfway through construction, the team began work on the parent’s home, where the primary challenge was a relative small buildable area.

The efficient, single level 1,495-square-foot home —three bedroom, two bath layout—was designed for aging in place.

Notably, one of the existing 1910 homes was moved to another property and repurposed for use as a DADU instead of being demolished. A large solar array on the 686-square-foot garage offsets all or most of both homes’ electrical needs.