“We aren’t building a house for everyone, we’re building it for someone.”

One of the beauties of the TJH model of home building is the customization that we can bring to every build. Every piece of architecture is looked at for that particular piece of earth. So, when it came time to launch our Pacific Northwest division, the last thing we wanted to do was to superimpose a Venice beach design sensibility on a Bellevue backdrop. Great design should enhance the character of a local community, not dilute it. To live up to this ideal, we needed to retain the best local architectural talent possible. Someone who lives and breathes the Pacific Northwest culture. Someone who could embrace our Joy of Simple mission and bring smart solutions to the table. Someone whose design approach was as customized as ours.

Our search ended the minute we met architect Philip McCullough, owner of the highly respected McCullough Architects. With nearly three decades of expertise in the Seattle area, Philip understood our vision immediately. 

You see many of us are familiar with mainstream home styles, whether it’s modern farmhouse, traditional, or ranch style, to name a few. But when Philip designs a custom home the style is set by the client it’s designed for. Who will be living there? How do they spend their time? What do they care about? These are the considerations that set the aesthetic. “We aren’t building a house for everyone,” Philip said. “We’re building it for someone.” That’s how we knew Philip and his team were the perfect fit to design our new homes in the Pacific Northwest .

Our collaboration with McCullough Architects kicked off with a design charrette—a collaborative brainstorm that included our Seattle-based TJH land and design experts—to discuss the needs of our buyers, explore different design options, understand the land and create the preliminary sketches of homes, including floorplans, layouts, and various design elements. 

Philip’s extensive background in land planning made him an ideal collaborator. Details of the site—from where the sun rises and sets and prevailing winds, to ensuring privacy from neighbors and incorporating outdoor views—all informed the way he designed the elevations and flow of our new homes. By integrating these meticulous details into the design process, a unique style of home organically emerged. Philip put it best when he said, “We don’t start with a style—we end with one.”

For example, when creating our home in Medina, Philip focused on sleek modern architecture that featured a flat roof to maximize the quality of the indoor space while also adhering to strict local building height requirements. This resulted in a beautifully modern home that makes a statement with clean lines and large sunlit windows. In contrast, the design of our sprawling new home in West Bellevue was inspired by Seattle Arts and Crafts homes to create a more traditional look with an eclectic feel and extra space for entertaining. While aesthetically different, all of Philip’s homes share the common goal of maximum style and comfort for a buyer with a specific set of needs and values.

“Architecture has always set itself apart from other art forms by combining function and aesthetics. It forms the environment in which people exist. I like to think it has some impact on their daily lives. It makes them feel safe and shapes their experiences. So we design each home to reflect the needs of a client and give form to their vision. In the same way that Thomas James Homes focuses on helping people find the right home right where they want it, we focus on designing a home that’s just right for those who will live there. It shouldn’t be something that you just pick off the rack; we want it to feel personal, like the home was measured and tailored to be the perfect fit.”

We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

For this reason, we are proud to unveil our collaboration of new, custom-designed luxury homes by Philip McCullough in the Pacific Northwest. To explore these homes and our current listings, click here.  

Philip McCullough
President of McCullough Architects

Philip McCullough’s clients have benefited from his dedication to innovative, functional architecture and his extensive understanding of construction practice and building codes. With over 25 years of experience in a broad range of disciplines, Philip has enjoyed working with industry leaders and non-profit developers. He has also applied his creative design strategies and ability to work with planners and building officials at a variety of jurisdictions to help solve complicated housing issues and provide quality housing for all income levels. His firm, McCullough Architects takes on a range of projects including mixed-use commercial, multi-family buildings, single family developments, and custom homes.