Visbeen Architects

Visbeen Architects An international award-winning architecture firm offering exceptional custom residential, commercial, and retail design services.

Visbeen Architects is a full-service architecture and interior design firm dedicated to providing a design experience unlike any other. From the moment you begin to share your dream to the moment you step into your completed project, we are dedicated to raising the bar and helping you feel as comfortable and valued as possible. We’ve worked with clients across the globe, so we have experience with long-distance partnerships. We have offices in Michigan, Florida, and Costa Rica. Whether you’re a prospective client, a business owner, or a purveyor of fine building materials, we’re here to bring your vision to life.

10/12/2026

Wayne designed a U.S. embassy. Just about everything we’d normally share is off limits.

What can be shared is how a custom residential firm approaches a project where nearly every decision has already been made for you.

Designing a home means choosing. Designing for a government client means working inside a rulebook, and finding the room for good design anyway.

That discipline shows up in every home we draw.

10/09/2026

You’re invited! We’re excited to be teaching a free workshop at Sketching Retreat about sketching interiors from a floor plan! Sketching Retreat is a FREE, 6-day virtual event with 50+ video workshops on architectural sketching & drawing.

Click the LINK IN OUR PROFILE to learn more and save your free spot today.




Westchester: A New England Home on a Lake Michigan Dune 🏡Occasionally, a client arrives knowing precisely what they want...
10/07/2026

Westchester: A New England Home on a Lake Michigan Dune 🏡

Occasionally, a client arrives knowing precisely what they want. For this home, two well-researched doctors with a fondness for East Coast style came to us with a thoughtful wish list and a clear vision of a shingle and gambrel-style residence. Our team set about identifying the architectural elements that would capture the New England aesthetic they had in mind.

The challenge: a stunning Lake Michigan front lot that came with strict limitations. The dunes confined the footprint to 3,500 sq. ft. and required a “readily moveable” structure in the event of shoreline erosion.

The solution: to use every inch of the allotted area to its highest potential. The detached garage is considered its own readily moveable structure, which allowed the home to gain additional space despite its limited size. A square culvert connects the garage’s lower level to the home’s lower level, providing sheltered access through the winter months.

“We designed this project for a challenging site. The restrictions of the dunes made the building difficult to pull off. It forced us to get creative.” — Wayne Visbeen

Location: Holland, MI
Size: 5,160 sq. ft.
Builder: Mike Schaap Builders, Inc. 
Interior Design: Benchmark Design Studio 
Photography: Walcott Imaging, Chuck Heiney

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10/05/2026

Before your first meeting with an architect, you’ve probably spent months pinning.

Kitchens, staircases, that one window you can’t stop thinking about. And somewhere along the way, Pinterest convinced you that you need to walk in with a finished vision.

We say otherwise. Know your budget. Know your land. Beyond that, you don’t have to have the rooms figured out.

The better we get to know you and your family, the better your home gets. And once we start drawing, most people what they’ve truly been looking for emerging from the page.

So go ahead and save the board, it can be helpful to organize your thoughts. Just don’t feel like you have to have it all figured out for the first meeting.

Thinking about building? Use the link in our bio to start the conversation.

At the first design meeting, our client arrived with one hundred pages of handwritten notes on a yellow legal pad. Then,...
10/02/2026

At the first design meeting, our client arrived with one hundred pages of handwritten notes on a yellow legal pad. Then, midway through the process, a trip to Europe changed its course. He returned inspired by the rustic architecture of Italy and ready to pursue a different direction.

The challenge: to transform a fully developed vision into something entirely new while preserving the personal character of the project.

The solution: rather than design a single villa, we designed an entire village.

Set on 18 acres near Saugatuck, Michigan, the residence is composed of multiple buildings that, in silhouette, resemble a Tuscan hillside village. A bell tower anchors the central courtyard and motor court, recalling an Italian church while serving as a private observatory. Numerous fireplaces and chimneys, a formal garden, and a working vineyard complete the setting. Authentic clay roof tiles, fired in the kilns of Ludowici Roof Tile, cover the home’s extensive rooftops.

“Rather than create one villa, we designed a whole village centered on the campanile or Italian bell tower. From a distance, this house really does look like a Tuscan village…When dealing with a home of this nature, being patient, listening carefully, and taking every idea to the next level is extremely important.” — Wayne Visbeen

Size: 4,986 sq. ft.
Builder: Mike Schaap Builders, Inc. 
Interior Design: Benchmark Design Studio

Photography: Chuck Heiney, David Bixel

09/30/2026

Interior sketches are an important part of our process because they ensure the client knows exactly what their home will feel like on the inside.

Rather than wait weeks to deliver fully rendered plans and images, we take a few minutes to sketch certain areas of the home with the client in the room with us, allowing them to respond moment to moment as each facet of the home reveals itself.

Want to see what the live-design process is like for yourself? Visit this link to share your next project with us: https://www.visbeen.com/contact

09/28/2026

We’re so confident in the live-design process that we’ll design your home before you pay a cent. It’s been a tenet of our business for years and works incredibly well at establishing trust with our clients and let’s us prove we’re the right match for what they’re looking for.

Want to see for yourself? Use the contact form here to schedule your free live-design session today: https://www.visbeen.com/contact

09/25/2026

A client came to us with $6 million worth of plans and a $3 million budget. Another architect had designed past what they could actually spend, and they didn’t know how to get back on track.

We sat down with a sketchpad. In a couple of hours, we reworked the design to fit their real budget without losing what they loved about the home.

This is why we start every project by sketching. It’s fast, it’s flexible, and it lets us solve problems in real time instead of finding them three months into a set of CAD drawings.

If your dream home and your budget aren’t talking to each other yet, let’s fix that. Tell us about your project here: https://www.visbeen.com/contact

When a client needs space for four cars and wants a home that feels like it belongs to the landscape, proportion becomes...
09/23/2026

When a client needs space for four cars and wants a home that feels like it belongs to the landscape, proportion becomes the whole problem. A 1,360-square-foot garage beside roughly 3,500 square feet of living space can easily take over the façade.

Our solution was to let the roofline do the work. Angular forms and sloping rooflines break up the mass of the garage, so it reads as part of a composed whole instead of the main event. The home curves around the circular drive to an off-set entrance, and a mix of stone, horizontal siding, vertical metal, and warm wood siding adds texture and depth. The palette stays neutral, and the shapes and materials give it quiet character.

Inside, the same restraint gives way to light and volume. A floating staircase leads to an upper hall that doubles as a bridge over the main living space. High ceilings and angled glass fill the crisp white walls with daylight. Off the kitchen, a screened porch and open patio invite the homeowners and their guests to settle into the surrounding farmland.

The result is an exterior of angular shapes and contrasting materials that frames the serene landscape, and a bright, natural-toned interior that welcomes people in.

Thinking about a custom home that solves a design challenge like this one? Use this link to schedule your free design consultation: https://www.visbeen.com/contact

Builder: Whitmore Custom Homes
Photography: ashley avila photography

09/21/2026

We drew Bridlewood on a curve.

The site, a lush and private oasis outside Houston, called for a home that belonged to it. The result is a crescent-shaped residence crowned with grand gables and towering windows, striking from every angle.

Out front, a circle drive leads to an arched porte cochere. Out back, a garden sanctuary and a covered, four-season retreat make cooking and entertaining a year-round pleasure.

"When I saw the site, I immediately decided to draw the home on a curve, taking advantage of this incredible Shangri-La landscape."
Wayne Visbeen, AIA, Principal and Founder

View more of our work: visbeen.com/portfolio

Address

3351 Claystone Street SE Suite G22
Grand Rapids, MI
49546

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+18338472336

Website

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