ABOUT
OTO Design is a boutique, BIPOC- and women-owned architecture studio designing custom homes across California and the Pacific Northwest. We take on a limited number of projects each year, by design, so every client gets our direct, sustained attention from first conversation to final walk-through.
Whether it's a primary residence, vacation home, ADU, or multi-family dwelling, each project is shaped around its site, its climate, and the people who will live there. Lindal Homes is one of the ways we bring that vision to life: as an independent Lindal design partner, we combine the flexibility of Lindal's post-and-beam system with our own site-responsive, passive-design approach.
From the San Juan Islands to California's coast and throughout the Pacific Northwest, we've had the honor of walking alongside our clients from the first spark of a dream to the home they finally call theirs.
That perspective starts with our founder; read more about how she sees design below.
Our Philosophy
Listening to the Site
Before anything, we study the site, its topography, its light, its prevailing winds, its native materials, and building traditions. Passive design isn't an add-on for us; it's the starting point. Orientation, shade, cross-ventilation, and thermal mass shape the plan before aesthetics do, because a home that works with its climate needs less to keep its people comfortable.
Shaped by your Stories
No two clients live the same way, so no two homes should look the same way either. We spend real time understanding how a family actually moves through a day, where they gather, where they retreat, what they've loved about homes they've lived in before, and let that shape the design, not a template.
Built to Last
We choose sustainably sourced, durable materials and build within systems like Lindal's post-and-beam structure that are engineered for longevity, not trend cycles. A well-built home should still feel right in thirty years, not just in the renderings.
Founder | Creative Director
I've spent over a decade working within the Lindal system, and if there's one thing that's stayed constant, it's this: the best homes don't start with a floor plan; they start with a conversation. My work is less about drawing what a client asks for and more about understanding what they actually need.
That instinct didn't start as professional training; it's how I've always understood space. Long before I had the vocabulary for passive design, I understood it through a cultural lens: an inherited sense that a building either settles a nervous system or unsettles it. That good design is, at its root. That's Desi, it's personal, and it's still what shapes every project I take on.
That's part of why OTO Design stays small not for scale, but for depth: the ability to sit with a family's story long enough to get it right. A home should feel intuitively right the moment you walk in: grounded in your life, and the land.
- Sakkshi, Founder & Creative Director
Co-Creating Partners
Being a boutique studio doesn't mean working alone; it means being deliberate about who we bring in. Every project is a chance to co-create with partners who share our respect for site, craft, and client story.
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Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Lindal homes holds an exclusive licensing agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to adapt a curated collection of Wright's iconic residential designs for contemporary construction, updated for today's building codes, zoning requirements, and modern living without sacrificing the spatial genius that made them timeless.
Oto Design works in collaboration with the Lindal team to help clients in our region bring their Frank Lloyd Wright vision to life from plan selection through design development and into the ground.
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Schaefer Construction
is a Seattle-based general contractor serving the Pacific Northwest, known for its technical rigor and exacting attention to design, detail, and client communication. Their residential portfolio spans new construction and renovation at the high end of the market, with a track record of delivering complex projects on time and on budget, consistently demonstrating attention to detail.
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OM Studio
OM Studio is a design practice rooted in the organic architecture tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright, based in Spring Green, Wisconsin, the same valley where Wright built Taliesin. That lineage shapes their approach: architecture that belongs to its site, with a geometric and spatial sensibility that runs through every decision.
Within the Lindal system, OM Studio specializes in original designs under the Designer Series. The process always begins with constraints: site, program, budget, code, and finds the intersection where the most efficient and considered solution emerges.
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Lindal Homes
Since 1945, Lindal Homes has been designing and delivering custom post-and-beam homes across North America and beyond backed by the industry's only Lifetime Structural Warranty. Their system of precision-engineered components in premium Western red cedar makes it possible to build architecturally considered homes on challenging sites, with a level of design flexibility that conventional construction rarely achieves.
Oto Design is an authorized Lindal dealer. That relationship gives our clients access to Lindal's full catalog of architect-designed plans, their proprietary Elements customization platform, and a manufacturing and delivery process refined over eight decades.
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2atara Design + Construction
2atara design + construction is a Bainbridge Island–based general contractor focused on building with the future in mind. Committed to projects that honor design integrity and sustainable practices, we prioritize resource preservation while delivering thoughtful, well-crafted construction.
Through collaboration, exploration, and innovation, we execute projects that reflect our honest vision to create a better world.
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Modern Dwelling
Modern Dwellings brings decades of general contracting experience to the Lindal system, with dozens of Lindal homes completed under its direction. They work with Oto Design as a GC consultant, lending that construction fluency to projects from the drawing side: constructability review, cost and sequencing insight, and guidance on how the Lindal materials package translates from plans to a finished home.
Some Testimonials
“From the onset, my concerns were reducing the size of an existing design to accommodate the footprint of my location,” Wood said. “The results were both timely and exceeded my expectations. The constant oversight of the project continually reflected their professionalism and knowledge. I had little awareness of it but certainly learned to appreciate and completely rely on them. I would unequivocally recommend them to spearhead an analogous project to any and all and to use my name at will. I couldn’t be more pleased with her efforts on my behalf.” — Richard Wood
”Their knowledge and passion for work were present during every interaction. We had a much better experience than I had expected majorly as she always kept up in a constant loop and was positively motivated!. She always had a solution to any issue that popped up. And if you have built a home before, you know that’s unavoidable. Our communication was always very good, and we had detailed discussions of the pros and cons before any decision we made. Her attention to detail was crucial in finishing our house; not only was she able to organize and coordinate with everyone's schedules, but she had the foresight to anticipate what would come up next. Sakshi cares so much about the quality of her work, we can't imagine having a better experience with anyone else.” — Nikki & Evan Welch
“With your help, we are now living in an incredibly beautiful unique Puget Sound waterfront home. This project presented numerous challenges related to restrictions imposed in permitting, limitations of the existing structure, site access, and probably most of all, my expectations. Sakshi always took time to listen and understand my vision for the project and at the same time was very good at helping me manage my ideas. With any project, there are changes and frustrations in the course of construction that at times seem overwhelming but Sakshi was on top of it, attending on-site, coordinating with suppliers and contractors, keeping the project moving forward. Even more than her skills as an architect and project manager, it was Sakshi's designer eye and a sense that gave us the home I was dreaming of. Thank You.” — Dan Valente
“We could hardly be more thrilled with our recently built Lindal Cedar home which, for the time being, is used as our second home. Primarily, it's a super pleasant lake cabin getaway to divide our time to and from Tacoma. The current blast of frigid temps has not hampered our comfort in the beautifully insulated home with its efficient ductless heating system & electric fireplace. Even the floors stay warm and the Milgard windows plus quality Stanley doors refuse to be even the slightest bit drafty. TJ and I will forever be grateful for your expertise in design consultation along with all the effort you put into bringing the project to fruition. You are a true professional in addition to being a wonderful person on all levels.” - Vickie and Timothy Pratt
OTO Design is an Independent Lindal Representative