Our Story

The homes we live in are supposed to grow with us. Most don't.

Families change. Parents age. Adult children come back. New generations arrive. Suddenly the home that worked perfectly five years ago is working against you — too many people, not enough privacy, no clear answer for what comes next. That's the problem Tillit was built to solve.

Where it started

Two founders. A few years of near-misses. One conversation that finally stuck.

Stephanie and Lynn had crossed paths for years without really knowing each other — soccer sidelines, a camp drop-off. The kind of overlap that happens when you're part of the same community long before you decide to actually be friends.

What neither of them knew, all those times, was that they were each mid-project — each building a home to solve something bigger for their families, just from opposite ends of it. When they were at a track meet, they ended up sitting together at the end of a long day. The conversation turned to home construction, and it became the first spark — not of a business, but of recognizing they were quietly solving the same problem.

Stephanie's project was on time. On budget. She knew exactly where things stood, what every decision cost, and why. Her home was being built to host not just multiple generations, but multiple family groups at once — she was stepping into her family's next generation of hosting, and the house had to be ready for it.

Lynn's was a different story entirely. Months behind schedule. Severely over budget. And worst of all, a constant stream of notifications and decisions with no way to tell which ones actually mattered — what was truly urgent, and what impact it would have. Every week brought a new surprise, none of them good. Her whole-home remodel was designed to bring three generations under one roof, two sets of grandparents included, with privacy and dignity for everyone.

Same industry. Same Pacific Northwest. One proactive, one reactive — both chasing the same goal: a home built around family, not in spite of the people living in it.

Stephanie had spent her career across food, software, and residential remodel, fixing systems that were failing the people depending on them. Sitting with Lynn, she recognized immediately what had gone wrong. It wasn't bad luck. It was a broken process — decisions and notifications piling up with no signal for what was urgent versus what wasn't — paired with a contractor who wasn't communicating.

Lynn had spent her career in marketing and import/export, developing a sharp instinct for what people actually need underneath what they're asking for. She knew firsthand what families were really asking for when they called a contractor — and what it felt like when that contractor let them down.

The track meet was where they recognized each other. What they didn't yet know was how many other families were asking the same question — quietly, from their own kitchens, with no idea anyone else was asking it too. What they did know, already, was what had been missing every time: someone who'd tell them the truth, plainly, before they had to ask for it — without burying them in noise along the way.

What we kept seeing

One question, asked over and over.

Whether it's a young family navigating aging parents moving closer, a household making room for an adult child returning home, or a family thinking two steps ahead before a need becomes a crisis — the question is always the same: do we move, or do we remodel?

We saw it in our own families. Our friends. Eventually, across our whole community — the same conversation, in kitchen after kitchen, usually starting the same way: maybe it's time to look for a bigger house.

But moving rarely solves what people are actually trying to solve. A bigger house doesn't buy back the years with aging parents, or give an adult child room to land on their feet without losing independence, or let three generations gather under one roof without stepping on each other. The house people already had wasn't the problem. The question was what to do with it.

How do we make this home work for everyone in it?

The Pacific Northwest had no shortage of contractors who could add square footage. What it didn't have was a builder who understood the complexity behind the ask — the family dynamics, the privacy needs, the accessibility considerations, the long-term thinking required to get it right.

And almost none of them were communicating clearly enough for homeowners to feel confident in the process — too many notifications, not enough clarity on what actually mattered. Together, they built Tillit — a name that means trust in Norwegian, chosen because trust, earned through transparency, was the whole point.

What we build

Designed around real family life — not just floor plans.

We specialize in residential remodels, additions, ADUs, DADUs, and whole-home reconfigurations. Design and build aren't separate phases here — the same team that maps out the full scope of your project stays with you through construction. That's how we hand you an accurate budget from the start, with no re-explaining your project to someone new halfway through. And when changes come up, as they do, we handle them openly rather than letting the number quietly grow.

We've created private ADU suites that let grandparents live independently while staying close. We've reconfigured main floors so aging parents never climb stairs, while the family has their own world above. We've transformed homes that weren't working into homes that finally do.

How we communicate

You'll never wonder where your project stands.

Most contractors flood you with noise that doesn't require your attention — or go silent until something goes wrong. We do neither. You'll always know where your project stands — on your terms, not ours.

Everything, documented

Progress updates, contractor notes, and open tasks are documented throughout the build in a dedicated client portal. Check in daily, weekly, or whenever you feel like it — or trust the process and surface occasionally. It's there either way.

Reached when it matters

Your Project Lead contacts you directly when something urgent comes up or a directional decision is needed. Otherwise, your home is being built — and we won't interrupt your life to say things are on track.

The team

The people behind your project.

A small, senior team you'll actually work with — from the first sketch through the final walkthrough.

Stephanie

Co-Founder

A career built across software, a public health laboratory, multiple start-ups, and consulting into newspapers and medical research — fixing systems that were failing the people depending on them, and learning firsthand what it takes to scale something complex from scratch. Her own multi-generational remodel came in on time and on budget, built to host multiple family groups at once; she’s since built, owned, and remodeled five homes total. Tillit exists because she’d already sat on the other side of this process and knew exactly what a good one looks like. Mom to two busy daughters, which taught her more about calm under pressure than any job ever did.

Lynn

Co-Founder

Leads project delivery fluently in both English and Mandarin, working with clients across both communities. Her own whole-home remodel taught her what was actually broken in this industry: months behind schedule, badly over budget, and a constant stream of decisions with no way to tell what really mattered — for a home built to hold three generations, two sets of grandparents included. She saw firsthand how easily families in this position get let down by contractors who don’t understand what they’re actually asking for, and built Tillit’s process around the fix: less noise, more signal, and total transparency instead of fear of the unknown. A mom of four young kids, she’s on a mission to reshape how this industry treats the families who live in these homes.

KK

Project Lead

Spent years in the classroom before Tillit — a background that translates directly to running a brand: reading a room, holding structure, keeping things steady when they get chaotic. Today she shapes how the story of every project gets told. A mom of three, she knows exactly what a family space needs to actually work, not just look good. Whether she’s building a content calendar or cheering from the soccer sideline, KK brings the same energy: intentional, warm, and always with family at the center.

Yi

Project Lead

Fluent in English and Mandarin, built on over a decade in high tech running strategy and budgets for product teams — a skill set that translates directly: cutting through noise, holding people accountable, getting complicated things done on time. A mom of two energetic boys, she runs a second operation with the same standards — no missed deadlines, no dropped balls. She knows that behind every deadline is a family waiting and hoping it all comes together, so she doesn’t just watch the numbers — she protects the project, and the homeowner’s peace of mind along with it.

What we promise

Tillit means trust
in Norwegian.

We earn it through transparency. You'll know where your project stands. You'll know what every decision costs. You'll understand how each choice affects your timeline and your budget before it's made — not after.

Because no family should have to navigate one of the most personal decisions they'll ever make — how to make their home work for the people they love — without a builder they can actually trust.

Women-Owned
Founded and led by Stephanie & Lynn
Licensed General Contractor
Lic# TILLIDB755QD · Fully licensed & insured
Bellevue, Washington
Serving the greater Eastside
Pacific Northwest
Homeowners throughout the region

Let's make your home work for everyone in it.

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