ABOUT US
Buddha Builders
Founded in 2018 by Colby Atkinson, Buddha Builders is a premier hardscaping and landscaping design firm, proudly veteran-owned and operated. With over two decades of experience serving the greater Seattle area, Colby has cultivated a deep understanding of transforming outdoor spaces into elegant, functional, and sustainable environments that enhance the natural beauty of both residential and commercial properties.
At Buddha Builders, we believe in creating outdoor spaces that are as enduring as they are inspiring—places where form and function merge seamlessly. Our approach is centered on bespoke designs tailored to each client’s unique aesthetic and lifestyle needs, ensuring that every project reflects a vision of distinction and sophistication.
Beyond our commitment to craftsmanship, we are dedicated to giving back to the community that has supported us throughout the years. Colby is passionate about philanthropy, contributing some of Buddha Builders’ profits to local charities, including neighborhood food banks, battered women’s shelters, and drug rehabilitation centers. Our clients are also invited to participate in this mission, with opportunities to support these causes as part of their projects.
At Buddha Builders, we are not just reshaping landscapes but enriching lives. Our designs are an investment in the future of our community, enhancing the natural world with beauty, purpose, and enduring quality.
Some of the services we provide:
- Landscape design
- Landscaping
- Hardscaping
- Retaining wall design
- Retaining walls
- Pool designs
- Driveways
- Firepits
- Pavers
- Deck designs
- Luxury outdoor elements
- Outdoor living spaces
- Patio designs
- Outdoor lighting
- Outdoor kitchen spaces
- Fencing
- Fireplaces
- Sheds
OUR STANDARDS
Our company is comprised of leaders in the industry who will bring your vision to life with the least amount of hassle possible, no matter how big the project. Understandably, you want to live in your vision, not in the process. Buddha Builders pairs attention to detail, steadiness and experience to quickly get you to your vision, never rushing and always finishing on time.
Along with unique and quality design, we constantly strive to offer a growing catalog of innovative products for your home and outdoor living space. From your vision arises the opportunity for Buddha Builders to offer you many local, sustainable materials and techniques. The materials we use are of the highest quality, and guaranteed free from any defects upon installation. We will work smart to ensure you get the most from your investment.
We maintain a timeline and communicate updates the entire project, ensuring your complete satisfaction before calling the job complete.
Browse our site and offerings for photos of finished projects.
OUR ROOTS
Our founder, Colby Atkinson, was born in New York City in a Buddhist monastery. He lived his early childhood years in Greyston, a Zen Buddhist community where he spent his days going to work with his parents in the bakery. Have you ever noticed the history on the side of your pint of Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream? Greyston Bakery is responsible for much more than those bits of indulgence in each bite. With their groundbreaking open-door hiring policy, anyone who wants a job at Greyston is given the chance to work. Colby grew up within the Buddhism community, but at the time was more interested in taste testing cookie dough than he was sitting in meditation; kids these days…
Fast forward through two deployments with the US Marines, it wasn’t until Colby came home from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan that he began practicing meditation and prayer regularly. Structure and balance from military training and application, along with a willingness to return to self-exploration and life at home, was the perfect synergy to bring Jesus Christ into Colby’s daily life. The training and guidance he received in the military set Colby up to combine these skills with those previously obtained apprenticing under a third generation Italian stone mason in New York. All of this, laying the foundation for what is now Buddha Builders LLC. Since then, Colby put his money where his mouth is, as they say, and took the next step towards living a life walking side-by-side with God, fighting temptation to past sin and taking the easier road. Colby got to work in living a life of following Christ, and in designing and constructing hardscapes and landscapes here in the Northwest.