Clients who do business with Jim Copeland Designing and J. Wilbert Fine Homes, two Gig Harbor-area businesses that have collaborated on many projects over the years, receive personalized and custom services from both firms.

Jim Copeland, who recently relocated his design business to Gig Harbor after a long tenure in Fircrest, emphasizes the importance of providing clients with homes they love.

“A home is all about how you feel when you walk into it,” said Copeland, who estimates he has designed several hundred houses during the 21 years he’s been in business.

Many of those projects, which have included remodels, additions, and new construction, have been waterfront and view properties, Copeland said.

By employing advanced computer software and imaging systems, Copeland does everything he can to help clients feel comfortable in their homes before they are even built.

For instance, he can bring designs to life on a computer screen, so much so that clients can “walk through” their future homes.

“It makes a difference for customers,” Copeland said. “They don’t have to visualize. They can see it.”

Of the many homes Copeland has worked on during his career, more than a few have been done in partnership with J. Wilbert Fine Homes, a Gig Harbor construction company operated by Jeff Wilbert. Both companies offer clients a wealth of experience.

Copeland began his career in 1975 as a general contractor, then transitioned to designing in 1990. Wilbert started out in the late 1970s with remodeling projects.

“That adds up to a lot of years between the two of us,” Copeland said.

Professionally, Copeland and Wilbert have worked together for 15 years. Both businesses take on a variety of jobs, from small-scale additions and remodels, to complex remodeling and construction of large, custom homes.

But while Copeland and Wilbert like to collaborate, they stress they are separate businesses and not a design-build firm.

“We don’t want people to be afraid to come see one or the other of us,” Wilbert said. “We’re not high-pressure people.”

In addition to having a longstanding professional relationship, both men also come from families that share deep roots in Gig Harbor. Wilbert, a lifelong resident of the Wollochet Bay area, is the son of former Gig Harbor Mayor Gretchen Wilbert, who served in that post for 16 years before she retired six years ago. Copeland, whose father, John Copeland, was a local businessman in the area, has similar ties.

“My dad was a home designer in Gig Harbor for many, many years, so there’s that history and connection,” Jim Copeland said.

Copeland Designing and J. Wilbert Fine Homes now share office space in downtown Gig Harbor at 3024 Harborview Drive, Suite A, in the Green Cottage Village. Despite the economic downturn that has hit all aspects of the housing market, Copeland and Wilbert say they were better prepared than most.

“We started making adjustments right away,” Copeland said.

Wilbert added that, since both businesses have been in existence long enough to weather previous recessions, they knew how to prepare and manage.

“We maintain as low profit margins as possible,” Wilbert said, “while still providing good, quality service and products.”

As market conditions gradually improve, Copeland said he hopes to see new activity in Gig Harbor, as well as development of more business in Kitsap and Mason counties.

Jim Copeland Designing can be reached at 253-566-4200, or at www.jimcopeland.com. J. Wilbert Fine Homes can be reached at 253-857-7150, or at www.jwilbertfinehomes.com.

“We’re here,” Copeland said. “We’re available, and we’d like to see some people find us.”


Leah Traxel is a freelance writer from Port Orchard and a member of MediaLab at Pacific Lutheran University.