Kelly Dawson

“The clients wanted a contemporary project, while retaining the character and some classical details of the original house,” Moreau says. Marvin Windows and Doors installed new panes and openings to the historic home.

“Completing the sequence [of the structure] is the bedroom and bathroom, beyond the barn door threshold, designating them as the least frequently used spaces,” Schaer says. For now, grandparents can use the bedroom when they visit, but the owners also hope to rent it out one day. The George Nelson Bubble Lamp is from Modernica.

“[The clients] wished for a simple and flexible space that could be reconfigured to suit the evolving needs of the family,” principal Thomas Schaer says. “Our goal was pretty simple: don’t overthink it and have fun.” Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal covers the siding, while Segovia Red adds a pop of color to the exterior doors. Two Chair_ONEs by Konstantin Grcic stand on the patio.

Milestones' cement plaster covers the walls of the minimalist bathroom. The Scola sink from Duravit is accompanied by a chrome Grohe Essence faucet and Hansgrohe's Croma Green Showerpipe.

“The bank of full-height windows brings in tons of southern light, but it also gives the stable a strong street presence, and it ties into the stick-built window pattern already established at the entry to the main house,” Schaer says. The locally-sourced Douglas fir windows and doors were provided by Lindal Cedar Homes.

“Concrete floors, drywall, and minimal use of trim allowed for the feel of the space to remain utilitarian, while exposed Douglas fir structural members created a connection to regional Pacific Northwest design,” Schaer says. The clients wanted a place for painting and occasional freelance work, which fits opposite the room's fireplace and seating area. A Kevi Chair by Jørgen Rasmussen accompanies the desk.

To evoke the structure’s past as a horse stable, and provide options for the use of the space, Schaer and his team employed Sing Core sliding barn doors mounted on Krownlab’s Axel hardware. The sliding track runs the full width of the building, allowing residents to open or conceal a bedroom, kitchenette, and entrance to an adjacent 530 square-foot garage, all depending on how the spaces are being used. The kitchenette, seen left, features a Kraus sink and a chrome Grohe Concetto faucet.

The clients selected a Coral pendant light by David Trubridge Design for the center of the room. Their souvenir from Norway, a reindeer pelt, is spread out in front of Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chairs with metal bases from Herman Miller. The wood-burning stove is a Monet from HWAM.

The renovated stable's living room is extra bright thanks to walls painted with Benjamin Moore’s Atrium White and reflective polished concrete floors. The latter conceal a radiant heating system.

“The stable/garage was built with two intersecting gable roof forms," Schaer says, which didn't match up with the inteiror spaces within. “In order to provide a unified, singular main space, we dropped a flat ceiling at the entrance and linked it up with the main gable visible from the street.”

“They wanted to integrate outdoor living, which we did with a series of decks accessible from the living level, a screened porch, and a large second-floor deck accessible from the second-floor master bedroom,” Gurney says. An Eames Molded Plywood chair is positioned next to the window.

“The finished materials are intended to be neutral and timeless, primarily employing woods and white walls,” says Gurney. “Color was introduced in juxtaposition to the neutrality.” When the sun isn’t shining, a Montigo gas-burning fireplace provides warmth next to neon WGS stools by Gallotti&Radice.

HardiPlank lap siding wraps around the exterior of the home, while a combination of mahogany and cement-board rainscreens provide contrast.

The home has a series of ramps and decks that were built to safely break apart if a major storm occurs. Exterior doors are by Weather Shield Windows & Doors, with handles by Baldwin Hardware.

The maple-veneered kitchen cabinets were designed by Gurney and fabricated by Dovetail Millwork. Brookside Veneers were used on the wall cabinets and island, which enclose a Monogram refrigerator. A Felix Black barstool by Mark Daniel from Crate & Barrel sits on the opposing end.

Since one of the owners is an artist, the property also had to act as a live-in gallery. An Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair stands across from matching Le Corbusier LC1 Sling Chairs in the living room.

The owners wanted a light-filled home with plenty of waterside views. Gurney also employed Weather Shield Windows & Doors to brighten the structure with varying panes, and he strategically placed the openings for ideal levels of sunlight.

Maple floors with with a white-oil finish were used throughout the home, including at the second-story landing. A Platform Bench by George Nelson offers a more practical alternative to the playful Tatino ball chairs by Baleri Italia.

Sapele is also prominently displayed in the great room. “It provided all the warmth we needed in the space, while the tile floors gave us the durability and resistance to wet feet that they wanted for the main level floor,” Witt explains. A custom end table with a granite top and Dalton Recliners by Room & Board sit around a fireplace from Monessen.

Witt and his team used the framework of the original home as guidance for the new property, but they decided to change the orientation of the master bedroom’s windows to show views of Mount Rainer. “Seeing Mt. Rainer set behind the lake like that is extraordinary,” he says. Once again, sapele was used for the detailing.

“They are a very active family, with rowing and basketball at the top of the list,” Witt says. “Other activities include water sports, volleyball, and entertaining—even in the winter months, which have short, usually damp days.” Witt created a garage deep enough to hang rowing shelves and enclosed it in a Wayne Dalton garage door.

Abodian built the cabinetry in the kitchen, which features the same sapele wood used throughout the home.

A Hy-Lite glass door can be found in the master bathroom, which is wrapped in Q-Stone tiles in Ice by Provenza. Kohler Flipside showerheads stand on either side.

The home’s front door, by Simpson Door Company, fills an eight-foot frame with sapele veneer on solid wood. “Sapele [is] an African mahogany often used in marine construction,” Witt says. An Emtek Hera handle is fastened to the door.

“The main level’s roof form echoes the previous home, while the upstairs roof is oriented to gather as much light and lake view as possible,” says project architect Kevin Witt, AIA. A Nu-Ray Metals standing seam roof in old town gray covers it all.

“The roof over the entry is meant to evoke the shape of a rowing oar,” Witt says. The family swins or rows nearly every day. Milgard Windows and Doors supplied windows from their Tuscany series in a silver exterior finish.

The challenge of the Douglas fir built-ins was that they had to be made with 60-degree angles in mind. Vincent Pocsik of Marbletecture created the custom walnut dining table to match, and it is surrounded by Blu Dot’s Real Good Chairs.

“By shifting the 60-degree equilateral grid of the home 18 degrees, it blurred the edges of the lot line so that the user isn’t sure where the property starts or ends,” Marble said. The hexagonal shape also makes the most of passing breezes, changing sunlight, and bird’s eye views.

The interior design of the home was shaped by its construction, and a mantra that Marble refers to as “It is what it is-ism.” He and the owner wanted to keep the structure simple and leave most of the details to the furniture. A vintage Ekornes chair sits in the living room alongside a geometrically-styled brass Geo Glass Light by Jason Koharik for Lawson-Fenning.

“The [home] is a sanctuary, despite being a duplex on a standard lot in a regular urban grid,” Marble says. Irrigation was limited to vegetable beds that feature drought-tolerant landscaping.

“[The owner] wanted a place that was a sort of retreat, a place for meditation and contemplation,” architect Tom Marble says. “He wanted views, but he also wanted a strong relationship to the outside.”

Fleetwood Windows & Doors provided the dual-glazed panes throughout the home.

The owner wanted a property that had the least amount of impact on the environment as possible, while staying within his budget. Eco Steel prefabricated the home’s steel frame, and simple materials filled in the details: metal pan decking composed the ceiling, polished concrete made up the floors, dry wall comprised the rooms, and Douglas fir built-ins were constructed in between.

The painted-gray concrete deck, edged with quarter-inch thick steel railings, offers sweeping views of the city.

“The principal forms were there,” architect Robert Young says of the original property. The transformation reoriented the home’s entrance with horizontal roof planes and an exterior comprised of Western red cedar.

White oak flooring continues into a media room with furnishings by Knoll. The space has a sliding door that flows into the outdoor deck.