The house has a reverse floor plan, with the bedrooms and bathrooms on the first floor and an open kitchen, living area and dining space, plus a half bath, on the second level.
For the second floor, Wilson purposefully stayed with basic finishes that would be timeless — walnut floors, white kitchen cabinets and a marble kitchen island. "But we also wanted to introduce some whimsy into the design," she says. "We applied wallpaper above the credenza in the lounge, but to a small area so that it can be easily changed in the future."
The aquamarine-blue touches reminded Wilson and her clients of Palm Springs. "It was one of those things we saw on a lot of house tours, and it just stuck," says Wilson, "along with the use of wood on ceilings."
Gray sofa: EQ3; round glass table: vintage, Eileen Gray; pillows: Waverly Small Talk Accent; rug: Andalusia, West Elm; dining table: handmade by Amish furniture makers in Ontario, Canada; Shell Chairs: Eames; yellow chairs: vintage, Area 51; white sofa: vintage; acrylic tables: Gus Timber; hanging light fixture: black Tom Dixon Beat Light Wide; credenza: custom design by Charlene Wilson, fabricated by 7 Hills Design; wallpaper: Flavor Paper Scrubs on Gold Pony Skin Foil; wall sconces above credenza, (on wallpaper): SuperOrdinate Antler Sconce, Design Within Reach
by Portal Design Inc For the second floor, Wilson purposefully stayed with basic finishes that would be timeless — walnut floors, white kitchen cabinets and a marble kitchen island. "But we also wanted to introduce some whimsy into the design," she says. "We applied wallpaper above the credenza in the lounge, but to a small area so that it can be easily changed in the future."
The aquamarine-blue touches reminded Wilson and her clients of Palm Springs. "It was one of those things we saw on a lot of house tours, and it just stuck," says Wilson, "along with the use of wood on ceilings."
Gray sofa: EQ3; round glass table: vintage, Eileen Gray; pillows: Waverly Small Talk Accent; rug: Andalusia, West Elm; dining table: handmade by Amish furniture makers in Ontario, Canada; Shell Chairs: Eames; yellow chairs: vintage, Area 51; white sofa: vintage; acrylic tables: Gus Timber; hanging light fixture: black Tom Dixon Beat Light Wide; credenza: custom design by Charlene Wilson, fabricated by 7 Hills Design; wallpaper: Flavor Paper Scrubs on Gold Pony Skin Foil; wall sconces above credenza, (on wallpaper): SuperOrdinate Antler Sconce, Design Within Reach
The look of the front elevation was influenced by the site's sloping nature. "We created a pop-out over the garage that's clad in metal and balances that side of the house," says Wilson. She also added a number of new windows to allow in as much light as possible.
The green portion of the facade is Hardie board panels, and the gray is Hardie board siding. The existing porch was torn down and replaced with one that has a ceiling made of cedar car decking — an element that's also used inside the house on a portion of the ceiling on the second floor — and a stainless steel door.
"Because the lot is so steep," Wilson says, "we had to make quite a few transitions to get from the driveway up, from the sidewalk up, and still have that connection to be able to go around the side of the house to the backyard."
by Portal Design Inc
The green portion of the facade is Hardie board panels, and the gray is Hardie board siding. The existing porch was torn down and replaced with one that has a ceiling made of cedar car decking — an element that's also used inside the house on a portion of the ceiling on the second floor — and a stainless steel door.
"Because the lot is so steep," Wilson says, "we had to make quite a few transitions to get from the driveway up, from the sidewalk up, and still have that connection to be able to go around the side of the house to the backyard."
The stairs are in the same place as they were in the original house, but in their previous incarnation they were completely walled in. "What we chose to do in an effort to not completely demolish the house, and do too many structural changes, was to use a steel frame after the walls were removed," says Wilson. "By doing that we were able to keep the members much smaller."
She adds, "We also really liked the modern aesthetic of the painted steel with wood offsets." The stair treads are parallel strand lumber, and the railing, with stainless steel cables, was custom designed by Portal Design and fabricated by its contractor.
by Portal Design Inc She adds, "We also really liked the modern aesthetic of the painted steel with wood offsets." The stair treads are parallel strand lumber, and the railing, with stainless steel cables, was custom designed by Portal Design and fabricated by its contractor.
The kitchen island is topped with marble and clad in gray lacquer over medium-density fiberboard (MDF). The wood toe kick is walnut, to match the floor. The artwork is from Shag in Palm Springs.
Bar stools: CB2; pendants: Tech Lighting Pele Pendants; refrigerator: Architect Series, KitchenAid
by Portal Design Inc Bar stools: CB2; pendants: Tech Lighting Pele Pendants; refrigerator: Architect Series, KitchenAid
The walnut wrap on the left side of the refrigerator frames in the white cabinets. "The idea was to create a furniture type of look, where there's an edge of walnut showing, and offsetting that with the white lacquer," says Wilson.
The small cabinet above the sink is tied to the cabinet to its left and then jumps up to create an enclosure for the range hood. "The exhaust pipe that comes out of the range hood is unsightly, but because of the roof slope we weren't able to emphasize it the way you normally would with a stainless steel hood," says Wilson.
She adds, "So that box was created to conceal the hood, and the squarish cabinet to the right is its counterbalance. It was just one of those things born of necessity." The stairs to the right lead up to the loft office.
Range: 30-inch gas, Wolf; countertops: Caesarstone
by Portal Design Inc The small cabinet above the sink is tied to the cabinet to its left and then jumps up to create an enclosure for the range hood. "The exhaust pipe that comes out of the range hood is unsightly, but because of the roof slope we weren't able to emphasize it the way you normally would with a stainless steel hood," says Wilson.
She adds, "So that box was created to conceal the hood, and the squarish cabinet to the right is its counterbalance. It was just one of those things born of necessity." The stairs to the right lead up to the loft office.
Range: 30-inch gas, Wolf; countertops: Caesarstone
The design of the master bedroom again reflects Wilson's effort to keep things that were going to be more permanent as neutral as possible. "There's a lot of light in the house, and on the headboard wall we wanted a nice neutral to dark color," says Wilson. "We chose that warm gray partially because it's an easy color to decorate with as a background. You can throw anything against it, and it's going to look fabulous."
Because the master bathroom is buried a bit in the middle of the house, Wilson used a frosted glass panel in the shower to allow more daylight to traverse into the bathroom.
Bed: Min Bed with Plexi Headboard, Design Within Reach; linens: Ironwork, West Elm; lamp, table at left: vintage; lamp on shelf: Tube Top, Design Within Reach; artwork: Creamsicles print, Crate & Barrel; wall paint: Chelsea Gray HC-168, Benjamin Moore
by Portal Design Inc Because the master bathroom is buried a bit in the middle of the house, Wilson used a frosted glass panel in the shower to allow more daylight to traverse into the bathroom.
Bed: Min Bed with Plexi Headboard, Design Within Reach; linens: Ironwork, West Elm; lamp, table at left: vintage; lamp on shelf: Tube Top, Design Within Reach; artwork: Creamsicles print, Crate & Barrel; wall paint: Chelsea Gray HC-168, Benjamin Moore
For the main bathroom, Wilson chose to have the backsplash go from the top of the counter to the ceiling to accent the alcove. This also plays into the verticality of the mirror, which has interior lights on both sides.
The blue portion of the vanity is lacquered MDF, while the wood elements here and on the tub surround are walnut.
Backsplash: Seattle Tile Company; countertop: Caesarstone; sink: Vero, Duravit; faucet: Metris, Hansgrohe; tub: Paiova, Duravit; rain showerhead: Arzo, Delta; flooring: Fiel Obsidian Black (12 by 24), Seattle Tile Company
by Portal Design Inc The blue portion of the vanity is lacquered MDF, while the wood elements here and on the tub surround are walnut.
Backsplash: Seattle Tile Company; countertop: Caesarstone; sink: Vero, Duravit; faucet: Metris, Hansgrohe; tub: Paiova, Duravit; rain showerhead: Arzo, Delta; flooring: Fiel Obsidian Black (12 by 24), Seattle Tile Company
A deck opens off the main living area and cantilevers over a small addition Wilson added to expand the master bedroom. The awning is frosted acrylic and was custom designed.
Outdoor fireplace: Modfire
by Portal Design Inc Outdoor fireplace: Modfire
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When I originally clicked on the link, I too expected to actually see a craftsman. I guess there's some semantics game here that I'm not getting. Maybe it Used To Be a Craftsman. And those homes don't have open designs by nature.
While I'm cool with making your home into something you love- if you're spending this much money to deconstruct a home, why not just buy a different home?
While I am all for modern homes, and while I like the interior of this one (not the exterior), I can't wholly appreciate the result. It has a bit of a negative connotation.
Sartarehare, we assist our clients in assessing their options; tear down, build new, renovate or move. The client searched for 2-3 years for a modern home of a reasonable size, in their price range and in a neighborhood that offered the same amenities. All the homes on the market were too large, or needed even more work to make them modern or were located in areas of Seattle that didn't suit. After that long a search they made the decision to renovate the home they had instead of purchasing a new home that had more square feet than they needed. That is why they didn't "just buy a different home".
Speaking as someone who has spent 20 years strictly on renovations, I consider this a great feat. It takes a tremendous amount of creativity and restraint to design and build a great space given the confines of the existing structure and site. The terraces and the new entry and "bump out" make, what was surely, an over imposing, simplistic barn-like box seem inviting and to scale.
What most people don't understand is that it is much easier and cheaper to bulldoze these broken down old structures than it is to renovate.
Opening up the floor plan and flooding it with natural light make this a home I would be content spending the rest of my days in.
Keep up the good work.
The single car garage - no options here. The garage had to remain in that location due to the site conditions and it is not uncommon to have single car garages, or no garage at all in this neighborhood. The home owner has been hauling groceries up to the kitchen since the late 80's, they're OK with it. It's what you compromise on to have a great view out of your kitchen.
The open space vs. heating - the heat source is underfloor radiant heat. The warmth is where the people are, at floor level. The house is quite comfortable and does not feel cold.
The noise - in any open plan you will hear a TV or conversation in any part of that open area, but that doesn't make it noisy. However, we anticipated the potential for noise travel between floors and insulated the floor/ceiling between the upper living level / kitchen area and the bedroom level below.
The wood step does take a little ritual when bathing - like wiping up the step when you are done. In addition, the tub at the shower portion is 3 feet wide so overspray is at a minimum. The cabinet maker selected a tough and low maintenance finish for the wood which will help in the long run - bottom line is, sometimes you select materials knowing there will be a little upkeep and you accept it for the aesthetic benefits. The client was a big proponent of this wood feature and understood we could have used a tile or stone step instead.
I hope this answers your questions.
Being an engineer myself I love the steel members and the clarity with which they show the load distribution, although I assume that there is no way to avoid sound transmission from one extreme of the beams to another = between floors and rooms..
Beautiful home.