let there be light fireproof Photographed by Sol Gutierrez

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1 let there be light fireproof An artful, LIGHT-FILLED house in the Methow Valley survives the big blaze and embraces its wild setting By Lisa Wogan Photographed by Sol Gutierrez 92 seattlemag.com march 2015

Designer Doug Potter in the kitchen. The cabinets are made of plywood, with a Formica countertop edged in steel and a kickboard fashioned from leftover steel cladding.

soon after). Having survived this first trial, the house settles into the landscape a little more each day. The cold-rolled steel exterior rusts and reacts to the weather.

2 Designer Doug Potter in the kitchen. The cabinets are made of plywood, with a Formica countertop edged in steel and a kickboard fashioned from leftover steel cladding. Open cupboards and the absence of a dishwasher contribute to the casual, cabin feel The Carlton Complex fire burned all around and within 50 yards of Kelly Edwards Twisp house last year (pictured soon after). Having survived this first trial, the house settles into the landscape a little more each day. The cold-rolled steel exterior rusts and reacts to the weather. All of the color that comes to this house is going to be from it living in this place, says Doug Potter. On the morning of July 17, 2014, Kelly Edwards woke to a text message from friends in Twisp, Washington: You ve been evacuated. Strong winds and high temperatures were whipping up the Carlton Complex fire, which was about to engulf much of the southern Methow Valley, on its way to being the worst forest fire in the state s history. Edwards dream house completed just five months earlier was directly in its path. A professor of bioethics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Edwards was at home in Seattle at the time, and her Methow neighbors wanted to know what belongings of hers they should try to save. She couldn t pick any particular items. All I could think is the whole thing is precious, she says. That whole thing is a 1,400-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house, six years in the making, on 20 acres among rolling, shrub-covered hills. Her friends retrieved some art, tossed away firewood that had been stacked on the porch and attached a small Buddha figure to the screen door before they were forced to leave because of the heavy smoke. A week later, Edwards headed over the Cascades to find her house untouched by fire on the otherwise blackened hillside. She was packing a solid karma book, says the fortunate home s designer, Doug Potter, whose own house in Winthrop sat under the fire s ominous smoke cloud for many days last July. A Seattle-born artist who moved to the MARCH 2015 seattlemag.com 93

let there be light Creating Distinctive Gardens for 25 Years Light spills into the first floor master bathroom from a window on the second

modernist or Japanese designs with the soul of old farmhouses and barns.

showers, even an occasional bowling-ball accent.

for a house that would be cozy inside, with the outdoors always there and available to you, she says. And just big enough.

The first floor (bedroom, bathroom, utility area and large outdoor-gear closet) is tucked into the thermal-mass concrete foundation with

A light-filled stairway off the entrance leads to the second floor, with its wide-open The railing brackets were salvaged from a mill in

3 let there be light Creating Distinctive Gardens for 25 Years Light spills into the first floor master bathroom from a window on the second floor Garden Design Landscape Construction & Maintenance Methow in 1975 after an extended detour through New Mexico, Potter has designed nearly 50 buildings in the valley. He uses materials such as exposed concrete, industrial steel and salvaged wood to create spaces that have the light-filled, open flow of modernist or Japanese designs with the soul of old farmhouses and barns. Sometimes called Potter Houses, they also sport inventive touches industrial drills used as stairway railings, galvanized-steel walls in showers, even an occasional bowling-ball accent. His artist-as-designer sensibility is what convinced Edwards (an art collector) that Potter was the person to help her realize her vision for a house that would be cozy inside, with the outdoors always there and available to you, she says. And just big enough. The steel-clad square, built into a slope with a large, flat overhanging roof and jutting wooden beams, is divided into two zones. The first floor (bedroom, bathroom, utility area and large outdoor-gear closet) is tucked into the thermal-mass concrete foundation with radiant-heated concrete floors, and feels snug and private. A light-filled stairway off the entrance leads to the second floor, with its wide-open The railing brackets were salvaged from a mill in Omak, east of Twisp When Edwards couldn t find just the right table, Potter designed one. Built out of leftover beams and welded to the floor, it acts as a sculptural centerpiece Pottery Showroom Container Design Designer Doug Potter s sturdy houses reflect his four decades of knowledge of the valley s weather extremes. Decks and the large roof overhang help protect view windows against the blazing summer sun Visit our Showroom at 517 E Pike Street Seattle WA seattlemag.com march 2015

let there be light Carpet: Driscoll Robbins Collection Merging Tradition & Modern Design Customer parking available, visit us online for a map and more details.

It s all light and views with a serious cabin feel thanks to the plywood walls and floors and repurposed beams spanning the ceiling.

The property extends from the road to the top of a hill, which is where Edwards originally wanted to build.

5 let there be light Carpet: Driscoll Robbins Collection Merging Tradition & Modern Design Customer parking available, visit us online for a map and more details. 997 Western Avenue, Seattle T driscollrobbins.com kitchen/dining/living area, large windows and a wraparound deck. It s all light and views with a serious cabin feel thanks to the plywood walls and floors and repurposed beams spanning the ceiling. Built-in benches in the living room and on the deck and a dining table bolted to the floor were fashioned from more beams retrieved from an old building in Yakima. The property extends from the road to the top of a hill, which is where Edwards originally wanted to build. Potter suggested instead that she locate the house in an arroyo partway up the slope for practical reasons (avoiding the cost, landscape disruption and future winter plowing challenges) as much as aesthetic. I was advised not to build on the most beautiful spot, Edwards says, because you kind of ruin it. Now she and her boyfriend walk to the hilltop to enjoy the view, and the uninterrupted ridgeline is preserved for the neighbors. Inside the house, the views are simultaneously protected and expansive. On most Fridays during the construction, Edwards drove out from Seattle in time to make coffee for the small crew of longtime Methowites and to meet with Potter. While the plan was established early on, aspects of the design evolved during these Friday conversations. The theme [of the project] was emergence, Edwards says. We had to make decisions based on how it felt. That emergence will take a giant leap forward this spring, after the snow melts and new grasses and wildflowers burst forth from the now nutrient-rich soil all around her lucky house. S Editor Lisa Wogan owns a Doug Potter-designed home. 96 seattlemag.com march 2015

Even on sunless winter days, light reflects off the snowy hillsides and

8535 Open Tue - Sat www.luxelightingcompany.

high-voltage electric lines along the Columbia River RESOURCES

6549; shackitecture.com Carpentry: Jerry Cole Woodworking Twisp; 509.341.

dk Kitchen lighting (yellow baskets): Rab industrial lighting rabweb.

6 Even on sunless winter days, light reflects off the snowy hillsides and illuminates the living room 8214 Greenwood Ave N. Seattle, WA Open Tue - Sat Potter fashioned rain chains out of glass insulators that had been used for high-voltage electric lines along the Columbia River RESOURCES Designer/contractor: Doug Potter, Shackitecture Winthrop; ; shackitecture.com Carpentry: Jerry Cole Woodworking Twisp; Wood-burning stove: Scan stove scan.dk Kitchen lighting (yellow baskets): Rab industrial lighting rabweb.com Living room task lights: Tolameo from Artemide artemide.us Art: Several local artists with work in Edwards home are represented by Confluence Gallery Twisp, 104 Glover, St.; ; confluencegallery.com MARCH 2015 seattlemag.com 97

Classic FINNISH! A MODERN. Rediscover WOOD WORKS YOUR WALLS FRESH ALTERNATIVES FOR SPRING. Revitalizing A Lebanon Farmhouse. Race to the.

Classic FINNISH! A MODERN. Rediscover WOOD WORKS YOUR WALLS FRESH ALTERNATIVES FOR SPRING. Revitalizing A Lebanon Farmhouse. Race to the. As Seen In MARCH APRIL 2008 A MODERN Classic Revitalizing A Lebanon Farmhouse Rediscover YOUR WALLS FRESH ALTERNATIVES FOR SPRING Race to the FINNISH! FABULOUS MODERN FURNITURE WOOD WORKS 5 FUN DETAILS