PORTRAI TM DESTINATION ASHLAND EAT / STAY / EXPLORE COLLECTORS RETREAT HELIOTROPE ARCHITECTS DEFOREST ARCHITECTS MODERN HOME IN THE TREES

Transcription

1 H O M E G A R D E N T R A V E L A N D L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E PORTRAI TM 97 FRESH DESIGN IDEAS + TOP NW CHEF RECIPES! OF SEATTLE Garret Cord Werner Designs PACIFIC SPIRIT ART ESTATE DEFOREST ARCHITECTS MODERN HOME IN THE TREES COLLECTORS RETREAT HELIOTROPE ARCHITECTS PortraitMagazine.com DISPLAY UNTIL 05/15/19 $5.95 US DESTINATION ASHLAND EAT / STAY / EXPLORE

2 H O M E G A R D E N T R A V E L A N D L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E PORTRAI TM OF PORTLAND TOP NW CHEF RECIPES! + KITCHEN DESIGNS from the pros HILLSIDE MODERN by Allied Works Architecture COLOR+DESIGN INSPIRATIONS HELIOTROPE ARCHITECTS COLLECTORS RETREAT PortraitMagazine.com DISPLAY UNTIL 05/15/19 $5.95 US DESTINATION ASHLAND EAT / STAY / EXPLORE

3 TAKING CUES FROM PUGET SOUND S REMARKABLE LANDSCAPE, THIS CUSTOM-BUILT SYLVAN RETREAT ON BURIEN S WATERFRONT REPRESENTS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARTISTIC HOMEOWNERS AND AN ALL-STAR DESIGN TEAM. BOLD COLORS, FEARLESS CONTRASTS, AND A LAYOUT INSPIRED BY THE LAND COMBINE TO CREATE A LUMINOUS SPACE THAT APPEARS TO LEVITATE AMONG THE TREES. written by MARGARETT WATERBURY photography by HARIS KENJAR TREE HOUSE

4 IT S OFTEN SAID THAT A HOME SHOULD BE oa reflection of the people who live there. For these homeowners, designing their dream home gave them the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in a brandnew way. So it s no surprise that the couple one a graphic designer, the other a painter sought out an architect and design team willing to collaborate rather than control. We interviewed seven architects before deciding on DeForest, says the homeowner. We really felt like they were collaborative, which was so important to us. Based in Seattle, Washington, DeForest Architects is a 12-person architecture firm that frequently works on custom single-family residential projects. We often work with adventurous clients who are into design and want to be part of the process, says principal John DeForest, so we ve developed tools that empower them to be active participants. That includes collaborative brainstorming sessions, the creation of a spatial history a list of past living spaces and the impact they had on clients lives and a commitment to involving clients throughout the design and construction process, down to the subtle details. The project is located on the Burien waterfront on a three-acre site that includes waterfront and sloping coastal forest. Before it was subdivided in 2008, the land was once part of an estate that belonged to the Blethen family, publishers of the Seattle Times, and included a historic beach cabin as well as a formal garden. The homeowners really connected with the place, the property, and the woods, and that s what ultimately inspired the design, says John. With relatively steep terrain and forested conditions, the site posed challenges as well as opportunities. The team evaluated a variety of potential options for configuring the house. The most basic version the path of least resistance, as Michael Knowles, project architect for DeForest, puts it was a simple box sitting on the most level part of the site. But the arrangement didn t feel quite right. The box looked out of place and didn t seem to belong in the landscape. Instead, the team settled on a more extended configuration inspired by the way a trail would organically follow the slope. The structure then became a vehicle for exploring the site from different points of view, says Michael. By elongating the form of the house, John and Michael were able to create a wide variety of types of spaces, light, orientations, and relationships to the landscape. The master bedroom really feels like a crow s nest, says John. The trees are just so close to you, and you can see through them to the water. A sunroom at the top of the staircase has a retreat-like feel reminiscent of a grown-up tree house. The living room feels like an aerie floating in the forest, surrounded by trees on three sides with a direct view over Puget Sound. Custom walnut cabinetry from Kerf Design gives the kitchen a warm, modern feel. A few carefully placed red veneer facings on select cabinet faces, as well as a semi-hidden red jamb liner on the pocket door, provided just the right link to red in other parts of the house. The red blends in with the walnut in a beautiful, calm way, says Andy, and also feels like a special bespoke detail. The sapphire color of the ceramics collection is reflected in the dining room chairs. 30 PortraitMagazine.com PortraitMagazine.com 31

5 FACING PAGE In the upstairs bedrooms, slightly darker blue tones are used to create a calming effect while continuing to reference the brilliant blues downstairs. THIS PAGE An open layout that emphasizes spaciousness and flow may have accomplished the impossible getting guests to hang out someplace other than the kitchen. We had a party recently, and I looked up and noticed instead of everybody hanging out in the kitchen, there were people using the front deck, the back deck, the dining room, and the living room, says the homeowner, who then laughs. And of course, they were in the kitchen too. In a way, the house is really straightforward, says John. It s a three bed, two and a half bath home, comfortably scaled, not too big. It s not special because it has an observatory or underground swimming pool. It s special because of how the spaces are connected and how they sit in the landscape. He adds that Toth Construction, the contractor for the project, played an integral role in ensuring the team s vision translated into the final structure. Moving from the envelope to the interior, designer Andy Beers of Ore Studios took advantage of the extensive visioning materials created during the brainstorming phase of the process. Those were some of the first things shared with our office, and it allowed us to get up to speed with the project really quickly, says Andy. The imagery the clients showed me early on was very bold, very brave, but they also wanted the house to feel calm and enmeshed with nature. So the question became, how do we support both those things? How do we make this a place that supports fine art, adventure, strong color, but also make it feel like a retreat? That was a major focus of our early work on the project. Instances of balancing interest with serenity can be found throughout the home. The floors are end grain bleached hemlock, an unusual choice more commonly used in commercial settings. Andy says it was a perfect option because the home already had black windows and white walls, setting up significant contrast, so the floor needed to play an anchoring, calming role. Yet in keeping with the homeowners desire for strong visual statements, the end grain wood provides another layer of texture. It s an interesting choice with a twist that felt different, but still calm, he explains. Two strong colors sapphire blue and deep red play a unifying role in the color palette. Early on in the design process, a red staircase emerged as a major priority for the homeowners, so Andy utilized controlled amounts of a similar red tone throughout the house to create 32 PortraitMagazine.com PortraitMagazine.com 33

6 PROJECT SOURCES LEFT + BOTTOM LEFT Two exterior decks take the living space outdoors. BELOW The red steel staircase was an early design touchstone. Red veneer facings on cabinet link to red in other parts of the house. OPPOSITE In the master bath shower, one of the homeowners used her graphic design skills to create a custom tile layout using simple charcoal glaze ceramic tile. I wanted something that wasn t overly symmetrical and that had a good sense of movement to it, says the homeowner. It s fun that I was able to put my stamp on something. CONTRACTOR Toth Construction Inc ARCHITECT DeForest Architects INTERIOR DESIGN Ore Studios WINDOWS & DOORS Sierra Pacific Windows PLUMBING FIXTURES Best Plumbing Kitchen & Bath Plumbing Fixtures: Best Plumbing: Kohler, Blanco, Insinkerator, Wet Style, Hansgrohe, Toto; Kitchen Appliances: Wolf, Bertazzoni, Electrolux resonance. I wanted to reference it, but subtly, without creating a totally red room, explains Andy. I wanted the red stair to feel special, but also contextualized in some way. Subtle pops of deep red in the kitchen cabinetry and living room textiles helped achieve that integrated effect. One of the homeowners had inherited a collection of 1970s ceramics in a brilliant sapphire glaze that she wanted to display prominently in the home. Again, we wanted to reference it without looking like we were adhering to a theme, says Andy. So we incorporated the blue in thoughtful ways in upholstery. Downstairs, that takes the form of resonant jewel-toned sapphire, while in the upstairs bedrooms, darker, more calming blues are used. It was such a pleasure working with the team that executed this project, says Andy. There was a lot of communication and cooperation required to get some of these details right, and everyone did such an outstanding job translating the homeowners wishes with fidelity and executing at a high level. Living here is just awesome, says the homeowner. We really feel like De- Forest made it about as easy as it could be, and allowed us to be as involved as we wanted. 34 PortraitMagazine.com PortraitMagazine.com 35