Located just blocks away from Capitol Hill’s picturesque Volunteer Park, this triplex blends new and old to fit into its historical context. Originally on the site was a dilapidated rental with a failing foundation. The property has been thoughtfully reimagined to optimize the LR-2 zoning while honoring the charm of its early 1900s neighboring homes. Positioned between two single-family houses, we minimized the building’s scale by employing a steeper front roof pitch, creating a harmonious blend with the surrounding structures even though the building is a full story taller. The building features a 3 bedroom 2.25 bath owner’s unit occupying the top two floors, a 2 bedroom 2 bath rental unit occupying the ground level, and a 1 bedroom 1 bath occupying the daylight basement. An elevator connects the owner’s 1 car garage to the upper floors. The design of each unit enjoys its own private outdoor space. Collaborating with Francine Day, we designed the landscape to meet Seattle’s Green Factor requirements, incorporating drought-tolerant plantings for sustainable urban living. On the interior, large windows and window bays, and carefully designed spaces make the most of the narrow site. Constructed to Built Green 4 and 5 star standards, the triplex not only features green materials, but efficient mechanical systems and superior insulation, along with a host of other green features.

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Nestled on the edge of a Native Growth Protection Area, this 4,500 SF custom-designed home offers breathtaking views of Lake Washington from its upper floors and expansive roof deck. At the entry, a striking stairway serves as a focal point but also creates a visual barrier from the oversized six-car garage in the rear. The main level features an open layout with living, dining, kitchen, and breakfast nook areas. It opens to a view deck with a double-sided indoor/outdoor fireplace, while the rear opens to another deck with access to the rear yard and autocourt. Accessibility and aging in place are supported by a residential elevator serving all levels of the home. The upper level boasts four large bedrooms, all with walk-in closets, and a full-size laundry room. The custom staircase leads to a spacious roof deck high above everything surrounding it, offering stunning views of Lake Washington. The exterior is clad in a mix of durable cement board siding and natural materials, blending seamlessly with its surroundings.

 

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This house in Madrona was an exercise in maximizing the potential of a small lot.  With only 2,400 SF of area and substantial elevation change, the envelope was constrained, but the steep slope and corner location provided beautiful views of Lake Washington and Bellevue beyond.  The house bends in the middle, both to capture these views and fit on the irregular lot, with a lightwell and stair at the elbow distributing light from skylights above.  The roof of the house repeats this bend, tilting up at the East to allow for expansive glazing but continuing down on the West side, helping the scale of the house and providing area for solar panels. We used a reverse plan, with an open great room and roof deck on the highest level offering vaulted ceilings and sweeping views.  A buried garage connects to the house on the lower level, with a dumbwaiter used to help move groceries to the kitchen.

 

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Nestled in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, this home originally built in 2016 boasts spectacular roof-level views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. The original house already had a small roof deck but lacked interior space to enjoy the views from. When the owner’s contractor approached us to see if it was possible to design an addition within the height limit, we measured and studied the property, analyzed zoning codes, and confirmed the house’s existing two-level status with a basement. This enabled us to propose a dormer addition that complied with zoning code as well as Seattle’s fire sprinkler regulations required for a four-level home, but not for a three-level home with a basement. The new dormer integrates a large viewing window in an enclosed area that opens to an expanded roof deck. The exterior received a facelift with Shou Sugi Ban rainscreen siding, along with new windows and doors, transforming the home while preserving its original modern form.

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This project re-imagined a house in the Mt. Baker neighborhood of Seattle, completely transforming the look and connection to the site. In a three-story, 1300 SF addition, we added an attached garage, a new living space with floor-to-ceiling windows with views of Lake Washington, and an expansive primary suite upstairs. The backyard was completely re-done, adding a patio with a fire pit and basketball court, in addition to a new stairs connecting the outdoor space with the living spaces above. We detailed the house exterior, completely refreshing and modernizing the look and adding an entry steel and glass awning and wood veneer panels. The project added windows throughout provide views and connection to the site. Completely re-done lighting, both inside the house and in the new backyard, tied everything together and added to the feeling of the finished product as a brand new house.

 

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Situated in Seattle’s Mt. Baker neighborhood, this project transformed a single-story house with a basement into a 5,000-square-foot, four-level residence while retaining its original footprint.

The basement was redesigned into a self-contained, 1,000-square-foot Attached Accessory Dwelling Unit (AADU). This unit includes two bedrooms and occupies the entire basement level, aside from a small mechanical and storage areas allocated to the main house.

The first level serves as the central living space, featuring an open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area that takes full advantage of Lake Washington views. This floor also includes the main entry, a guest bedroom, a powder room, and a private office.

The second level is dedicated to private family living, comprising a spacious primary suite, two children’s bedrooms, a shared bathroom, a laundry room, and a flexible play area.

The top level, subtly integrated into the roofline, houses an expansive lounge with access to a large deck offering panoramic views of Lake Washington, making it ideal for relaxation or entertaining.

A double-height entryway connects the first and second levels visually, while an open riser staircase provides a seamless flow across the three main floors, emphasizing the vertical integration of the design.

The house was designed to incorporate a large south facing solar array, significantly greater than code required insulation, and an HRV system for constant filtered fresh air supply to the house.

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Located in the Arroyos Heights neighborhood of Seattle, this project transformed a mid-century single-story home with a partially finished basement into a modern, energy-efficient two-story residence, with a remodeled basement space. A 600-square-foot second-story primary suite addition now crowns the home, offering sweeping views of the Puget Sound and serving as a focal point of the redesign.

The main level was reconfigured to create an open-concept layout, connecting the living, dining, and kitchen areas for a more cohesive and inviting space. A new view deck was added to the front of the house, maximizing the home’s connection to the stunning vistas.

The new second level features a vaulted-ceiling primary bedroom with sweeping corner views to Puget Sound. The primary bathroom contains a walk-in two-person shower, separate water closet and walk-in closet.

The basement underwent a complete remodel, now housing a guest bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, a laundry room, a family room featuring a wet bar, and a dedicated office space. These updates provide versatility and expanded living areas suited for the owner’s various needs, and separate spaces for their visiting guests.

Exterior improvements include regrading the front yard, replacing rockeries with retaining walls, and designing a revised pathway to the front entry, ensuring a polished and welcoming outdoor experience. Additionally, the home was designed with sustainability in mind, featuring insulation that surpasses code requirements and large solar arrays on the south and west-facing roofs.

 

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This 5,500 square foot (including attached garage) developer home was designed for a neighborhood which has seen a number of large houses built recently. We were tasked with delivering a tasteful design which would be a cut above some of the developer homes sprouting up nearby.

In order to best capture views of Lake Washington, we designed a “reverse plan” home with a large open kitchen, dining, and living spaces all together on the top floor, as well as a generous master suite. The middle level accommodated children’s and guest rooms, as well as a large family room and an office close to the entry. Most of the bottom level was taken up by the large garage, which accommodates 5 cars, as well as one extra-long bay to allow for storing a boat or trailer. Also on the lowest level is an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) with its own exterior access.

Much of west side of this home supports a large roof deck with wonderful 180° views of Lake Washington. There are also large covered exterior decks on the south sides of the middle and upper levels to allow interior-exterior living year-round.

This home includes an elevator to allow for the owners the opportunity to age in-place. Having the living and master suite spaces (along with the views!) all together on one floor reduces the need to use the stairs somewhat, but having an elevator in the house provides the most flexible solution going forward. It also makes carting groceries from your car to the kitchen much more convenient, regardless of the owners abilities.

 

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In Seattle, building on the waterfront is often a complicated process and this project was no exception. Before even putting pen to paper to start the design process, we went through a series of negotiations with the City to be able to construct a new home in the location of the old home that existed on the site. After getting the green light from the City, we began the design of this 8,000 SF residence. The main house is split into four levels: a daylight basement, main level, upper level and a loft. A detached garage also houses a guest suite above it.

Traditional design and materials define this home: wood siding and windows, natural stone fireplaces, tile, slabs of stone, and paving are used to give this home an elegant and timeless feel. But under this traditional detailing is high-tech wiring for data and communications, a fire sprinkler system, a backup generator and other technology to keep this house functioning long into this century.

 

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Over the years we’ve observed that West Seattle has some of the funkiest and also most interesting homes in the City. This existing home leaned a bit more toward the funky, having been previously remodeled on the lower level but not the upper. With an amazing west facing view of the Sound, we could tell this would be an opportunity to create something both special and interesting.

Our clients expressed a desire to construct a new second story with a master suite to capitalize on the amazing view but also gave us the challenge of limiting the amount of structural work necessary to accomplish this. The site also had its own challenges, being on a steep slope, which limited the possible area of development, and a high wind zone, which made modifications to the existing structure more challenging.

After examining our options and consulting with one of our structural engineers, we decided to construct the new addition mostly over an existing, very solidly built ‘bunker garage’. Due to its sturdy concrete construction we were able to locate the majority of the new addition over the garage without any modifications to the existing garage foundation. The new addition added two levels of covered decks which greatly increased outdoor living space facing the amazing view. Located on the top floor, the master bedroom faces the view while being nestled next to an existing pine tree, giving the feeling of being in a tree house.

Of course the main level was remodeled to match the craftsman aesthetic of the existing lower level, and we redesigned the deck stairway and main level deck to provide better access to outdoor spaces.

 

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