Washington state’s climate, topography, and well, just plain beauty, is a great canvas for a contemporary cottage home like this modern remodeling project by Johnson Squared Architects.
What started as a new garage grew into a remodeling of the existing home, adding space and opening rooms up to the views. The forms and shapes of the house stay true to other traditional buildings in the area, but add touches that reflect the personalities of the owners.
The new entry caught our attention right away, with a low roof that brings the scale down to size, a welcoming bright yellow door, and ample glass that shows the warmth of the interior. Karen especially likes how the potted dry grasses on the front porch softens the hard angles of the entryway.
The modern elements of the interior – cable railings, open floor joists, concrete block walls, and galvanized steel chimney – are a nice counterpoint to the warm wood trim, windows, and floors. The finishes inside this home are relatively inexpensive, and very durable – that’s good value for a Modest Mansion.
Both owners are artists, so they’ve added a small but very open studio with a spectacular wall of windows.
We love the variation and contrasts – some ceilings are wood, some are drywall; some walls are painted, some are raw concrete block. It all adds up to a fresh, clean, and very comfortable family home.
Comment: