Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Compact Island Home Nestled in the Forest
‘Shou-sugi-ban’ siding and Douglas fir accents help this home blend into the landscape on Washington’s Bainbridge Island
Homeowner Kevin Ryan had such a great time managing the design and construction of his new home that it inspired him to start a business doing it for other people. Located on Washington’s Bainbridge Island, a 35-minute ferry ride from Seattle, this new house occupies what had been an empty lot next door to Ryan’s existing home. “At first my wife and I thought we would build a guesthouse here, but as the process went on, we wound up doubling the size of the new house and moving into it ourselves,” he says. Mixing materials like shou-sugi-ban siding and local Douglas fir resulted in a 1,400-square-foot house that’s nestled unobtrusively into the surrounding forest.
“I had always been intrigued by shou-sugi-ban siding and how insect-, rot- and fire-resistant it was,” Ryan says. In shou-sugi-ban, Japanese cypress is burned using a traditional Japanese method, giving it a blackened appearance. Ryan purchased the siding from Portland, Oregon, company Nakamoto Forestry, and his timing was fortuitous. “As I was thinking about it in October of 2020, they mentioned that the price would be going up that December. So I bought all the siding I’d need, tarped it and kept it on the lot until we were ready to build,” he says.
The siding has a layer of soot on it and you can choose to have it brushed one, two or three times. This home’s siding was brushed just once, leaving it black. The accent cypress over the door has been brushed three times, leaving the soot in the grain of the wood.
The front doors are Douglas fir. They offer peeks through glass slats to the forest in the back.
Siding: Black Gendai (main) and Pika Pika (accent), Nakamoto Forestry; entry doors: Simpson Door
Learn more about shou-sugi-ban
The siding has a layer of soot on it and you can choose to have it brushed one, two or three times. This home’s siding was brushed just once, leaving it black. The accent cypress over the door has been brushed three times, leaving the soot in the grain of the wood.
The front doors are Douglas fir. They offer peeks through glass slats to the forest in the back.
Siding: Black Gendai (main) and Pika Pika (accent), Nakamoto Forestry; entry doors: Simpson Door
Learn more about shou-sugi-ban
The two wings of the house provide a courtyard-like feel in the backyard, with the wings meeting in a corner. Grilling, dining and seating areas extend the livable space of the home. The larger wing faces south, and the overhangs provide shade from the summer sun. “Also, the trees give us nice dappled light,” Ryan says.
He sited the house back from the road to preserve a large stand of trees. This provided privacy from the road and minimized the number of trees that had to come down. “Some of the Douglas fir trees are 130 feet high in this forest,” Ryan says. The Douglas fir rafters on the house are a nice fit and provide a lovely contrast to the black siding.
He sited the house back from the road to preserve a large stand of trees. This provided privacy from the road and minimized the number of trees that had to come down. “Some of the Douglas fir trees are 130 feet high in this forest,” Ryan says. The Douglas fir rafters on the house are a nice fit and provide a lovely contrast to the black siding.
Off the entry, the kitchen, dining and living areas are to the right and the bedroom wing is to the left. In front of it, stairs lead to a loft space. “This is considered more of a 1½-half story house than a two-story house,” Ryan says.
The home’s polished concrete floors have radiant heat, providing all the home’s heating. Ryan says he’s not sure how well this will warm the loft space upstairs but that he and his wife will find out this winter. They have the option to add an electric wall heater up there if needed.
Browse front doors in the Houzz Shop
The home’s polished concrete floors have radiant heat, providing all the home’s heating. Ryan says he’s not sure how well this will warm the loft space upstairs but that he and his wife will find out this winter. They have the option to add an electric wall heater up there if needed.
Browse front doors in the Houzz Shop
Ryan needed to make every inch of the house count, and he worked with Carosso and his cabinetmaker to fit the kitchen and a living room-dining area into this space. In the process, he wanted to keep the views out the windows as open as possible.
Originally, Ryan wanted Baltic birch for the cabinetry, but it was hard to find during the pandemic. His cabinetmaker recommended maple Europly instead. The craftsman bookmatched the grain, meaning the graining pattern continues from one door or drawer to the next. Ryan is thrilled with the results.
The island contains the sink, dishwasher, a microwave drawer and storage. The countertops are quartz that resembles concrete.
Countertops: Airy Concrete, Caesarstone; faucet: Grohe; windows and doors: Andersen
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Originally, Ryan wanted Baltic birch for the cabinetry, but it was hard to find during the pandemic. His cabinetmaker recommended maple Europly instead. The craftsman bookmatched the grain, meaning the graining pattern continues from one door or drawer to the next. Ryan is thrilled with the results.
The island contains the sink, dishwasher, a microwave drawer and storage. The countertops are quartz that resembles concrete.
Countertops: Airy Concrete, Caesarstone; faucet: Grohe; windows and doors: Andersen
Hire a local cabinet pro
The clean lines and simplicity of the kitchen were inspired by Scandinavian modern style. The zellige tiles on the backsplash bring in a warm, earthy touch. Composing them in a grid also nodded to Scandinavian modern style.
“Car decking forms the first-floor ceiling and the loft’s floor, which left no room to hide electrical conduits,” Ryan says. “So we used track lighting, sconces and thin discs of LED lights that mount to the ceiling.”
“Car decking forms the first-floor ceiling and the loft’s floor, which left no room to hide electrical conduits,” Ryan says. “So we used track lighting, sconces and thin discs of LED lights that mount to the ceiling.”
“Just past the fridge I needed to fit a living and dining area into a space that’s only 10 by 15 feet,” Ryan says. He used inspiration photos to help him sketch out this area on graph paper. Then he passed the drawings on to his cabinetmaker to flesh out the details. “My cabinetmaker was fantastic, and I had lots of fun working on that,” Ryan says. “It’s a small space but it lives large.”
Also note the diagonal line in the back right corner of this photo. It marks the top of pullout pantry drawers that extend under the stairs, offering 3 feet of depth for lots of storage.
Also note the diagonal line in the back right corner of this photo. It marks the top of pullout pantry drawers that extend under the stairs, offering 3 feet of depth for lots of storage.
The area includes lots of storage and a built-in banquette that serves the dining and living areas. The storage is a mix of drawers under the seating and around it and touch-release cabinets and display shelves above it. The banquette looks out toward the two-story wall of windows. While the color palette is mostly neutral, a few splashes of blue pop up, inspired by the sea and sky.
Another splash of blue shows up in the primary bathroom, in the bedroom wing of the house. The vanity is a ready-made wall-mounted model. Black faucets add contrast, as does the veining in the countertop.
Vanity: Manarola, Karton Republic; faucet: Trinsic single-handle, Delta; mirrored medicine cabinets: Kohler
Browse wall-mounted vanities in the Houzz Shop
Vanity: Manarola, Karton Republic; faucet: Trinsic single-handle, Delta; mirrored medicine cabinets: Kohler
Browse wall-mounted vanities in the Houzz Shop
Working with Carosso, Ryan found a way to fit a double vanity, bathtub and roomy shower in the bathroom. The bedroom wing also includes a laundry room and linen closet.
“We sited the house in a way that required taking down as few trees as possible,” Ryan says. “But we did have to take out a large Douglas fir, and my builder surprised me by milling that wood and using it on the staircase.”
Staircase lights: WAC Lighting
Staircase lights: WAC Lighting
In the original house plans, the home’s one bedroom was up in the second-level loft. But because he added the bedroom wing, Ryan made the loft a family room and workspace instead.
Sofa: Poliform
Sofa: Poliform
Steel cable rails keep the views open. Ryan separated the workspace from the family room with a bar and a closet. He used a leftover piece of the kitchen’s quartz slab for the bar countertop. LED lighting under the lower open shelf illuminates the bar. The beverage fridge has a wine side and a beverage side.
A built-in corner desk has a wonderful view of the trees and sky. The cabinetry is the same maple Europly used in the kitchen. Repeating materials made for a cohesive feel throughout the house. The desktop is light gray quartz.
Ryan worked with local landscape designer Tish Treherne on the landscape. “Our design goals were to have a very natural-looking landscape that complemented the forested setting and to take advantage of the natural slope of the property,” he says. “We wanted something fairly dramatic to see from the inside since it’s essentially a house of glass facing the yard.”
A dry creek full of boulders runs through the backyard. About one-third of them came from the property, including the largest ones. Ryan purchased the rest to fill in the design.
There are two separate seating areas off the house. The upper patio is a gray-tinted concrete with a sand finish. The lower patio is crushed basalt. “Tish has been great to work with and is very talented,” Ryan says.
A dry creek full of boulders runs through the backyard. About one-third of them came from the property, including the largest ones. Ryan purchased the rest to fill in the design.
There are two separate seating areas off the house. The upper patio is a gray-tinted concrete with a sand finish. The lower patio is crushed basalt. “Tish has been great to work with and is very talented,” Ryan says.
Ryan and his wife are living in the new house while they remodel their 2,300-square-foot house next door. But they like the smaller house so much they aren’t sure which one they’ll choose to live in and which one they’ll sell after the renovations are complete.
“I really enjoy the design process,” Ryan says. Going through this new build inspired him to start a new business, helping other people navigate and manage the process of building a home.
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“I really enjoy the design process,” Ryan says. Going through this new build inspired him to start a new business, helping other people navigate and manage the process of building a home.
More on Houzz
Tour more homes
Hire a local design pro
Shop for your home
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Bainbridge Island, Washington
Size: 1,400 square feet (130 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designers: Stella Carosso of BC&J Architecture (architecture) and Tish Treherne of Bliss Garden Design (landscape design)
Builder: Craftsman Building Fine Homes
“The project began with the idea of a guesthouse that we could rent out seasonally and use for family,” Ryan says. “It was originally smaller and less expensive. But after seeking lots of advice from experts, it eventually scaled up to a two-bedroom, two-bath house.”
As he searched for the style he wanted, Ryan happened upon house plans available online from a local company called Perfect Little House, founded by architects Stella Carosso and Peter Brachvogel of BC&J Architecture. “I kept coming back to this design. I fell in love with it — it had lots of glass that would flood the house with light and views, and I thought it would fit nicely into our heavily treed lot,” Ryan says. He purchased the construction plans for $1,500. Then, with the help of Carosso, he had them modified in a way that nearly doubled the size from 727 square feet to 1,400 square feet.
The driveway-facing side is modest and recedes into the backdrop of the forest. The front entry is located to the right of the carport. The wing on the left contains the bedrooms and bathrooms.
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