Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A New Home Designed as a Gallery
A couple’s art collection and spectacular Seattle views shape this warm, contemporary space
The art and vistas of the Northwest are the two main inspirations behind this Seattle home. The team at DeForest Architects carefully planned areas to showcase their clients’ expansive collection of works from the region, considering each piece, where it could be hung and how it would be lit. At the same time, it used large doors and windows to open the home to the beautiful views, creating a pleasing balance between art and the outdoors.
The exterior is a mix of cedar siding, painted fiber-cement panels and concrete. The house has a two-car garage on the west, Puget Sound-facing side. Note the decks and the way the large windows wrap around the corners. “Overhangs provide shading to the south and east and reduce wear on the siding and windows by providing shelter from the rain,” DeForest says.
On the garage level is a lower entry and a mudroom, wine cellar, half bath and utility room. The main floor has the main entry, the master suite, a guest room, an exercise room (designed to also be a third bedroom if needed), a full bath and a laundry room. The top floor lets the kitchen, dining and living areas enjoy the most expansive views of the water and mountains. It also has an office and half bath.
On the garage level is a lower entry and a mudroom, wine cellar, half bath and utility room. The main floor has the main entry, the master suite, a guest room, an exercise room (designed to also be a third bedroom if needed), a full bath and a laundry room. The top floor lets the kitchen, dining and living areas enjoy the most expansive views of the water and mountains. It also has an office and half bath.
Let’s return to the main entry of the house — it opens right into a gallery space.
The light-filled vertical gallery sets the tone as soon as you walk through the front door, with Philip McCracken’s “Owl” sculpture poised to greet you. The steel and glass staircase and landing allow natural light from the skylights to wash down through three stories of art. The height of the relatively compact space stands up to the large scale of some of the works, like the painting on the right side of this photo. The designers also used high-quality adjustable lighting for the art as specified by Susan Rhodes of LightWire.
Designing for the specific works of art was a back-and-forth process. “After the initial schematic design, we identified likely spots for art,” DeForest says. “The owners provided a detailed inventory of their collection that we then placed in the house together. We used scaled images of many of the larger pieces in the computer model so that they were always in mind.”
Designing for the specific works of art was a back-and-forth process. “After the initial schematic design, we identified likely spots for art,” DeForest says. “The owners provided a detailed inventory of their collection that we then placed in the house together. We used scaled images of many of the larger pieces in the computer model so that they were always in mind.”
This space is a great example of their planning: The painting here is framed by the thick opening. That hallway leads to the guest bedroom and bathroom to the right, and to the laundry and exercise rooms to the left.
Overhead, yes, you are seeing feet. The special glass flooring allows the light from the top floor to filter down to this level.
Overhead, yes, you are seeing feet. The special glass flooring allows the light from the top floor to filter down to this level.
The floor is laminated glass with a frit. “A frit is a layer that is fused to the glass to diffuse the light, and it also provides traction,” DeForest explains.
The ceiling above it is cedar. “We love the way wood ceilings add warmth, scale and texture to a space,” DeForest says. “In this case, it also helped emphasize the slope of the roof and add a natural material without competing with the art.”
The ceiling above it is cedar. “We love the way wood ceilings add warmth, scale and texture to a space,” DeForest says. “In this case, it also helped emphasize the slope of the roof and add a natural material without competing with the art.”
This is a view from the office across the stairway hall, with peeks into the living room and the east deck. You can also catch a glimpse of the series of skylights, which are motorized to help with summer cooling.
“One of our goals was to equate framed views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains with the art,” DeForest says. The team used a 3-D modeling process to plan out the artwork openings and the views. The modeling also let them see how the natural light would wash through the house, and helped them figure out how to keep the art protected from sunlight.
“In general, we created the central stair as a light well with indirect light from above,” DeForest says. “The modeling helped, but really we looked at each spot and the particular art piece’s requirements.”
“One of our goals was to equate framed views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains with the art,” DeForest says. The team used a 3-D modeling process to plan out the artwork openings and the views. The modeling also let them see how the natural light would wash through the house, and helped them figure out how to keep the art protected from sunlight.
“In general, we created the central stair as a light well with indirect light from above,” DeForest says. “The modeling helped, but really we looked at each spot and the particular art piece’s requirements.”
At the front of the house, you can see the slatted walls that give the east deck privacy.
“The east deck is secluded and captures morning light,” DeForest says. The beautiful built-ins in the living room are sapele.
The architects designed the house with energy efficiency in mind. “The floors have radiant heat, which is very efficient, and we passed on air conditioning in favor of cross-ventilation,” DeForest says.
The architects designed the house with energy efficiency in mind. “The floors have radiant heat, which is very efficient, and we passed on air conditioning in favor of cross-ventilation,” DeForest says.
The living room opens up to a balcony on the opposite side that has sweeping views of Puget Sound and its spectacular sunsets. “Western light is hard to control with overhangs here because the angles get so low in the summer,” DeForest says. “That’s why we used motorized blinds on the west side.” The subtle cornices over the doors hide the shades.
Lift-slide doors: Weiland; windows: Kolbe
Lift-slide doors: Weiland; windows: Kolbe
The kitchen and dining room also enjoy vast views. “Opening the large doors to the shared deck creates a continuous series of spaces that flow easily from inside to out and back,” DeForest says.
Note the way the cabinets are tucked into a recessed area. “That was a small move to help distinguish the kitchen from dining areas and to unify the cabinets into a more coherent element, rather than appearing to be a series of boxes hung on the wall,” the architect explains.
The cabinets also connect the kitchen to the living room, as they are crafted from sapele wood. The countertops are Wine River granite and the flooring is oak.
Just as the deck connects the living and dining rooms on the exterior, the kitchen connects them on the interior. “We placed the kitchen at the ‘hinge’ between the dining and living areas to encourage a close connection,” DeForest says.
Light above island: mini Hudson pendant, Tech Lighting; dining room light: Knox linear suspension light, Tech Lighting
Note the way the cabinets are tucked into a recessed area. “That was a small move to help distinguish the kitchen from dining areas and to unify the cabinets into a more coherent element, rather than appearing to be a series of boxes hung on the wall,” the architect explains.
The cabinets also connect the kitchen to the living room, as they are crafted from sapele wood. The countertops are Wine River granite and the flooring is oak.
Just as the deck connects the living and dining rooms on the exterior, the kitchen connects them on the interior. “We placed the kitchen at the ‘hinge’ between the dining and living areas to encourage a close connection,” DeForest says.
Light above island: mini Hudson pendant, Tech Lighting; dining room light: Knox linear suspension light, Tech Lighting
In the master bath, a clean-lined design is warmed up by natural materials, light and more artwork. The counter and tub surround are Seagrass honed limestone and the vanity cabinets are sapele. For privacy, a manual pleated shade hides in a pocket in the ceiling.
The homeowners are thrilled with the results. After their first night in the new house, DeForest received the following note:
“It was so incredible to wake up here today, to look at the view as the sun came up, and to appreciate the home’s design as we enjoyed our first cup of coffee in the house. Thanks for exceeding our expectations.”
Architect: Ted Cameron, DeForest Architects
Interiors: Jan Holbrook
Construction: Joseph McKinstry Construction
Structural: Evergreen Design Company
Landscape design-build: Scot Eckley
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The homeowners are thrilled with the results. After their first night in the new house, DeForest received the following note:
“It was so incredible to wake up here today, to look at the view as the sun came up, and to appreciate the home’s design as we enjoyed our first cup of coffee in the house. Thanks for exceeding our expectations.”
Architect: Ted Cameron, DeForest Architects
Interiors: Jan Holbrook
Construction: Joseph McKinstry Construction
Structural: Evergreen Design Company
Landscape design-build: Scot Eckley
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple of re-nesters (more on that below)
Location: Seattle
Size: 3,500 square feet (325 square meters); three bedrooms, two full and two half bathrooms
These homeowners have grown children who had flown their suburban coop, and the couple wanted a new nest in a more urban environment. “I like to think of them as ‘re-nesters’ rather than ‘empty nesters,’ ” says architect John DeForest. They were ready to move into a home half the size of their suburban one, but they needed it to accommodate their large art collection. In addition, they wanted to make the most of the sweeping views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.