pacific northwest - CCS Architecture

PACIFIC NORTHWEST
$ 9.95
A SANDOW PUBLICATION
VOLUME 12, ISSUE 1 DISPLAY UNTIL 4/14/14
GOLD LIST EDITION
LAKESIDE
LUMINANCE
A WARMLY MODERN SEATTLE MARVEL DESIGNED TO CAPTURE LIGHT
AND WATER VIEWS DOES SO WITH EASE AND SUBTLE ABANDON.
WRITTeN BY BRIAN LIBBY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON LEITZ
ARCHITECTURE Cass Calder Smith, CCS Architecture
HOME BUILDER Eric Kormondy, Eric Kormondy Construction Inc.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Ken Philp, Kenneth Philp Landscape Architects
BEDROOMS 3
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BATHROOMS 5
SQUARE FEET 4,000
A
San Francisco couple were looking for a second home
in Seattle where they could enjoy the Northwest’s
natural beauty while waiting out foggy Bay Area
summers. “We were looking for someplace new to
explore,” one of the homeowners recalls, “and Seattle has the best
of both worlds: a vibrant city with interesting culture and food, but
natural beauty to explore, as well.” Yet no properties they visited
seemed up to par—lacking a view, the high ceilings they were used to,
or the right locale.
When a rare lot overlooking Lake Washington became available, the
couple decided to make Seattle their primary place of residence and set
out to create a new house of understated elegance and crisp lines; a place
designed from the inside out with voluminous ceilings and a bounty of
light. Its interior would set off their art collection, but the house would
turn its greatest attention to the masterpiece of a view outside.
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A custom gate opens onto lush foliage and a modern
hardscape. Opposite top: The living room features Fabricius
and Kastholm leather chairs by Bo-Ex, vintage Hans
Wegner armchairs, a custom sofa by Marco Fine Furniture
of San Francisco, and Kenzo Okada’s painting over the Heat
& Glo fireplace. Opposite bottom: The stairway railing curves
to accentuate a sculpture by Stephen De Staebler.
Right: Natural light
floods the home through
ample windows and 12
skylights. Below: In the
kitchen, sleek white
Caesarstone counters
and painted cabinetry
continue the subtle and
elegant minimalism.
Matteograssi stools
pull up to the island in
the kitchen, featuring
appliances from Albert
Lee Appliance. Warm
rift-sawn white oak
flooring is from Emerson
Hardwood Floors.
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San Francisco-based architect Cass Calder Smith persuaded the couple
to place public areas (including the open kitchen, living and dining
room with an adjacent media room) on the second floor and nestle
bedrooms on the lower level. As one enters, “It’s really about being led
up this fluid flight of stairs into the main space full of light,” says Smith,
who collaborated with Dera-Jill Pozner and Bjorn Steudte on the
architecture. As if the main room’s floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors
weren’t enough, the house also has 12 skylights to ensure sunlight
reaches the home’s deepest interiors.
The homeowners sought a kind of graceful minimalism born of exacting
detail. Instead of a stairway railing, for example, the drywall itself
curves out from the wall to form a natural guide, which also acts as a
more organic framing device for an entryway sculpture. The living room
fireplace is also tucked seamlessly inside a wall. “When you walk into
a contemporary house, it’s the absence of trim that makes the house
look really unique,” explains builder Eric Kormondy. “Elements like the
recessed fireplace and the face of the tile ended up being flush and done
so with exacting detail.”
To add warmth, the interior (particularly the second floor) makes ample
use of wood via matching white oak floors and cabinetry. The palette is
largely muted shades of gray, silver and blue, letting the most vibrant
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The dining room enjoys water views
and is anchored by a custom table,
with pendant lighting by David Weeks
Studio and chairs by Matteograssi. The
painting is by Paul Horiuchi. Furniture
by Richard Schultz sits on the terrace.
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hues pop from the collection of abstract paintings—as well as from the
Northwest light itself. “The clients were aiming for a well-crafted and
naturally textured appearance: a clean, tailored, light, subtle modernism,”
says San Francisco-based designer Kelly Lasser of ShelterDesign, with
Architect Cass Calder Smith persuaded the
homeowners to place public areas such as
the living room, kitchen and dining room
on the second floor in order to maximize
access to views through Loewen windows.
The outdoor deck, which overlooks Lake
Washington, is outfitted with skylights.
whom the owners consulted on the interiors. “The palette is inspired by
the nautical sensibility gleaned from being on the lake.”
The residence’s exterior form—a rectangular box with portions added
or taken away—makes it eye-catching from the street. A study juts
outward from the second floor, for example, to create cover outside,
and to give the room better access to the view. In back, a covered deck
Cutouts in the architecture frame
picturesque views of water and sky. The
color and materials palette of charcoal
and white offer a muted complement
to the natural surroundings.
feels carved from the architecture rather than simply attached. The
roof also slopes gently upward to expand the rear vantage point.
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At the same time, landscape architect Ken Philp transformed the front
yard into a lush garden of evergreen magnolias, coral bark maples and
hinoki cypress that also (given how the house pivots away from the street
The modern but warm master
bathroom includes a floating vanity
crafted by Baywood Cabinet, Heath
Ceramics wall tile, and Cotto d’Este
tile floors from SpecCeramics in
Fullerton, California.
and the lot slopes upward) helps embrace the street and neighborhood,
while rainwater carries through a runnel and spills into a garden planter
that meets the sidewalk. Concrete walls support the modern architecture
and provide privacy. “We wanted a wonderful entry procession, and to
create a private nook where you could catch some sun and greet friends,”
Philp explains, “all in a way that felt nestled into the landscape.”
Indeed, while the home is impressive for its pristineness and orderly
architectural lines, it is also a place that feels alive: a setting from which
to observe and embrace nature up close and in the distance. L
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The master bedroom is
decorated in a subtle gray
palette meant to show off
the color of the owners’ art,
like Tadashi Sato’s painting
above the bed, and natural
light outside. The bed is
from Room & Board with a
comfy blanket from Area.