Stuart Silk Architects is responsible for the design of this beautiful summer beach cottage located on a south-facing, 10-acre site on Useless Bay at the southern end of Whidbey Island, Washington. The owners wanted a home to accommodate large groups of friends and family—a place in which to celebrate weekend gatherings over food and shared time together.
The focal point for the home is the dramatic, two-story great room. The space—which includes a dining area at one end and a generous seating area at the other—is book-ended by two identical national park-scaled stone fireplaces. A series of stone columns surround the space and support the exposed structural system above.
Project Team: Architecture: Stuart Silk Architects | Interior Design: Susan Young Interiors | Landscape Architecture: Bruce Hinkley | Construction: Heggenes Construction
Stained, clear fir ceilings are layered with a crisscross of wood purlins and trusses in a tapestry that recalls traditional Japanese detailing, appropriate to this Pacific Rim setting. The carefully crafted wood detailing is paired with impeccably fitted stonework that captures our client’s desire to create a home to stand the test of time.
Daylight—a precious commodity in the Pacific Northwest—was central to crafting the interior gathering spaces of the house. To make the home light-filled, even on the greyest of days, there are two window-lined, twenty-five-foot-long shed dormers on either side of the main gable that runs the length of great room. These clerestories admit balanced, natural light into the great room throughout the day.
What We Love: This summer beach cottage features a dramatic double volume great room, the centerpiece of this beautiful home. Double hung windows brings to mind summer destinations such as Nantucket while flooding the interiors with natural light. These large windows also provide sweeping views of the Puget Sound and Mount Rainier beyond.
Tell Us: Would this home be your idea of the ultimate escape for summer vacations with your family? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments below!
Note: Have a look at a couple of popular home tours that we have featured here on One Kindesign from the portfolio of the architects of this home, Stuart Silk Architects: Contemporary shingle style house on the shores of Lake Washington and Concrete and steel dwelling perched on a mountainside in Yellowstone.
The great room opens to a covered terrace, a place to sit sheltered from the southern sun and misty rains. Beyond lays a long sandy beach and panoramic views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
The home’s aesthetic takes inspiration from early Northwest agrarian domestic architecture. Richly-toned, stained shingles, ledge stone chimneys with a band at the base, and super-scaled (eight-foot-tall) double-hung windows contribute to the timelessness of the design and its contextual response.
The entire house is set upon a thirty-inch-tall stone base, providing a subtle yet visually sound platform for the home. Close collaboration with the owners resulted in interior finishes and furnishings that feel both inviting and comfortable and that complement the architecture.
Photos: Benjamin Benschneider
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