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DeForest Architects designed this modern rustic retreat in collaboration with NB Design Group on Orcas Island, Washington. Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands, located in the northwestern corner of Washington State. The property was purchased as a gathering place for extended family and features a main lodge with three bedrooms, an eight-person bunk room, and four-and-a-half bathrooms, along with ten cabins scattered throughout the property.
Above: View of the Main House from the Northeast, showing clear vertical cedar siding and open doors to the dining room. The stone walls use Whistler Basalt, Mountain Chalet Rhyolite, and Camas Gray in a dry-stack rubble pattern.
A Modern Summer Camp-Inspired Retreat on Orcas Island
The overall feel is that of a summer camp-inspired getaway designed for family gatherings, adventure, exploring, cooking together, experiencing nature, and reconnecting with friends and family. The Orcas Island retreat emphasizes indoor-outdoor living and a strong connection to the surrounding landscape, creating a relaxed setting for spending time together and enjoying the Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty.
Scope: The clients requested a home that would be “a place to share with friends, a place for adventure and exploring, being a kid again, cooking together, experiencing nature and being part of something bigger.” The result is a long-term plan for “restoring the soul of the property,” including designing a main house, renovating a number of existing cabins, and generally creating a more sustainable landscape and building infrastructure for future generations.
Design Details
Architect: DeForest Architects
Constructor: Krekow Jennings
Interior Design: NB Design Group
Structural Engineer: Swenson Say Faget
Landscape Design: Allworth Design
Above: View from the Entry through the dining room to the water. The mid-century dining set floats in the open floor plan. 8-foot-wide lift-slide doors by Quantum Windows and Doors connect inside to outdoors. This creates a 16-foot-wide opening to the terrace.
What We Love About This Home
This modern rustic retreat offers delightful features at every turn — the red sinks, a bed on rollers to see the stars, a console table made from a conveyor belt, and a bunk room with a slide into a ball pit. This getaway must be so fun to gather with family; what happy memories will be made for all generations!
Tell Us: Would this be your idea of the perfect family retreat? Let us know in the Comments below!
Note: Check out a couple of other fabulous home tours that we have featured here on One Kindesign in the state of Washington: This waterfront beach cabin offers a sanctuary on Orcas Island, Washington and A modern farmhouse retreat gets a magnificent renovation on Orcas Island.
Above: The living room, dining room, and kitchen flow seamlessly from indoors to outdoors with the Quantum Lift & Slide doors. The aluminum-clad wood windows are from Sierra Pacific.
A Rustic Modern Kitchen Designed for Gathering
Above: View of the Kitchen, and out the lift/slide doors to the Outdoor Kitchen. The countertops in both the indoor and outdoor kitchen are Absolute Black granite. The outdoor kitchen features a grilling area that includes a large pizza oven fabricated from a salvaged steel buoy.
Above: Detail view of the custom Dining table, a hub of the house. Inlaid compass rose and radiating inlays that are calibrated to point accurately to places special to the owners.
A Cozy Living Room With Reclaimed Materials
Above: Living Room furniture is centered around a stone fireplace (the stone is the same used outdoors). Built-in shelving to the left of the fireplace are composed of ferrous steel. A sectional sofa is covered in a durable indoor-outdoor chenille, which can hold up to wet swim suits. The console table is was fabricated from a reclaimed wooden conveyer belt. Underneath are poufs that can be used for additional seating.
Above: View through the Living Room to the Stair Hall. The reading nook provides additional seating and storage in the living room. The nook has a twin mattress and provides an additional sleeping area for overnight guests. To the left of the nook is a concealed closet, where the only clue is the black door handle. The closet provides storage for extra dining chairs. The wall is composed of reclaimed snow fencing.
Above: Detail of a custom inlaid metal wooden coffee table, which represents the sky on the night the owners were married on the property.
Rustic Modern Details Throughout the Main House
Above: View of the Stair Hall and Main Entry. Behind the built-in bench is a coat storage in the corner and a wall of magnetic ferrous steel. The wall serves as a message station, a place to hang maps and messages. Custom sea glass chandelier takes center stage in the space. On the ceiling is stained clear vertical-grain cedar with a square lap edge (second level is stained select veneer Douglas fir panels). The flooring is Black Tusk basalt from British Columbia-based Bedrock Natural Stone.
Above: Matte bronze penny tile wall and a custom-fabricated, red powder-coated sink create a pop of color and texture in this powder room.
An Eight-Person Bunk Room for Family and Friends
One of the most playful spaces in the Orcas Island retreat is the children’s bunk room. With eight bunks and a view of the water, the room reinforces the home’s summer-camp-inspired character while providing plenty of sleeping space for visiting family and friends.
Above: Children’s bunk room with a view of the water. The space provides plenty of sleeping arrangements — eight bunks to be exact! The panels are manufactured using a select Douglas Fir veneer, adding to the rustic vibe.
Above: The bunk bedroom showcases custom niches and storage compartments.
Above: The bunk bathroom was designed to be flexible for multiple users. The space is concealed with a rustic barn door. Entering the bathroom reveals a custom powder-coated trough sink.
Above: Playful shower tiles add a fun touch to the children’s bathroom.
A Bedroom Designed for Sleeping Under the Stars
Above: The owner’s bedroom features lift-and-slide doors that open to a private deck with a view of the lawn and water. A vaulted ceiling is covered in Select Veneer Douglas fir panels. The seagrass bed was custom-fabricated with casters so it can be rolled out onto the deck, letting the homeowners sleep under the stars. The flat dhurrie rug lets the bed transition easily outdoors.
Above: The owner’s bathroom, with ample natural light and views that make it feel like part of the outdoors.
Above: A soaking tub overlooks the surrounding woods.
A Secret Kids’ Fort and Hidden Slide
The playful design continues in the kids’ closet, where an unexpected secret space is hidden behind the storage. A rod-and-ladder system of pipes provides access to a secret fort, while a hidden slide leads down to a ball pit.
Above: A peek into the Kids’ Closet, which holds a secret fort and a mysterious opening. The secret fort is at the back of the closet, accessed by a rod-and-ladder system of pipes. A hidden slide leads to a ball pit!
Above: A spiral slide leads from the Kids’ Closet to a ball pit below.
Outdoor Living on the Orcas Island Retreat
Outdoor spaces are an important part of the property’s gathering-focused design. The main terrace faces the water and provides a place for family and friends to gather around a fire pit, while the outdoor kitchen creates another central gathering point.
Above: The terrace faces the water, featuring built-in seating encircling a fire pit. The patio flooring is Black Tusk basalt, the same stone on the front entry flooring and fireplace hearth in the living room. To the left of the house is a one-bedroom guest cabin, consisting of 860 square feet.
Above: Exterior view, showing the indoor/outdoor kitchen, a central gathering point for the property.
PHOTOGRAPHER Tim Bies Photography
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