This small modern retreat on Whidbey Island sits on a woodland site with views of Puget Sound. Floor-to-ceiling doors and windows open the house to views, while smaller openings and a writer’s perch provide glimpses through the trees. Named after a fallen tree damaged by a storm, the lumber from the Yew was used in the design as benches and the owner’s writing desk.
The initial diagram imagining how the forest and views would flow through the house.
The ribbon-like pattern on the exterior with alternating bands of board and batten and darker infill panels, all rendered in inexpensive fiber cement. The batten spacing is varied to recall the natural variation of tree trunks in the woods.
Our initial collage reappeared in the leaf motif in the kitchen backsplash. We enlarged photos from the property and set them behind tempered glass panels that can be removed when the owners want to change to a different pattern.
DeForest Architects Team | John DeForest AIA, Meredith Kelly
Contractor | Spectrum Construction Inc.
Landscape | Richard Pulkrabeck Landscape Architect
Structural | Evergreen Design Company
Photography | Michael Stadler
An active couple that enjoys the outdoors, they dreamed of a house that would make the most of its rural setting and accommodate spaces for woodworking, exercise, and hosting family and friends.
