For their retirement, a couple from Hawaii decided to move to their forever home on Camano Island. While scoping out the Pacific Northwestern locale, they admired a house designed by architect Dan Nelson. They scooped up the lot next door to it and hired him to build their own dream home. Side-by-side, carbon-copy houses would have been a big no-no, but Nelson was able to incorporate some of the things they loved about the inspiration home in a markedly different design that met their needs. The result is an open and airy house with spectacular views of Saratoga Passage,
Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains.
One of the couple’s most important needs was a design that would allow them to age in place in the home. And one of their mothers, who lives with them, had an immediate need for universal design elements. Nelson included wide doors, an entry without stairs and curbless shower stalls in the home.
The roofline delineates different spaces in the house. One of the elements the couple had admired on the house next door was its dramatic entry porch. This home has a soaring butterfly roof that draws the eye to the front door, straight through the house and out to the water view.
“The homeowner loved the verdigris color on the cedar shingles of the house next door,” Nelson says. By using patinated copper panels on this house, he was able to use a similar hue in a completely different way. The copper panels delineate a mudroom/laundry room/butler’s pantry area that connects the garage to the kitchen.
The western views from the dining room, living room and kitchen extend across Saratoga Passage to Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains. Nelson tucked the kitchen into a corner, but the open plan allows it to enjoy the view.
A continuous row of clerestory windows extends the view almost all the way up to the high ceilings. The water-facing side of the house enjoys spectacular sunsets. The room with the glass doors on the left is the exercise room — the homeowners wanted to be able to enjoy the view while working out.
Enjoying the process of building a home altered the couple’s retirement plans a bit. “The husband had a background in construction and completed some of the odds and ends like hanging towel bars,” Nelson says. “The experience made him want to keep working on projects, and he hit it off so well with the contractor that now he works for him.”
Architect: Dan Nelson of Designs Northwest Architects
Contractor: Impel Construction
Photos: Stephen Brousseau
In Collaboration with Howzz