Major Changes Open Up a Seattle Waterfront Home
The home wasn’t all bad. There was plenty of space, it had a great view toward Vashon Island (off the coast of Seattle), and the interior brimmed with vintage charm. But a slipshod second-floor addition built by a previous homeowner simply had to go. “It was pretty poorly done,” says architect Tom Nychay of Sortun-Vos Architects. “It was done on the cheap, and a lot of construction was suspect. It was basically a space grab for a master suite and bathroom without being sympathetic to any style.”
What’s more, too many interior walls didn’t respect the view. And let’s not even mention the hard-to-find front door at the end of a bridgeway around the side of the house. So Nychay helped the family of four — a speech therapist, her copyright attorney husband and their two kids — add some character back to the house by erasing the second level, taking the house down to its shell and basically starting over.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: West Seattle
Who lives here: A couple and their 2 kids
Size: 4,350 square feet (404 square meters); 4 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
BEFORE
The home sits on a sloping hillside, with the front just below street level and the rest dropping off toward the water. The partial second floor that a previous homeowner tacked on made the home appear as one large expanse of roof shingles. The old front door was around the left side down a narrow bridgeway.
AFTER: While the interior is 1940s Tudor with Craftsman touches, the couple wanted a straight Craftsman appearance on the exterior. “We wanted a simple, stronger face to the house,” Nychay says. “Bigger shingles and a simple color with a little statement.” The latter comes from a punch of color around the window sashes and on the front door, a faux copper gutter and a cross-gable roof form in the center, which is a common Craftsman device.
Because the original front door was confusing, an early design decision was to have a broad porch with a street-facing front door.
Continue reading Major Changes Open Up a Seattle Waterfront Home
Major Changes Open Up a Seattle Waterfront Home
