Houzz Tour: Modern Island Home With Cabin Style

Photos by Benjamin Benschneider

House at a Glance
Who lives here: This is a vacation home for a couple and their extended family
Location: San Juan Islands, Washington
Size: 2,900 square feet (269 square meters); three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Designers: David Vandervort and Mike Butrim of Vandervort Architects (architecture), Randy Allworth of Allworth Design (landscape architecture) and Jenny Ruegamer Design (interior design)
Contractor: Needham Construction

The island is in a remote spot not accessible by ferry. “Our clients love to sail, kayak, hike and garden, and this was the perfect property for all those things,” Butrim says. “Their kids are all grown up, and it’s something they wanted to establish as a family legacy.”

The homeowners bought two adjacent properties with two houses, a guesthouse and a garage (though they don’t have a car on the island). One house had a foundation that wasn’t going to stand the test of time, so the solution was to rebuild within that home’s footprint. This new house is smaller than the existing house was. Salvage crews came in to take away all the usable materials from the original house for reuse before it was demolished.

Though there’s a loop road on the island, the homeowners typically arrive by boat. This is the view of the house as they approach it from the dock.

Find a local architect on Houzz

The house has the appearance of two small cabins. “We knew early on that these two forms would be connected by a spine down the middle,” Butrim says. The west wing, on the left, contains the family room, dining room and kitchen in one large open space. The east wing contains three bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. The large window between the two wings marks the structure’s spine, a long corridor between them.

Creating the two asymmetrical forms broke up the scale of the house and gave it a San Juan Islands cabin feel. Butrim also looked to agricultural and maritime buildings, as well as Native American longhouses, for architectural inspiration. The materials, which include weathered cedar at random widths, tinted concrete and dark metal roofing, accomplish two goals. They nod to the history of cabins built on this island, and they help the building blend into the wooded site.

“Originally, the front entry led directly into the corridor,” Butrim says. “However, our clients thought that would feel too formal and they wanted this to be a more casual house. It also felt like an entrance you’d have if you’d driven from the road and down the driveway, which doesn’t happen here. Instead, we thought about them entering the house from the approach from the dock.” The front entry is located on the left side of the house. (The door is open in this photo.)

Site planning study: This site drawing offers a glimpse into Butrim’s process: careful study of views from the site of the house, as well as greater site planning. The house sits on a peninsula with big water views (below the peninsula), views of a more intimate cove (above the peninsula) and views of the forest. The approach from the dock (bottom center) is also shown.

“The property had undergone several different iterations over the years, and a lot of it had been cleared out to put in large swaths of lawn,” Butrim says. “The homeowners wanted to reestablish the more native and natural setting.” He brought in landscape architect Randy Allworth to help develop a plan. The largest areas of green on this plan represent restoration areas where they are reestablishing the forest and meadows.

Find a local landscape designer

The careful site planning paid off indoors, as walking through the front entry provides an impressive view through the west wing’s great room to the cove. The structure of Native American longhouses inspired the architecture, and the posts, beams and trusses create a rhythm through the large, open space. All these elements and the ceilings are cedar. The floors throughout the great room wing are concrete.

To create delineation within the open floor plan, the architect framed out certain areas. Look to the right to see these frames around the kitchen cabinets and the TV built-ins. The wood that composes these frames is finished in shou-sugi-ban. This is a traditional Japanese burning technique that gives the wood a blackened appearance. Each frame has a small cantilever across the top that echoes the cantilevers on the exterior.

The range, seen here on the right, has a pop-up downdraft ventilation system. This eliminated the need for a vent hood overhead, which would have interrupted the architecture and blocked views through the space.

Shop for your kitchen

The deck includes several seating areas as well as an outdoor kitchen and picnic table. This photo also offers a closer look at the irregular planks of cedar siding. Many of the island’s older rustic cabins have siding like this.

Four large sliding doors on two tracks stack to the side to create the large opening. The cantilevers provide protection from the rain. “The cantilever over the doors is deep enough so that they can pull up chairs and sit under it when it’s raining,” Butrim says.

Browse outdoor furniture in the Houzz Shop

Another nod to the island’s original cabins comes in the form of gridded window panes. “We wanted to use these to reflect the island’s vernacular,” Butrim says. “However, we didn’t want the grids to interfere with the views, so we placed them up high.” Both the large transom and smaller clerestory windows (left) have gridded panes.

A series of skylights punctuates the right side of the ceiling, bringing in lots of natural light. “Because the house is in the trees, getting light into it was very important,” Butrim says. “These skylights are operable and also help with natural ventilation. Air comes in through the doors and vents out through the skylights.”

The homeowners commissioned artist John Grade to create the large sculpture hanging in the bay on the left.

This is the view from the fireplace wall back toward the front entry. This photo provides a closer look at the shou-sugi-ban frames around the bay on the right, and on the left around the TV nook and the kitchen cabinets.

On the left, a wide opening to the corridor connects the two cabin forms. It sits directly across from the wide opening out to the deck.

This photo of the far end of the house shows how the two wings are staggered. Their roofs have different pitches, giving them an asymmetrical look. The two forms maintain the appearance of two separate cabins from every angle.

The staggering also allowed the primary bedroom, seen here on the left, to jut out. This placement maximizes the views from that room.

A stone patio provides a rustic spot to sit and enjoy the view of the water. It has a portable fire pit for chilly nights.

Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project

The primary bedroom’s placement is a perfect example of how the site planning paid off. A cozy view through the trees looks out on the small cove on the right and the bay on the left. While many of the walls are glass, the wood on the windows, ceiling, walls and beams makes the space cozy.

See why you should hire a professional who uses Houzz Pro software

The homeowners kept aging in place in mind when planning their bathroom. A zero-threshold shower, handheld wand and lots of room to maneuver will accommodate them as they get older. An abundance of glass on the exterior wall and a skylight fill the room with light.

The couple also wanted easy access to an outdoor shower. Large doors lead out to a deck that runs almost the entire length of the house on the more private forested side. The two guest bedrooms also lead out to this deck, which provides a private feeling of being immersed in the forest.