Houzz Tour: New Forever Home on a Scenic Island

Photos by Lucas Henning of Swift Studio

House at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple
Location: Camano Island, Washington
Size: Approximately 2,150 square feet (200 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designers: Dan Nelson and Bill Lippens of Designs Northwest Architects (architecture) and Stephanie Preble (interior design)

“There was a cool little modern cabin on the property that had been designed by a well-known architectural firm in Seattle,” says Dan Nelson, one of the couple’s architects. “The problem was it had been built poorly and there was dry rot in the structure. Nothing could be saved, so unfortunately my clients had no choice but to tear it down.”

As empty nesters, the couple wanted one-floor living and didn’t care to add a daylight basement. They met with Nelson to work on the concept for the site planning and the house. He developed conceptual sketches and plans. Then project architect Bill Lippens joined the team to work on the design development drawings and manage the project. The homeowners say they found working with Nelson and Lippens made the design process seamless for them. They appreciated the way the architects translated their general ideas into specifics.

Find a local architect on Houzz

Though the cabin was gone, it inspired the homeowners and Nelson to keep its modern style alive. The structure’s placement on the site also influenced the plan. There was an existing well and septic system, and upgrading the septic system was included in the project. The architects oriented the house to take advantage of the southwesterly views of the Saratoga Passage and Whidbey Island.

“The site is quite wooded and has a secluded feel,” Nelson says. “The approach to the house is through the trees and it feels totally private.” The site is atop a 60-foot cliff overlooking the water.

Facing the entry side of the house, the primary suite is on the left; a great room that contains the family room, dining room and kitchen is in the center; and two other bedrooms are on the right side. Next to those bedrooms, a mudroom-laundry room connects the house to the garage. The garage roof is covered in solar panels.

Strong afternoon winds often occur on the water-facing side of the house, so Nelson wanted to provide the homeowners with a protected outdoor living space — in the form of this courtyard on the entry side.

The courtyard’s surface is composed of concrete pads poured in place. The scale of the pads is small enough to give the space an intimate feel, while the proportions suit elements on the facade, such as the windows.

Find a masonry and concrete contractor

Approaching the house, the views out to the water are clear through the large expanses of glass in the great room.

The siding and roof are standing-seam metal in a dark bronze. “A great thing about modern houses is that you can use low-maintenance materials like this,” Nelson says. Painted fiber cement panels break up the facade. Colorful plantings in a concrete board-formed planter add softness and attract pollinators. The planter also hides the garbage cans, which tuck in behind it.

Browse planters in the Houzz Shop

Here’s a closer look at the view straight through the great room. A door on the right provides direct access to the courtyard patio from the kitchen area. A boulder adds an organic shape among all the straight lines.

8 Coastal Homes With Awesome Ocean Views

Western red cedar adds a warm organic feel at the entry and beneath the overhangs. This overhang provides protection from rain when unlocking the large pivot door.

Nelson has been designing sustainable, energy-efficient homes since they were a novelty. But he notes that local building codes have caught up and are some of the most stringent in the country. The home’s energy-efficient elements include the solar panels and all-electric systems and appliances. The windows are double-glazed and the insulation has a high R-value, giving the house a tight envelope. Accordingly, it also has a fresh air exchanger.

There’s a transformative moment that occurs when one is standing in front of the solid wood front door and it pivots open to reveal the spectacular view through the house out to the water and Whidbey Island.

The floors are engineered hardwood. A herringbone pattern helps define the foyer and fits the scale of the space.

Browse lighting in the Houzz Shop

Standing in the compressed space of the foyer makes entering the great room all the more dramatic. Its ceiling soars and clerestory windows provide views of the sky. Those windows are operable. The homeowners love the room’s open feel to the outdoors and, in particular, the fact that the windows go all the way to the floor.

“Needing air conditioning has never really been an issue in the Pacific Northwest,” Nelson says. “On hotter days, the clerestory windows let the heat out.” However, he notes that the type of heat pump system he used here did come with air conditioning and that the area’s temperatures have been rising lately.

The couple enlisted designer Stephanie Preble to help them with the interior design. The furnishings have a warm transitional look that mixes traditional and modern styles.

For example, the kitchen has traditional Shaker-style cabinets and a classic coastal blue, white and wood palette. But it is also clean-lined. The grid of tiles on the range wall, the crisp edges of the quartz countertop and the lighting and plumbing fixtures lean modern.

The colors in the fireplace surround play off the rocks, sky and water outside the windows. The Oriental rug repeats these colors.

The opening to the left of the fireplace leads to the primary suite. The primary closet and bathroom are lined up along the entry side of the house, while the bedroom takes advantage of the water views.

“The view in the bedroom is the big deal,” Nelson says. “So we sized it for a king-size bed that faces the view.” Creating a headboard that also serves as a partial wall allowed him to float the bed in the middle of the room, away from the entry door and the door to the walk-in closet. Also, it provided a place to mount reading lights.

This strategy put the bed in the best possible spot in the room. The way Nelson laid out the primary suite allowed for a corner window on the left.

The architects tucked the primary bathroom to the side of the bedroom, along the far side of the house. This allowed for the view out to the water.

That primary bathroom window is on the right side of the house in this photo. The way the bathroom is tucked back from the facade allowed for the windows to wrap the corner in the bedroom.

In the center of the house, large sliding doors open to the deck from the dining area and kitchen. The deck plays the role of the backyard for this house, and its generous size allows for dining and seating-lounging areas.

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

Beyond the grilling area, the concrete patio leads to stairs down the sloped property.