Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Welcoming and Serene Island Homestead for 2 Creatives
An artist and an architect have been designing their ideal Whidbey Island lifestyle for 20 years and counting
Badanes and Beaumont encourage visitors, especially now that they’ve added the Love Shack, their new guest house. “Linda and Steve’s home is equal parts quirky, cozy, artistic and wild,” says Badanes’ University of Washington colleague Miriam Gee. “Each time I go back, I wonder why it’s been so long.”
Badanes came up with the idea of the home’s economical pole barn structure and recycled steel exterior panels, and Beaumont focused on the function and feel of the house.
Zincalume siding: Steelscape
Badanes came up with the idea of the home’s economical pole barn structure and recycled steel exterior panels, and Beaumont focused on the function and feel of the house.
Zincalume siding: Steelscape
The artistry of Beaumont and others is evident throughout the home, with original paintings, colorful handmade textiles and pottery and custom sculptures, many done by friends and colleagues, punctuating every room.
Left artwork: Claudia Fitch; right artwork: Liza Von Rosenstiel
Left artwork: Claudia Fitch; right artwork: Liza Von Rosenstiel
The layout is unconventional but what Beaumont expected. “I had spent some time living in loft apartments in Seattle and Los Angeles, so I was used to very open spaces,” she says. A staircase forms the core of the first floor, bordered on one side by the combined kitchen, living and dining room and by the home’s only bathroom and the master closet on the other. This kept infrastructure costs down while allowing the majority of the second floor to be dedicated to Beaumont’s light-filled studio.
Many of the pieces in the home, including the sideboard and island countertop, were made as wedding gifts for the couple by friends in the Seattle art and architecture communities.
Custom sideboard: Chadhaus
Many of the pieces in the home, including the sideboard and island countertop, were made as wedding gifts for the couple by friends in the Seattle art and architecture communities.
Custom sideboard: Chadhaus
A wood stove in the dining room is backed by tile installed by Beaumont. The hanging ceramic chain, installed by Gale McCall, a friend and Los Angeles artist, will eventually be extended to puncture the ceiling and carry heat to the studio.
Elm stove: Vermont Iron Stone Works; glass wall tile: Daltile (similar); see more glass tiles
Elm stove: Vermont Iron Stone Works; glass wall tile: Daltile (similar); see more glass tiles
To keep an open feel on the ground floor, the bathroom and the pantry under the staircase are the only enclosed spaces.
“Everything has a story,” Beaumont says of the pieces in the home, including the apron she bought in Ghana in 2000 on a design-build trip with Badanes and with Miami University and the many small treasures hiding among the spices on the pantry shelves.
“Everything has a story,” Beaumont says of the pieces in the home, including the apron she bought in Ghana in 2000 on a design-build trip with Badanes and with Miami University and the many small treasures hiding among the spices on the pantry shelves.
Beaumont, who uses tile in much of her commissioned art, designed and installed all of the tile in the home, including the floor-to-ceiling mosaics in the bathroom. An outdoor shower in the yard is also covered in mosaic tile.
The vaulted second floor with its south-facing floor-to-ceiling windows is bright and crisp most of the day, providing ideal lighting for Beaumont’s art studio.
Paper lanterns: Ikea (no longer available); see more paper lanterns
Paper lanterns: Ikea (no longer available); see more paper lanterns
The sitting area across from the studio features a ceremonial vintage rug from Zaiane, Morocco, which traditionally signifies a passage from one place to another, from the conscious to the subconscious. “When I was looking for a rug for this room, I thought it was the perfect metaphor,” Beaumont says, referring to the connection from her studio to the outdoor area just beyond.
The large wall across from the sitting area, also known as Cine’ Beaumont, often serves as a canvas for movie nights. A mask Beaumont bought in Morocco hangs over a glass table displaying Badanes’ hand-formed wooden bowls.
Global Furniture dining table with black glass top: Houzz; see more glass-top tables
Global Furniture dining table with black glass top: Houzz; see more glass-top tables
Books and other objects are displayed throughout the studio.
Beaumont’s childhood piano at the top of the stairs serves as a transition between Cine’ Beaumont and her art studio.
A modest bedroom is located next to the studio, but the couple prefer to sleep outside on the upstairs patio as often as possible. “Falling asleep beneath the deep black night sky pierced with stars ends every day with a little magic,” Beaumont says.
Whimsical sculptures made from recycled packaging are scattered throughout the home, including this cigarette box mouse in the upstairs office. Meng Huang, an artist in Seattle’s International District, became a close friend of the couple late in his life, accompanying them on vacations and gifting them many of his art pieces.
A few years after building the main home, Badanes and Beaumont built three additional pole barn buildings to match it. The largest of them houses Beaumont’s fabrication studio and Badanes’ studio, with the others used to store art materials and Badanes’ collection of vintage cars.
Both double-height work spaces are lit by natural light thanks to the clerestory windows that encircle the structure. Beaumont’s fabrication studio is a mix of works in progress, finished studies and furniture she and Badanes are co-designing. “I build, she paints,” he says.
A large sliding door opens into Badanes’ shop, which has a lofted drawing space above an enclosed office.
Badanes is the Howard S. Wright professor of architecture at the University of Washington and leads the college’s Neighborhood Design/Build Studio as well as teaches at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont.
Both teaching endeavors are legacies of his professional work in the iconic group Jersey Devil Design/Build, which he co-founded in 1972. He now works on smaller-scale and more meditative projects, such as wood serving utensils, bowls and sculptures. Some of his original pieces are displayed here in his office.
Both teaching endeavors are legacies of his professional work in the iconic group Jersey Devil Design/Build, which he co-founded in 1972. He now works on smaller-scale and more meditative projects, such as wood serving utensils, bowls and sculptures. Some of his original pieces are displayed here in his office.
One of Beaumont’s favorite pieces, which sits on a shelf in Badanes’ studio, is a smooth, sinuous piece of cedar wood he shaped by hand. Often, though, Badanes comes home to find his space taken over by his wife. “One day I open the door to a three-sided steel chair in the middle of the room that Linda was tiling,” Badanes says. “I didn’t get the wood shop back until Christmas!”
A quote from Roland Tiangco hangs on the wall outside Badanes’ office. “I’ve had a good life” in architecture, Badanes says of his work with Jersey Devil and student design-build groups. “I’ve been lucky enough to do the work I love.”
Beaumont shares that sentiment. “In life, you have to find the thing that you’re passionate about,” she says.
Beaumont shares that sentiment. “In life, you have to find the thing that you’re passionate about,” she says.
The couple tend to accumulate extra materials for projects. Badanes at one point had so much wood lying around that Beaumont suggested he build a storage solution. What resulted were small design opportunities within themselves: plucky sheds situated at the end of a serene wood walkway adjacent to Badanes’ shop.
Most recently, the couple completed a detached guest studio, affectionately named the Love Shack, designed to host visitors and provide a long-term option for aging in place for the couple. The studio, a 30-second walk from the main house, comfortably holds a king bed and large bathroom suite, albeit one still awaiting a tile installation from Beaumont.
12 Must-Haves for Aging in Place
12 Must-Haves for Aging in Place
A heavier translucent wall system, similar to the lightweight one used in the fabrication studio, bathes the guest studio in soft natural light.
Wall system: Kalwall
Wall system: Kalwall
In addition to a large bathroom, Beaumont and Badanes included a sauna adjacent to the Love Shack entry, a luxurious treat for their guests and themselves. Badanes found the glass door at the local Habitat for Humanity store.
See the rest of this Whidbey Island property
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
See the rest of this Whidbey Island property
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Linda Beaumont and Steve Badanes
Location: Whidbey Island, Washington
Size: 2,176 square feet (202 square meters), one bedroom, one bathroom; studios: 1,800 square feet (167 square meters); guest house: 430 square feet (39 square meters)
Year built: Main home completed in 2001; studios completed in 2006; guest house completed in 2015
What feels like a familiar scene is unfolding at Camp Beaumont, the 5-acre Whidbey Island property that artist Linda Beaumont and architect Steve Badanes call home. “Lulu, you look dangerous right now,” Badanes says with a laugh, glancing up at Beaumont as she walks down the stairs, two repurposed yogurt containers connected by string hanging from her neck. “I’m going out to get some raspberries!” she replies, coming back minutes later with two containers full of red fruit from her lush garden.
A combination of forest landscape, gardener’s paradise and quintessential island getaway beloved by family and friends, Camp Beaumont is a labor of love that has been carefully curated by the couple over two decades.
Beaumont bought the property in 1994, and the couple finished the first structure, the main house, in 2001, two years before they were married. The first floor is dedicated to the main living areas, including an open kitchen and dining room that connects to the pastoral entry lawn.
My Houzz: A Sun-Dappled Oasis on Whidbey Island