Home Remodel

Latest news from CTA Builds, Inc.

05/01/2009

 The couple decided to create a relaxed, informal hybrid without expanding the square footage or drastically altering the exterior. Having enjoyed vacations and weekends on Decatur Island and elsewhere in the San Juan Islands, they wanted to distill that experience: privacy, plentiful natural light, water views and natural landscaping. An informal, flowing, circular walk-through scheme seemed ideal. If they succeeded, they'd have a place they wouldn't want to leave, even on weekends — an "urban cabin," to use their term. They chose mostly native plants for the 8,500-square-foot lot, and hoped judicious placement of doors and windows would bring the feeling of the outdoors in. They sketched in a walkway through a garden to direct clients around one side of the house and down a path to the back. They shifted the main entryway's location from the east to the south; interior plans flowed naturally from that key decision. Their construction crew basically took the inside apart and put it back together, enabling the family to move in a little more than three months after they bought the house. It's roughly 3,200 square feet, including a basement office with adjacent study and laundry room. Today, the stone-tile entryway logically opens to a spacious living room that is bright and cozy. Generous views of greenery and window seats with built-in storage drawers are just the touches you'd expect in a vacation place.