This article originally appeared on Houzz.com.

You often hear about a house being really well built, and that was definitely the case with this remodeled 1908 Craftsman. But “well built” and “well laid out” are two entirely different things. “The whole way it was set up prevented you from having any connection to the view over Ballard, a really cute neighborhood in Seattle,” says architect and designer Charlene Wilson, of Portal Design, “or any connection whatsoever to the backyard.”

Wilson says that a lot of the inspiration for the house came from the lifestyle in Palm Springs, California. The homeowners have a vacation house there, and Wilson spent time with them in the desert and went to events during the city’s annual Modernism Week.

One of the things they all love about Palm Springs is the ability to live indoors and out, not something you can typically do in Seattle. “The sense of being able to flow from indoors to outdoors was one of the main drivers in renovating this house,” says Wilson.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: 2 engineers
Location: Seattle
Size: 2,100 square feet on 2 floors, plus a 180-square-foot loft; 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms
That’s interesting: The Ballard neighborhood of Seattle used to be filled with tiny houses, because the area is very sloped and the lots are quite narrow.

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The house has a reverse floor plan, with the bedrooms and bathrooms on the first floor and an open kitchen, living area and dining space, plus a half bath, on the second level.

For the second floor, Wilson purposefully stayed with basic finishes that would be timeless — walnut floors, white kitchen cabinets and a marble kitchen island. “But we also wanted to introduce some whimsy into the design,” she says. “We applied wallpaper above the credenza in the lounge, but to a small area so that it can be easily changed in the future.”

The aquamarine-blue touches reminded Wilson and her clients of Palm Springs. “It was one of those things we saw on a lot of house tours, and it just stuck,” says Wilson, “along with the use of wood on ceilings.”

Gray sofa: EQ3; round glass table: vintage, Eileen Gray; pillows: Waverly Small Talk Accent; rug: Andalusia, West Elm; dining table: handmade by Amish furniture makers in Ontario, Canada; Shell Chairs: Eames; yellow chairs: vintage, Area 51; white sofa: vintage; acrylic tables: Gus Timber; hanging light fixture: black Tom Dixon Beat Light Wide; credenza: custom design by Charlene Wilson, fabricated by 7 Hills Design; wallpaper: Flavor Paper Scrubs on Gold Pony Skin Foil; wall sconces above credenza, (on wallpaper): SuperOrdinate Antler Sconce, Design Within Reach

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The look of the front elevation was influenced by the site’s sloping nature. “We created a pop-out over the garage that’s clad in metal and balances that side of the house,” says Wilson. She also added a number of new windows to allow in as much light as possible.

The green portion of the facade is Hardie board panels, and the gray is Hardie board siding. The existing porch was torn down and replaced with one that has a ceiling made of cedar car decking — an element that’s also used inside the house on a portion of the ceiling on the second floor — and a stainless steel door.

“Because the lot is so steep,” Wilson says, “we had to make quite a few transitions to get from the driveway up, from the sidewalk up, and still have that connection to be able to go around the side of the house to the backyard.”

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The stairs are in the same place as they were in the original house, but in their previous incarnation they were completely walled in. “What we chose to do in an effort to not completely demolish the house, and do too many structural changes, was to use a steel frame after the walls were removed,” says Wilson. “By doing that we were able to keep the members much smaller.”

She adds, “We also really liked the modern aesthetic of the painted steel with wood offsets.” The stair treads are parallel strand lumber, and the railing, with stainless steel cables, was custom designed by Portal Design and fabricated by its contractor.

The kitchen island is topped with marble and clad in gray lacquer over medium-density fiberboard (MDF). The wood toe kick is walnut, to match the floor. The artwork is from Shag in Palm Springs.

Bar stools: CB2; pendants: Tech Lighting Pele Pendants; refrigerator: Architect Series, KitchenAid

The walnut wrap on the left side of the refrigerator frames in the white cabinets. “The idea was to create a furniture type of look, where there’s an edge of walnut showing, and offsetting that with the white lacquer,” says Wilson.

The small cabinet above the sink is tied to the cabinet to its left and then jumps up to create an enclosure for the range hood. “The exhaust pipe that comes out of the range hood is unsightly, but because of the roof slope we weren’t able to emphasize it the way you normally would with a stainless steel hood,” says Wilson.

She adds, “So that box was created to conceal the hood, and the squarish cabinet to the right is its counterbalance. It was just one of those things born of necessity.” The stairs to the right lead up to the loft office.

Range: 30-inch gas, Wolf; countertops: Caesarstone

The design of the master bedroom again reflects Wilson’s effort to keep things that were going to be more permanent as neutral as possible. “There’s a lot of light in the house, and on the headboard wall we wanted a nice neutral to dark color,” says Wilson. “We chose that warm gray partially because it’s an easy color to decorate with as a background. You can throw anything against it, and it’s going to look fabulous.”

Because the master bathroom is buried a bit in the middle of the house, Wilson used a frosted glass panel in the shower to allow more daylight to traverse into the bathroom.

Bed: Min Bed with Plexi Headboard, Design Within Reach; linens: Ironwork, West Elm; lamp, table at left: vintage; lamp on shelf: Tube Top, Design Within Reach; artwork: Creamsicles print, Crate & Barrel; wall paint: Chelsea Gray HC-168, Benjamin Moore

For the main bathroom, Wilson chose to have the backsplash go from the top of the counter to the ceiling to accent the alcove. This also plays into the verticality of the mirror, which has interior lights on both sides.

The blue portion of the vanity is lacquered MDF, while the wood elements here and on the tub surround are walnut.

Backsplash: Seattle Tile Company; countertop: Caesarstone; sink: Vero, Duravit; faucet: Metris, Hansgrohe; tub: Paiova, Duravit; rain showerhead: Arzo, Delta; flooring: Fiel Obsidian Black (12 by 24), Seattle Tile Company

A deck opens off the main living area and cantilevers over a small addition Wilson added to expand the master bedroom. The awning is frosted acrylic and was custom designed.

Outdoor fireplace: Modfire