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Restful Retreat: A Solar Powered, Petite Potting Shed
A Whidbey Island space that's open to the outdoors and surrounded by lavender fields
A decade after building a cabin on Whidbey Island, a couple dreamed up an appealing addition to create their ideal getaway. They called on BUILD LLC(University District, 5611 University Way NE, Suite 100B; 206.382.0401; buildllc.com; blog.buildllc.com), architects of the original cabin, to fashion the 199-square-foot potting shed cum reflecting room.
Entirely detached from the main cabin 450 feet away, it’s a simple but functional space, housing a work table and chairs, that opens up to the outside via glass walls set on the building’s front and back sides. Topped with an angled shed roof fitted with four solar panels, the shed is able to save enough energy to power its outlets and heat its hardwood floors. It’s an idyllic place to work, sip coffee and gaze at the deer that stroll the 20-acre property. Just like the architects’ design approach, the space is “everything it needs to be and nothing more,” says Build partner Andrew Van Leeuwen. In fact, it turned out to be one of the simplest projects ever undertaken by the firm. Not only did its small footprint require no building permits, the site conditions were ideal.
Says Van Leeuwen, “It’s pretty rare to be able to build and design in a pristine landscape like this, to have something so picturesque, just literally sitting in the middle of a lavender field. It’s quite a luxury.”
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Article Brings Its Modern Furniture to the Bellevue Collection
Images courtesy of Article. For over a decade, shopping at Article was completely online, and you could furnish your home without leaving the living room. The direct-to-consumer modern furniture brand built a loyal customer base in the Pacific Northwest by letting shoppers browse, order, and have products delivered to their doors without ever setting foot…
A San Juan Island Home for All Seasons
With an eye toward the future, Prentiss + Balance + Wickline helped two Seattle professionals design a house perfect for weekend getaways now—and permanent living during their post-retirement years.
It was early 2017 when a Seattle-based empty-nester couple started searching for a property in the San Juan Islands. They still had jobs in the city, but were nearing retirement and wanted a home they could use on weekends, and eventually settle in after they left the workforce. Initially, the two weren’t planning on a…
Can Alaska Kelp Help Washington Crops Beat the Heat?
A Ketchikan company is working with WSU researchers to see whether its kelp-based biostimulant can help grapes and berries withstand environmental stress.
From the floatplane, reddish-brown kelp traces the edges of the small islands between Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island like brushstrokes on the surface of the water. Up close, on a rare 70-degree July day in Alaska, the kelp is glossy and beautiful, though the wind coming off the water makes it nearly impossible to…
PlantCon Is Coming for Seattle’s Windowsills
The nation’s largest gathering for houseplant lovers makes its Pacific Northwest debut this August with 200 booths, hands-on workshops, and a DJ.
My house is full of plants, enough that I’ve lost count. Houseplants have the same suspicious math as tattoos: One is rarely the final number. I propagate cuttings in jars of water, regularly rearrange corners of the house in pursuit of better light, and like to imagine the entire collection is improving the air. That…