For many years, Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders entertained his Orcas Island neighbors with breathtaking acrobatics in his vintage airplane.

Anders and his wife, Valerie, had purchased a five-acre compound on the isolated western edge of the island for its mesmerizing view, a subject he knew something about. As a member of the first human crew to orbit the moon, Anders is responsible for “Earthrise,” perhaps the most famous landscape photograph ever published.

When it was time for Anders to retire, he and Valerie moved to Anacortes, and were happy to turn their Orcas Island treasure over to Michael and Karen Combs, a pair of desert roadrunners hunting summer cover.

“We were told about these islands we should go see. It was a serene experience — no road noise, no traffic, no stoplights and no branded fast-food chains,” Michael Combs says.

The terraced oceanfront property had much to offer, including a 5,250-square-foot primary residence, a 750-square-foot guest “bunkhouse,” a 597-square-foot art studio and immeasurable peace.

The terraced oceanfront property had much to offer, including a primary residence, a guest “bunkhouse,” an art studio and immeasurable peace.

Photography by Andrew Pogue

Unfortunately, the circa-1987 main home included heavy stone fireplaces that blocked the view, a warren of small rooms and later add-ons, as well as hipped roofs that accentuated a hunkered, horizontal disposition.

Before the sale was complete, the Combs approached Anders, concerned that he might be offended by a radical contemporary intervention. “He said, ‘No, no. Make it your own,’” Michael remembers.

The Combs engaged Prentiss Balance Wickline (PBW) Architects and Dalgarno Construction, firms that had worked together on previous projects. The owners, architects and builders tackled the guest house and art studio successively in the first two years, while the Combs switched residences as needed. This arrangement helped the team build creative synergy, which would prove invaluable during the challenging overhaul of the primary home.

View-tiful

Photography by Andrew Pogue

To preserve building rights on the water’s edge, the main structure was stripped to the original footprint and the foundation raised one foot. A new open floor plan was devised, highlighted by a dramatic central cut with a soaring shed roof and modern box element.

The home now boasts layered views of the islands from every room. For the critical seaward face, 12-foot windows were imported from Canada. Because the home is so close to the water, the windows had to be inched over the rooftop with an octopus-like suction device before they could be installed.

It was an expensive proposition, but in combination with slender metal frames, the windows handsomely achieve the coveted vertical orientation.

The existing kitchen was too small to allow two people working together. From the beginning, the Combs emphasized their desire to replace it with “a dream kitchen.” Delivering on that pointed request had the architectural team sweating bullets.

The home now boasts layered views of the islands from every room while emphasizing natural lighting and the breathtaking beauty of the outdoors.

Photography by Andrew Pogue

“We wanted to get everything just right, especially the relationship between the kitchen and the living room,” PBW Architects Principal Dan Wickline says. “You have to give the owners kudos. They were fantastic clients. They empowered us and constantly pushed us to explore opportunities. It made it a joy to work on.”

The refurbished kitchen now features an oversized island, raised bar seating, Dornbracht faucets and premium appliances including Sub Zero, Gaggenau, Miele, Thermador and Bosch.

Behind every dream kitchen is a dream hidden pantry accessible only by hidden oak doors. It contains a second dishwasher and an operations center for a rogue’s gallery of unsightly but critical kitchen appliances — homemade peanut butter doesn’t grind itself. The pantry also includes a private office.

The primary bedroom suite — which is also the only official bedroom in the main home — includes a tufted free-range daybed worthy of Cleopatra. Activities in “The Lounge” include wine tasting, TV watching and gazing at Canada. The theater and exercise wing can be used as bedrooms when needed, bringing the property a total of five bedrooms.

An original set of mahjong tile-inspired custom cushions no longer fit The Lounge as the floor plan evolved. “We found a man in Spain who made knock-off mahjong tile cushions, and they fit exactly,” Michael says.

The primary bath includes a cedar-lined sauna, soaking tub and steam shower. Again, the architects were encouraged to run with scissors, rearranging puzzle pieces in real time to find exactly the right configuration. “We went through a lot of iterations during construction,” lead architect Philip Burkhardt notes. “It was almost like working on a full-scale model.”

Anders kept tabs on the project with frequent low flyovers, always tipping a wing to say hello.

While living in Michigan in the 1980s, the family became one of the first adopters of geothermal systems for residential heating. At Orcas Island, the Combs commissioned multiple wells in excess of 100 feet deep to deliver water that consistently remains between 50 and 55 degrees.

“I won’t say that it was a budget-buster, because there was no budget,” Michael says. “We invest in finer systems and materials wherever we can.”

A super-tight building envelope, forced-air system and solar array are among the many energy saving technologies. An ultra-low energy consumption lighting system was also installed. The direct current, Cat6 cable system is believed to be the first such installation in a U.S. residence.

A Creston Smart Home system (Reference Media, Bellingham) allows an astonishing degree of remote control of lighting, music, temperature, shades and curtains in every room from any location via wall-mounted touch screens or mobile devices. Various room colors can be controlled remotely via Colorbeam — for example, lighting in the bedroom can be programmed to mirror natural outdoor lighting as the day progresses.

A more moody lighting scheme is appropriate for the theater room, which features a black couch and other dark materials, as well as Dolby Atmos surround sound and a 100-inch screen.

Mechanical controls are typically relegated to a dusty corner of the basement. Here, the mechanical room is a destination resort for techies, with the color control panel alone dominating one wall.

The exterior features compressed wood technology from Norway and drought-resistant plants.

Photography by Andrew Pogue

The existing landscape was beautiful, but a few quarts low on drought-tolerant native plants. Karen rescued salal, huckleberry, sword fern and kinnikinnick, sheltering them from construction in a makeshift nursery for eventual redeployment by Kenneth Philp Landscape Architects.

Raising the house one foot also necessitated raising the pool and Jacuzzi. Karen sourced blue-green Italian tiles that reflect the color of the ocean for the new pool deck.

The pandemic inflicted innumerable wounds on the project, which spanned six years, but the Combs felt blessed by the exquisite quality of the work produced, including the Decospan shinnoki ivory oak cabinetry throughout the home (Northwest Custom Interiors, Seattle). “Every grain matches, and every edge is square and true.” Heavy Metal Works (Whidbey Island) was responsible for the masterful hot-rolled fenestrations, Michael adds.

The exterior is clad in Kebony rainscreen, an environmentally friendly compressed-wood technology developed in Norway. It is expected to last 50 years, eventually weathering to a silver grey, without need for toxic oil or stains. To keep deer out of the garden, they ordered a sleek automatic gate comprising charred cypress (Gateway Controls, Bellingham). “We just love wood,” Michael says.

The primary bath includes a cedar-lined sauna, soaking tub and steam shower.

Photography by Andrew Pogue

When the project finally wrapped up last spring, they purchased a nice print of “Earthrise” in anticipation of inviting the Anders over to see how it turned out. The reunion was not to be. On June 7, Anders climbed into his Beechcraft T-34 Mentor for an “Orcas run.”

Although no one can be certain, witnesses familiar with his aerial routines said he appeared to spike upward in preparation for a final spectacular leap of joy, a split-six maneuver, when he ran out of altitude off the western coast of Orcas, near his former home.

Anders died of blunt force trauma. He was 90.