On the first level, the living room and dining room connect to a southeast-facing terrace, which catches the morning and midday sun. A pair of larch sliding doors join the two rooms. Two Marcel Breuer Wassily chairs from Knoll flank the rug, from Room & Board, and Portland Willamette Ovation II fireplace.
The master bedroom offers sweeping views of the Seattle skyline looking east over Elliott Bay.
In the master bathroom, a Duravit tub and pair of sinks are surrounded by black and white Crossville tile.
A larch stairway leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms. “We chose larch for its natural decay resistance, durability, and beauty,” Patano says.
Porcelain tile by Urban Concrete is used throughout the home. Lighting fixtures by LBL Lighting illuminate wallpaper from wallpapered.com that depicts a map of the Puget Sound.
“BLK_LAB uses a series of thoughtfully placed windows to achieve a combination of passive solar design and an advanced thermal envelope,” says architect Christopher Patano, founder of Seattle firm Patano Studio Architecture. The home is insulated with cellulose, a material made from 85 percent post-consumer recycled content, which is densely packed into each stud cavity.
“An overarching concept for the house was to let the materials age over the years, enhancing a sense of time and place for the project,” Patano says. Locally sourced larch, milled specifically for the project, features prominently throughout the home. On the exterior, vertical wood siding boards are fastened with stainless steel nails over a proprietary moisture barrier, allowing ventilation and preventing water intrusion. The waist-high larch barrier around the 700-square-foot deck provides privacy.
The kitchen opens up to the dining room to facilitate social cooking and eating. “Since everyone gathers in the kitchen, we designed a long galley-style layout with extra width between counters,” Patano says. Casework and Calacatta quartz countertops by Pedini complement the ovens and cooktop, both by Miele, and a Blanco faucet and Elkay sink.
A fiddle-leaf tree, which the homeowner has had for 25 years, fits perfectly into the double-height living room, where it enjoys plenty of sunlight. Its tip can be seen from the master bedroom’s walk-in closet.
From the top of the staircase, the master bedroom is accessed via sliding doors (on the right), while a pair of pocket doors lead to a walk-in closet that overlooks the living room. A skylight with an operable shade provides natural light when desired.
The polished, matte white glass refrigerator and fridge complement Miele appliances and the IKEA kitchen system. A panel of red-painted glass adds a pop of color.
Instead of isolating the dining table and kitchen island, Aliabadi chose to raise the dining room floor in order to keep both surfaces the same height. The custom dining table is surrounded by Selene white leather chairs and an E23 wood bench. A lighting fixture from Royal Lighting hangs overhead.
A staircase forms the core of the 1,800-square-foot home, with a symmetrical alcove on either side. The steps, hardwood floors, and slatted bridge on the second floor are made of white oak, providing a rich contrast with its white walls.
To create visual depth, the entrance of the Thorax House’s gray stucco facade is marked by a black aluminum canopy. The firm created custom signage using red Caesarstone quartz, which was cut using a CNC milling machine. “It’s like a suit with a nice tie,” Aliabadi says.
A large slab of marble doubles as an artwork in the living room, which is accented with an E23 sofa. Aliabadi used leftover pieces of the marble to create a custom coffee table.
Placed throughout the home’s slatted wood exterior, windows are positioned to allow for the most attractive views and ample natural light. The sloped roof design was chosen for its minimal cost, and for its ability to redirect snow away from a neighboring residence.
“Our goal was to construct a house with the lowest possible budget, while ensuring comfort and efficiency for the residents inside,” says Sergey Kolchin, founder of Le Atelier. The architects accented the home’s front door by painting it yellow, harmonizing the structure with the surrounding forest.
A corridor-like entrance invites residents into the home. The architects chose to use goose-step stairs because of their safety and efficiency in compact spaces. “This staircase is also the easiest in terms of construction,” Kolchin says. “It is nearly impossible to make any mistake while building it.”
Chairs and lights from IKEA accompany a custom dining table, which incorporates shelving and storage space underneath.
A pair of lights from IKEA hang above the first floor, which houses the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Pine floors, painted black, run throughout the residence.
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Like the nearby dining room wall, this custom-made wood storage space was painted white then enhanced with a geometric pattern, drawn on with black felt-tip pens. Cabinet handles from Leroy Merlin complement the graphic design.
Inspired by “polati,” a sleeping loft that featured prominently in traditional Russian homes, Le Atelier created a series of tiny bedrooms that connect to a playroom with a study upstairs. A clock and lights from IKEA blend into the room’s simple color palette.
The pared-down aesthetic of the children’s bedrooms lets their chartreuse walls pop.
The Passive House-certified home features high levels of insulation and high-performing, triple-glazed windows from Zola European Windows and Doors. Ample south-facing glazing is enhanced by exterior motorized aluminum shades, which can be lowered to block unwanted summer sun. A mahogany deck, finished with Penofin penetrating oil, hosts cafe chairs and a red table from Design Within Reach.
A green laminate countertop by Abet Laminati is surrounded by Norman Foster’s Emeco 20-06 counter stools at the island in the kitchen, which has an integrated Frigidaire induction range, Faber Cylindra Isola range hood, Blomberg dishwasher, Fisher & Paykel fridge, and flat-grain fir plywood cabinets by Portland craftsman Doug Chamblin.
In the bathroom, plywood cabinets by Doug Chamblin support a concrete countertop Stern designed himself. A Toto toilet, Americh tub, Duravit sink, and Danze Parma faucet round out the space.
“Initially the design had the studios completely separated from the main house with a sort of breezeway in between,” says Stern, who ultimately decided to physically connect them in a way that evokes walking through the outdoors. “The studios and breezeway are separated from the main house with pocket doors to create privacy when needed, and allow it to function as a separate guest suite for overnight visitors.”
The double-height living room features an Eames Molded Plywood lounge chair and coffee table. A Neo Chaise Sectional sofa by Bensen sits near a floor covering bought at Christiane Millinger Oriental Rugs.
The home’s open floor plan is exemplified by the loft-like master suite that looks out onto the backyard through a double-height living room. Sliding pocket doors and windows (invisible here), allow for privacy and separation when desired.
Using scrap material from the kitchen cabinets and island, Stern and Chamblin created custom bedside tables that support a lamp by Seattle designer Brent Markee.
Mahogany flooring, a continuation of the mahogany backyard deck and front porch, is enhanced with a clear finish. Vintage suitcases sit near rough sawn cedar walls, which are finished with an ebony stain.
While the home’s simple, boxy forms starkly contrast with surrounding residences, its compact shape and modest scale help it fit into the traditional neighborhood without calling attention to itself. The house was built around a large birch tree, with dwarf fountain grass and porcupine grass planted in front. A weeping blue atlas cedar provides a focal point near the front door.
Floor-to-ceiling windows, complemented by a wood-burning stove from Jøtul, bring the outdoors in. “Movement throughout the house—down the hall, through a doorway, or across a room—is always toward a view of the outdoors, creating a connection between the inside and outside,” Hart says.
The Aiyyers’ midcentury furniture collection adds personality and color to the open-plan interior. A sofa by Kofod-Larsen for Selig, chairs by Viko Baumritter, shelving by Regner Christensen, and a coffee table by a local craftsmen accentuate the living room, while a dining table and chairs by Calligaris, custom cabinetry with pulls by Mockett, and an overhead Bel Occhio light from Pablo Designs complete the kitchen. Leigh’s harp, from Lyon & Healy, sits nearby.
A tall gray wall, made of acid-washed zinc metal, marks the entryway and visually grounds the roof planes. It also separates the living and bedroom volumes.
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