Though it needed some strategic tweaking, this midcentury home on Mercer Island just outside Seattle, Washington, had excellent bones: floor-to-ceiling glass emphasized the tall ceilings, and tongue-and-groove cedar paneling conveyed the 1969 residence’s swanky origins.

That same window glass, however, was failing, allowing water to infiltrate the interior, and the wood had darkened over time from absorbing natural light. The owner, fashion designer Melanie Owen, is originally from Southern California and sought to reflect that in the makeover. “Her design sensibilities were rooted in SoCal surfer culture, and the casual and open vibes of beach living,” says architect Matt Wittman, whose firm Wittman Estes collaborated with Melanie and her husband Matt on a renovation that preserves the home’s best characteristics, while injecting a lighter and lived-in palette that merges with the outdoors.

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

The home is on a very large lot—15,539 square feet, to be exact—but the outdoor spaces felt cut off from the interior. “Melanie and Matt wanted the house to open outward to the landscape, and create a more natural flow between spaces,” says Wittman. The firm came up with a master plan that includes a pool terrace that connects back to the house via paths and expanded stairways. (The plan is being executed in stages, and the pool is not yet built.)

This first stage started with the main living spaces, kitchen, and adjacent deck. The team replaced the leaking, single-pane units with wood-clad windows from Loewen, then refinished the existing cedar paneling for a lighter feel. The kitchen layout was completely reorganized, and the nearby deck overhauled to create a hangout space with privacy from the neighbors.

Before: Kitchen

The centerpiece of the kitchen renovation was to readdress a corner where two walls of windows met. Before, a single sliding door led out to the deck. Wittman Estes specified the relocation of the support column to install two large, aluminum LaCantina multi-slide doors in its stead, which enables the whole corner to open up to the outdoors. Now, no matter where you are in the kitchen—at the sink washing dishes, cooking at the stove, or curled up in the dining nook—you can take in views of Lake Washington.

After: Kitchen

Shop the Look

Before: Deck

After: Deck

More Before & After:

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A Dim, Cookie-Cutter Craftsman in Portland Now Basks in Natural Light

A Tucson Midcentury Gets a Surgically Precise Revamp

Project Credits:

Architecture: Wittman Estes (@wittman_estes)

Builder: Treebird Construction

Structural Engineer: Josh Welch Engineering

Landscape Design: Wittman Estes

Interior Design: Wittman Estes