How does an architect protect clients’ home privacy while also letting in the great outdoors? That’s the question SHED Architecture & Design faced when it began planning a house in Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood for two geologists nearing retirement.

“The house is surrounded by, and largely overlooked by, houses on all sides,” SHED principal Thomas Schaer explains. “The focus of the design became the development of spaces inside and out that engage the site and surroundings, while retaining a sense of refuge.”

The couple’s new four-story home achieves this by blocking visibility of nearby developments and focusing views instead on the scenic slices of Lake Washington and Mount Rainier that shine through the gaps between them. Now settled into their 2,332-square-foot residence, the residents never have to worry about needing to draw their shades on the majestic beauty of the Pacific Northwest.