Collection by Linda Foster
Concrete wall
“Most spaces, you’re looking outside. I love pretty much every angle,” said Sara. “The views created are of the property, the trees and nature. It’s really neat to see the outdoor environment change when you’re inside this house. You can see the leaves, whether they’re green or it’s fall or they’re completely gone because it’s winter.”
DeNiord designed a simple concrete bench with a honed top to run parallel to the randomly sized concrete pads that lead to the covered entry. He planted blueberry bushes behind the bench and a river birch tree behind the boulder. To conjure a wabi-sabi feel outdoors, diNiord poured concrete around a boulder. “It represents the interruption of perfect geometry,” he says.
A floor lamp nearly eight feet tall anchors the seating area in the living area. Ceilings that are 12 feet tall at the highest point help the room feel expansive. “We needed to find a way to define different areas in a relatively tight space,” Lachapelle says. It’s the clients’ first experience with an open floor plan. “We raised our kids in an old Victorian, and the farmhouse we live in now is chopped up into tiny rooms save for the studio we just added,” the husband says.
DiNiord collaborated with craftsman Ken Hood to design the concrete bench with firewood storage and detachable wood back. Douglas fir columns along the walkway creates a colonnade. The mono-sloped roof is a nod to the long roofline of the original house that stood on the property. “Reducing the angles also reflects the strictness to budget,” the wife says.
Interior designer Heidi Lachapelle chose unfussy furnishings with clean lines. “Nothing should feel decorative or unnecessary,” she says. “We looked for things that would age beautifully to speak to the wabi-sabi concept.” The oak daybed is by Bautier, the indoor/outdoor rug is by Dash & Albert, and the trapezoidal cushions on the concrete bench nod to similar ones that the wife saw at Georgia O’Keefe’s home and studio. The Scandinavian-inspired fireplace throws heat from two sides.
Two new structures were also built in the backyard, and connected to the main house via the landscape plan by Lilyvilla Gardens. One is a 485-square-foot guest house, and the other is a 375-square-foot workshop for the owner, who’s a bike builder. They have the same exterior siding as the main house: rough-sawn tongue and groove cedar.
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