exterior

The back patio and fire-pit area are central entertaining spaces. When the weather is nice, homeowner Joan and Ken wheel their dining room table outside for parties and dinners with friends. The fire pit was built using a steel cut-off from a natural gas tank.

A new detached garage is topped with a guest room, overlooking the meadow and pool.

The exterior of the home is clad in Norway spruce. All of the windows are from Velfac, with the sliders from Schuco.

The owner was motivated to build his own home to avoid a mortgage and to gain the know-how to undertake his own maintenance and repairs. “I was craving the personal challenge to cultivate a home for myself,” he says. “As it was the beginning of a new adventure, I wanted it to be personal. Also, practically speaking, if I built each piece of the home by hand, I would have a good sense of how to solve problems or improve it, without having to ask anyone else to journey through the forest, down the trail, and up the cliff to make an adjustment.”

"I like that my daughter can come down here to play, and we can also entertain easily,

This pristine 1966 home opens to its wooded site with a series of patios, balconies, and outdoor entertaining areas.

At the back of the house, a portion of the basement is exposed, and the kitchen looks out from a large glass wall.

A corner of the four-part pyramid roof line.

Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.