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Nearly all the home's custom furniture pieces, such as the master bedroom bed and nighstands, are floating, to achieve an overall sense of lightness.

In the kitchen, custom cabinetry with transparent doors helps keep the space light and airy, as does a lower open shelf for tea, sugar and other everyday essentials.

While the owners really liked the idea of shou sugi ban, they opted for a more cost-effective black stain. The random-width, reverse board-and-batten siding reflects the wabi-sabi concept. “The builder said the math for the random siding was torturous,” the wife said. “We didn’t know how hard it was to make things look simple.” DeNiord planted hay-scented fern and lowbush blueberry sod around the house. “We didn't want any side of the house to feel unconsidered,” he says. As for the local boulders he placed around the house and terrace, he says, “They give the feeling that the house grew up around the outcroppings.”

The kitchen's walnut cabinets were handmade locally while the flooring is 200-year-old reclaimed terracotta from France.

There's now two doors to the back, where there was just one before, for better circulation and flow to the rear deck. The sink has a Dornbracht faucet.

The kitchen now has an island with the sink, to create more work surface for Kwame and Tamara. A Bertazzoni stove has a Wolf hood.

The white cabinets are from Ikea, topped with ABC Stone Afyon White, honed. Artwork by Kristin Texeira sits atop.

A sunny deck sits below the property beside the pool, where Trobisch can train clients, Mo can entertain friends, and their daughter can play.

The bedroom suite on the second level features a kitchenette for total privacy.

Even though Mo wanted to keep the interior palette light and bright, she and Techentin agreed that tall cabinetry in a dark blue finish would add a fun statement.

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

After years of hosting loved ones in their 1,450-square-foot home, a couple called on architect Warren Techentin to build a bold backyard house with vacation vibes.

Seattle-based Shed Architecture & Design worked with kitchen systems company Space Theory to create Quynh-Vy’s dream kitchen, complete with pink cabinets, open walnut shelving, and a 12-foot marble island.

Despite a delay in schedule, the house will be capable of operating off-grid thanks to a solar photovoltaic system and battery back up system.

The living room is flanked by a light well on one perimeter and a courtyard on the other.

As a practicing architect for over 30 years, Scott looked to his network to help take on the project and, to an extent, mitigate the budget. “I’ve described this house as less of a construction project, and more of an Amish barn raising.”

The other bathroom has a soaking tub and a walk in shower with deep green wall tiles and contemporary fixtures.

Concrete beams and ceilings were left exposed in the guest rooms and around the elevator core to eliminate wall coverings that would add to the carbon count. The guest rooms have biodegradable carpet floors.

biotech company MycoWorks