Outdoors

An outdoor shower in the lower courtyard includes most of the materials that define the project, including Cor-Ten steel posts, horizontal ipe slats and decking, a custom seat and towel shelf set into a natural boulder, and concrete pavers. The yard includes many elements built for play, like a water feature embedded in a concrete wall that is fed by runoff rainwater collected from the breezeway roof.

The outdoor dining area is connected to the new kitchen through a fine frame double glazed sliding door by Sieger Systems. This was one of the more expensive features of the renovation—the doors and triple-glazed windows throughout cost just over $27K in total—but was essential to achieve the connection the client was looking for. The slatted screen was another important feature. “It creates a backdrop for the dining area that makes the terrace feel more like an outdoor room that is separate from the rest of the garden,” explains architect Julia Hamson.

Techo-Bloc’s Industria 600 x 100 pavers in Greyed Nickel add a refined rhythm to this circular patio that punctuates a vast expanse of grass on the edge of a lake. The regularity of the gridded tiles and the perfectly formed circle are pleasingly juxtaposed by the rough-hewn stone firepit.

The pool and surrounding landscape connect the architecture with the wooded park just beyond the yard. “We used the softer textures of ornamental grasses, Japanese maples, and perennial plantings to balance the rectilinear lines of the pool and the house,” says Josh Myers of Myers + Co. Landscape Architecture.

After: The front porch feels fresh and streamlined with a new unfinished wood door and minimal railings.

The garden was previously occupied by over-scaled, built-in planters and benches that made it feel much smaller than it actually is. Likewise, the rear of the house was dark and cramped, making it unsuitable for entertaining and relaxed living.

The four panels of aquamarine and green look like a work of art.

Tiles surrounding the pool are from Eco Outdoor.

The screen is coated with a clear finish by Penofin Red Label. The steel rail and cables are by Feeney and the deck is by Bison Innovative Products. The windows and doors are from Loewen.

A pathway winds between a pair of Japanese maples and a myrtle tree that dates to the home’s original construction. The floor-to-ceiling windows and sliders are by Fleetwood.

Treat walls and the ground as a canvas. This graphic abstract was created with Techo-Bloc’s Travertina Raw slab in Ivory and Rock Garden Brown. The earthy tones complement the texture of the slab, which echoes that of natural travertine with the stain-resistant attributes of Techo-Bloc’s Klean-Bloc factory-sealed technology.

This 4,080-square-foot house in Shoreline, Wahington was a former adult living facility, that has since been converted into a single-family home by Seattle firm SHED Architecture & Design. “The wall of glazing facing towards the West is still one of the most striking elements of the house,” says designer Rebecca Marsh, so it was key that any redesign maintain its integrity.

An outdoor pool at the Lantern at Linkhorn Bay residence foreshadows the more distant view of the bay.