Unique house an elk-free oasis in the forest
Washington state woods are home to a retreat built to appreciate flora and fauna
Surrounded by Washington’s forests, outside Seattle, sits Courtyard House on a River. Its unique name reflects its design — the courtyard is a transition space between indoors and out, and also offers protection from elk herds that roam the area along the banks of the White River.
Built with western cedar and completed in 2015, the 1,900-sq.-ft. home’s large, open living area uses glass walls to create space and diffuse light.
A steel-clad fireplace is the architectural focus, separating the living area from an outdoor patio. The master bedroom and bathroom are at one end of the home, the guest bedroom and study at the other. Windows have been positioned to maximize the views in every room. Robert Hutchison, of Robert Hutchison Architecture in Seattle, answers questions about his design for Courtyard House on a River: What inspired the design of the home?
Definitely the clients. They wanted a single-level home. They’re still very youthful, but they’re empty-nesters and they wanted a place they could live in for the rest of their lives.
We pushed for a dark house, so that it would be more a part of the forest. What were the challenges in building it?
We had a very tight budget. They did a lot of work themselves, which was one way to budget down — it’s not recommended for everyone because it’s not an easy thing to do, but they did a really great job.
The site was challenging because there were a lot of permit things that had to be dealt with, because of the river, the wetlands and the elk.
It took about six months to get through that before we could get into the design.
Why did the residents want a courtyard?
They wanted this one exterior space in this amazing landscape that was more defined and designed. It’s not meant to be occupied. There’s no furniture there, it’s a transition to the house.
It’s also a means to provide natural light and ventilation to all those interior spaces. Are there really elk herds that need to be kept at bay?
They’re all over the place and they get into the trash.
There’s a little bit of a joke that the courtyard is a bit of a safe haven, a safe outdoor space that the elk can’t get into. The patio has an indoor/outdoor feel to it, with the fireplace and the very high ceiling. How did you achieve that?
When you’re in the living room, we used the fireplace from preventing you from looking directly out to the south into the wetlands, and draw your eye above to the roof and the trees to the south. The couple are very active, skiing in the winter, hiking or mountain biking every day in the summer and they like the idea of coming back and sitting in the outdoor space with the fireplace in the winter. The window placement is very thoughtful — especially the one offering a view from the bed. Did you go around with the homeowner, to see what was workable?
This house definitely has some specific areas that pick up on strategic placement of the windows. The bedroom window is very low and horizontal and set up so when you’re in bed, you’re looking straight out, but when you’re standing the window is lower than you.
One of my favourite ones is a trapezoid that’s pushed up underneath the roof rafters in the office area and that allows you to see out.
There’s also a low horizontal window you look through into the courtyard when you’re sitting down at your desk.
When you look to your left, you look up through that trapezoid window and see the trees.
On the other side of the wall are the cars, so there was a strategic decision that you’d never see the cars on the road from the house.