The owners had been looking to buy a house or property in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle for many years. They loved the proximity to restaurants, transit, and the walkability of the neighborhood. They also wanted a house with lots of natural light, an open floor plan, three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor, a detached garage, and a simple contemporary exterior. This meant they they’d need to purchase a house that could be substantially remodeled or buy a piece of land to build from scratch. We worked closely with the owners and their realtor as they toured a series of potential houses and lots.
They ended up purchasing a house with the idea of keeping the foundation of the house. We were able to work with the existing footprint and create a house with an open floor plan on the first floor and three bedrooms, two baths, and a laundry room on the second floor. There is also a large “attic” that can easily be turned into a finished third floor playroom, guest room, and bathroom. The budget for the house was around $175/sf. We were able to keep the project in budget by keeping the design simple and being smart about material choices. For example we used more expensive materials in the locations where people will interact with the house most often (front porch, front door, and the back deck). For the rest of the exterior siding we relied on painted cement board siding.