Henry Island Guesthouse is a thoughtful response to evolving a family retreat on a remote location. Through its sensitive approach to site, a compact linear form, restrained material selection, and strategies for occupant wellbeing, the project provides abundance without excess, offering guests immersion within a remarkable natural environment.

The guesthouse is an addition to a secluded site in the San Juan Islands. The main residence on the 24-acre property, designed by our practice in 2012, sits in a meadow overlooking a shallow bay. When new owners purchased the property, they engaged us to create additions that respected the natural character of the island and its few homesites. The 1,350 square-foot guesthouse responds to their desire to create flexible space for hosting family and friends during extended stays, and for a sensitively scaled dwelling that relates to the vocabulary of the main home while maintaining a distinct identity.

The experience of arriving at the island by boat and approaching the site shaped the location of the guesthouse and its relationship to the original residence. A winding path leads from the dock through woodland before curving back toward the home. We located the guesthouse uphill from the primary residence along this approach, marking a transition from dense forest to sunlit meadow. The gently sloping site allowed us to anchor one end of the building into the earth and cantilever the other above grade, minimizing disturbance while creating a distinct character for each bedroom.

Because of the remote location and limited access, the project team prefabricated many building components offsite and transported during construction. The original residence was constructed of steel, exposed Douglas fir framing, and glass, with exterior weathered steel and cedar siding. We used these materials to visually link new and existing buildings, with a weathering steel wall that screens private areas from view. The entrance is marked by a cast-in-place concrete ledge, which anchors the building visually and provides a seating area, and an aperture in the steel wall. Slender steel columns, exposed timber beams, and seamless indoor-outdoor movement relate to key features of the original home.

Our clients requested two bedrooms of identical size but with distinguishing characteristics. Although they intended for everyone to gather for meals in the main residence, they recognized that a living room with a small kitchen would help guests feel at ease in their own space. From the earliest sketches, we sought to separate the bedrooms, giving each privacy and unique views, with the living room and kitchen between. Taking cues from a breezeway in the main residence, the common space opens to the landscape, like a porch. By doing so, guests are immersed in a quintessential Pacific Northwest landscape, activating their senses with the sounds and smells of the island. One side of the living room overlooks the meadow, while the opposite has expansive views of the forest with glimpses of the bay. With deep roof overhangs and operable windows in all spaces, daylighting, and natural ventilation further enhance this connection to place.