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Orcas Farmhouse
Orcas Farmhouse
San Juan County, WA, United States
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Other Projects by Syndicate Smith
Orcas Farmhouse
San Juan County, WA, United States
Firm
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2025
SIZE
1000 sqft - 3000 sqft
When a heritage farm established in 1896 hit the market on Washington’s Orcas Island, a couple—he, the owner of a construction company; she, a painter—jumped at the chance to surround themselves and their three young children with nature. The idyllic five-acre property offered a rich and varied landscape: a dense forest of firs to the south, gently rolling pastures to the west, and at its heart, a working farm and an heirloom apple orchard. The couple tapped their friend Todd Smith, founder of Leavenworth, Washington-based architecture firm Syndicate Smith, to bring their vision to life.
With the property’s location came opportunities and challenges. Orcas Island’s temperate climate, thanks to its position in the Olympic rain shadow, made outdoor living a natural extension of the home. Yet the remote location also demanded ingenuity. Rather than viewing the limited material availability as a constraint, the team leveraged it, harvesting Douglas Fir from the property’s own timberland, then milling and drying it in the existing barn for use in both interior finishes and exterior cladding. The result is a residence rooted in place, where every decision reflects both pragmatism and poetry.
The new 3,381-square-foot residence embraces the rhythms of island life with a pod-style layout that separates social and private functions into two distinct volumes connected by a central corridor. The L-shaped configuration shapes a courtyard at the heart of the home, complete with garden beds, a hot tub, fire pit, and pizza oven—spaces for both quiet retreats and lively gatherings.
Inside, a gently pitched, wood-clad ceiling lends warmth and cohesion to the main living spaces, while expansive windows frame ever-changing views of pasture and forest, blurring the line between indoors and out. At one end of the home, a spacious two-island kitchen accommodates everything from casual farm-to-table meals to bountiful harvest gatherings. At the other end, a wood-burning fireplace anchors a cozy living room, inviting quiet moments of rest. Throughout, the interiors reflect the painter-owner’s eye: walls lined with her seasonal studies of Orcas Island echo the shiing tones of the surrounding landscape.
Outside, a corten steel-wrapped chimney rises beside the living room, offering a sculptural counterpoint to the home’s natural materials and providing a sheltered nook for firewood. The structure’s agrarian influences are expressed in subtle gestures—a restrained roof pitch, barn-inspired forms, and a palette of enduring, site-responsive materials. Beyond the house, a compact painting studio and a barefoot trail frequented by local schoolchildren speak to the family’s creative ethos and strong community roots. Future plans for worker housing and a multi-use barn further reflect their commitment to cultivating not just a home, but a living legacy.
Project Team
Architect: Syndicate Smith
Architectural Design Team: Todd Smith, Partner/Architect
Laurel Podlich, Architectural Designer
Contractor: Westcorp Construction
Structural Engineer: Eric Dann, BTL Engineering
Civil Engineer: Gregg Bronn
Owner/Interior Design: Inese & Evan Westcott
Photographer: Will Austin
With the property’s location came opportunities and challenges. Orcas Island’s temperate climate, thanks to its position in the Olympic rain shadow, made outdoor living a natural extension of the home. Yet the remote location also demanded ingenuity. Rather than viewing the limited material availability as a constraint, the team leveraged it, harvesting Douglas Fir from the property’s own timberland, then milling and drying it in the existing barn for use in both interior finishes and exterior cladding. The result is a residence rooted in place, where every decision reflects both pragmatism and poetry.
The new 3,381-square-foot residence embraces the rhythms of island life with a pod-style layout that separates social and private functions into two distinct volumes connected by a central corridor. The L-shaped configuration shapes a courtyard at the heart of the home, complete with garden beds, a hot tub, fire pit, and pizza oven—spaces for both quiet retreats and lively gatherings.
Inside, a gently pitched, wood-clad ceiling lends warmth and cohesion to the main living spaces, while expansive windows frame ever-changing views of pasture and forest, blurring the line between indoors and out. At one end of the home, a spacious two-island kitchen accommodates everything from casual farm-to-table meals to bountiful harvest gatherings. At the other end, a wood-burning fireplace anchors a cozy living room, inviting quiet moments of rest. Throughout, the interiors reflect the painter-owner’s eye: walls lined with her seasonal studies of Orcas Island echo the shiing tones of the surrounding landscape.
Outside, a corten steel-wrapped chimney rises beside the living room, offering a sculptural counterpoint to the home’s natural materials and providing a sheltered nook for firewood. The structure’s agrarian influences are expressed in subtle gestures—a restrained roof pitch, barn-inspired forms, and a palette of enduring, site-responsive materials. Beyond the house, a compact painting studio and a barefoot trail frequented by local schoolchildren speak to the family’s creative ethos and strong community roots. Future plans for worker housing and a multi-use barn further reflect their commitment to cultivating not just a home, but a living legacy.
Project Team
Architect: Syndicate Smith
Architectural Design Team: Todd Smith, Partner/Architect
Laurel Podlich, Architectural Designer
Contractor: Westcorp Construction
Structural Engineer: Eric Dann, BTL Engineering
Civil Engineer: Gregg Bronn
Owner/Interior Design: Inese & Evan Westcott
Photographer: Will Austin
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