Project Name: Backyard Bump-Out
Architecture: Best Practice Architecture
Interior designer: Leah Steen
Custom lighting – Fixture Design Studio
Contractor: Sound Builders NW
Location: Madrona, Seattle, Washington
Photo Credits: Rafael Soldi
Located on a leafy street in the Madrona neighborhood, a classic Seattle craftsman has been transformed into an expanded modern dwelling by adding a significant new volume to the rear of the house.
“While the clients were comfortable with modernizing and changing the character of the interior of the house, there was a strong desire to maintain a classic craftsman presence on the street front, and to keep as many of the large specimen trees in the front yard as possible.” Best Practice
As the design team explored options to add space, it became clear that a larger addition in the rear of the house would maintain both the trees and the home’s classic character while providing opportunities for private and covered outdoor spaces in the backyard. Cantilevering off the South East corner of the original house footprint, the Backyard Bump-Out contains an open, expanded kitchen, a new powder room and dining room on the main floor.
In order to fully integrate the addition to the existing house, the other interior spaces were also reconfigured. The design team opened the dining area up to the kitchen and created a new open stair to the previously unfinished basement. The existing kitchen was expanded and refashioned to accommodate a large island with stools, a desk area for working, and a full height pantry. A new powder room “box” was added, which sits between the kitchen and the new winder stair to the basement, creating a subtle buffer from the kitchen to the rest of the house.
Existing second floor bedrooms and bath were restored, and a new master bedroom with a marble clad ensuite and private balcony make up the volume of the new upper addition.
The previously unfinished basement was renovated into a sunny family room with direct connection to the newly refurbished landscaped rear yard.
The volume of the new addition hangs over the original basement, creating a new covered entry to the lower level. The addition is clad with cedar shingles treated with a deep, black stain and picks up on some of the traditional texture of the craftsman house, without resulting in mimicry.
