Spring Home & Garden 2018

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

&

SPRING

home garden

Featuring Weeks house: Contemporary style, farmhouse flair ..... pg 11 Semiahmoo house: Design challenge achieved......... pg 22

Presented by the Lynden Tribune & Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Trip after trip: Relics of India find a home here Scherers’ cozy stone house off Mt. Baker Highway is big on items from their travels

By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

WHATCOM — A new “old” stone house is situated above a meadow off the Mt. Baker Highway not far from Squalicum Lake and Glen Echo Garden. A sign declares StoneHouse Artifacts.

But first, some literary digression is necessary. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” are the first words of the second Mrs. De Winter in the classic thriller “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier. The author was drawn to a real manor house on England’s Cornwall coast as the setting of the fictitious Manderley. As du Maurier found dilapidated but fascinating ruins to inspire her book and eventually make her home in, so the Scherers of Whatcom County unexpectedly came upon a cottage in the forested mountains of India in a thick mist. It left a distinct and strong impression upon them that influenced their building of a home here.

Kurt Scherer, local builder and business owner, and his songwriter-musician wife Lydia McCauley Scherer were traveling over winters in recent years. Kurt had thought his inspiration to build a final home would come from the stone houses in France.

But that vision was altered when the Scherers got to Asia. Their experiences ranged from eating dinner at the grand colonial-era Strand Hotel in Myanmar to finding architectural pieces in Pondicherry, India, and then making their way via train to the American missionary town of Kodaikanal high in the Western Ghat mountains of India and to a surprising cottage along the trail.

It turned out that the home had been built by a well-known Dane, Søren Kristian Toubro, who came to India and co-founded one of its largest companies, Toubro and Larsen. While the charming older home influenced Kurt, he had more of a feeling about it than of copying the actual details.

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Charm and tradition are the atmosphere created by Kurt and Lydia Scherer at their home off the Mt. Baker Highway northeast of Bellingham. (Courtesy photo/Kurt Scherer)

C4 It was a bit like stumbling onto Hansel and Gretel’s cottage.

Why India? To them, “It’s alive.”

“We like adventure,” Kurt said matter-of-factly. Year after year, and often going more where the locals go than tourists, the Scherers have traveled down rivers, ridden trains across the countryside, walked beaches and followed elephants.

The couple, whose two daughters are grown, were happily living in their shingle-style Cape Cod home above a meadow when they were approached by a neighbor about buying a 10-acre parcel that contained several older mobile homes and outbuildings. The Scherers sold their existing home and started over. It took more than a year of intense work to clear out brush and trees and remove buildings and establish new septic and gardens — and build the house of their dreams.

A small sign alerts visitors to the presence of the shop near the road, with the house behind. Trellises and water features can be seen and heard. Kurt and Lydia enjoy walking the grounds’ meadow and woods daily. Grand dog Jackson and small grandson Oliver occasionally join them.

“I’ve always liked learning and overcoming new challenges and working by myself,” said Kurt.

The area at one time contained an animal rendering plant, long closed. He made trip after trip to the dump to get rid of stuff. He got assistance from firefighters to burn down old vacated buildings, then needed an excavator to pull stumps.

He was designing and redesigning, then framing. It was hands-on all the way.

The house evolved as they traveled.

Escaping the cold rains and winds of Whatcom County, Kurt and Lydia went back to Pondicherry, India, and throughout Southeast Asia. Their first find in this area of colonial structures from India’s past association with France and England was six rosewood columns — on which they needed to negotiate a price.

The Dutch, Portuguese and Danish also made their mark on the history and architecture. Doors were designed by recycling old rosewood beams that had once been a part of a haveli, or old mansion, in the Chettinad region of southern Tamil Nadu. It was abandoned as too expensive to maintain, and the Scherers were able to salavage pieces of the decaying opulence.

Twenty-two doors were commissioned.

While Lydia was sick on one trip,

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Spring Home & Garden

Stone, brick and wood construction, along with relics and gardens, are inspired by the Sherer couple’s world travels.

(Elisa Claassen/Lynden Tribune)

Kurt found himself free to explore via bike. One find was a granite basin with carvings. Another was the stone carver to create a fireplace “surround.” With a bit of help, item after item was moved from place to place to be stored, eventually long-term at the estate of a Swiss baron on the Bay of Bengal before going into a container headed to the United States.

Importing involves time and patience — and export paperwork, and fumigation, and hiring trucks and crews.

The home has darker woods, Cuddaph black limestone flooring on the in-

side and Rajasthan stone on the outside.

In contrast to their prior 3,500-squarefoot home, this one at 2,200 square feet has three bedrooms, vaulted ceilings upstairs and a Rumford fireplace. Local trees were hand-milled from the property for beams. Through a courtyard to the covered entry, windows inside look to the meadows, with framed vintage art hung throughout.

The “fun” part was creating the garden spaces, Kurt said. In contrast to having more perennials, they chose lavender and roses to prevail in a partially

enclosed courtyard near the front entrance. There is also a hand-carved stone basin that once provided water to cattle at a temple. The vast grounds have hosted musical events and parties.

Kurt, who grew up primarily in Connecticut, did construction work during college summers, but attained greater finish carpentry skill learning by doing.

Lydia jointly selects materials and paints alongside. Their first “home” was a fancy version of a teepee with a ladder to the second floor, wall-to-wall carpeting and even a library.

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Spring Home & Garden Last fall, the couple visited Portugal and then went on to Denmark to follow Kurt’s roots. It took several days to find the family’s original home and to see parish-maintained records indicating master builders were in the family tree.

While some family members had hoped for Kurt to pursue a scientific career, the genetics of stone masons won out.

The StoneHouse Artifacts business developed from the house, they say.

Through the process of doing it for themselves, they got down pat how it would work to source goods for others. This year, three containers of goods have arrived from India to sell. Recently, pieces were shipped from their shop to Seattle and Tampa. Some interior decorators call on them as a destination shop.

Other purchasers are private home owners looking for a specific look.

The antiques and artifacts sold range from furnishings and religious items of the colonial era of India to tribal art including amber, bookcases, doors, bedding, chests, ceramics and stone basins. Their antiques are also available for film production, special events and weddings. The Scherers can be contacted through their website stonehouseartifacts.com as well as other social media.

The Sherers also operate StoneHouse Artifacts, a business based on their worldwide collection of items. (Courtesy photo/Kurt Scherer)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Staying put For many, using a home’s equity for renovations makes sense over moving BELLINGHAM — In 2017 WECU funded more home equity lines of credit than in any other year in its 82-year history. The credit union says a lot of people are using these loans for home improvement projects.

“Given the rise in home prices over the last nine years, many home owners have found themselves with more equity than ever before,” said Matt Berendsen, vicepresident of lending for WECU. “People have told us they plan to use that equity.

The main way people do that is through the use of a HELOC (home equity line of credit).”

Berendsen says home owners are choosing to improve properties, rather than buy larger or nicer ones. He also cites rising interest rates.

“Many people refinanced their mortgages over the last few years at record-low interest rates. Now that interest rates are rising, rather than going out and purchasing a more expensive home and locking in a higher rate, people are staying in their homes longer and improving them. Houses in many areas of Whatcom County are also expensive today, which prohibits people from moving up the way they have in the past,” Berendsen said.

And if people get loans, they’re having a difficult time finding a contractor to do the work.

“Many contractors and subcontractors

More and more homeowners are considering what they can do for their own home improvement projects. (Courtesy photo/WECU)

are months out from being able to start a new project,” Berendsen said. “That’s why we encourage people to give themselves a lot of lead time on their projects. We rec-

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Berendsen sees the current trend con-

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“I think we’ll see people staying in their current homes longer, while using their equity to improve them,” he said.

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Spring Home & Garden

Remodeling firm is busy — and in transition Veteran builder Stuart James looking to take over Hudson Remodeling

By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com

WHATCOM — Through both good times and lean on the local scene, Hudson Remodeling has been where a homeowner can turn for desired improvements while staying put in a familiar place.

And now a familiar face is taking over more of Hudson’s day-to-day operations.

Remodeling is truly a specialized area of construction work, says Stuart James, project manager for the Lyndenbased company begun in 1993.

James worked 16 years for Charlie Hudson to 2012, then went out on his own for five years, and now is back to strike a deal letting Charlie retire. “That’s what we’re working toward,” James said.

James points to a very busy construction market right now that is keeping two crews totalling five carpenters rolling through a docket of jobs.

Anyone with ideas in mind better get in line and expect to wait a few months.

Hudson Remodeling is lining up projects for August right now, he said.

But all work is quality, and James is eager to talk about a few projects that are now complete and he can look back on with pride in a job well done.

And there is diversity in the mix.

A client with views of Lake Whatcom has used Hudson’s to redo nearly every area of the house over eight years. “They liked us so much they kept having us back,” James said.

First, it was taking out walls to open up and reconfigure active living space and then there was a guest bedroom redesign. The latest focus was the master bedroom and bath.

The challenge to a remodeler is to keep an entire house “homogeneous” in look and feel when just one part is being worked on or an addition is being made, James said, and he believes Hudson Remodeling has mastered that skill.

“The ultimate goal is to continue to work for the same people, and for them to tell all their family and friends that ‘I keep hiring these people and you should too,’”

The full redo of a master bathroom in Bellingham is a recent project of Hudson Remodeling, where Stuart James (left) is now the day-to-day manager. (Courtesy photos/Patti Rowlson) he said.

Another project in Bellingham, on Lewis Avenue, also was a bedroom and bath remodel that James characterizes as “completely over the top” in terms of devotion to getting exactly the first-rate look the homeowner wanted.

For that, Hudson’s own design services were crucial, allowing 3D renderings to be done and redone to customer satisfaction, leaving no surprises when the work was actually done.

In terms of uniqueness, how about a room created solely for a dog? That was the assignment at Chesley Park, to the extent of building in heated floor, a fireplace, a small staircase and a big “dog door.”

Remodeling is much different from building an entire house, James reemphasizes, also in the fact that the work crew is usually right in the midst of the living situation of the family and everybody gets to know each other pretty well — they all need to get along.

In the current building and real estate environment, with prices rising and construction waits increasing, it seems that more people than ever are preferring to stay in a home or a neighborhood they are familiar with, minimizing the hassles of building new and going the remodel route instead, James says. And Hudson

The family dog got its own customized room in this Hudson Remodeling project. (Courtesy photo/Patti Rowlson) Remodeling is ready to be the partner in navigating all the variables of budget and

design to turn homeowner dreams into reality.

Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Contemporary style, farmhouse flair

Braden and Becky Weeks' house on West Pole Road mixes a contemporary sensibility with a farmhouse style to create a home that is very much their own.

(Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

Weeks home marries two styles; large backyard allows versatile options for entertaining LYNDEN — Becky and Braden Weeks

prefer different styles, but they managed to marry those styles into one cohesive design with their home on West Pole Road.

“I like the more contemporary and modern stuff,” Becky said. “Braden is more into the farmhouse look. So we kind of mixed them together.”

Becky and Braden tackled the design and general contracting work, respectively, themselves, working with architect

Jerry Roetcisoender of JWR Design to choose a house plan to go with.

“We knew the kind of layout we wanted, a big open concept like this,” Becky said. “We wanted the angled garage. We told them what we wanted and they found a few plans to go off of. It’s great too because I have a 2-year-old.

This is where we are 100 percent of the time.”

The open concept was a major sell-

ing point in the plan they chose, and for good reason. Becky said they spend just about all of their time in the openconcept living area downstairs, which includes the kitchen, dining table and entertainment space.

The home’s inside lights are from Lowe’s, including all the kitchen island lights and bathroom lights. The outside Continued on C12

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Spring Home & Garden

Left: The Weeks opted for a free-standing tub in their master bathroom. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune) lights came from Fishtrap Creek Interiors.

The home features a lot of black and white, but Becky’s design managed to keep the contemporary blacks and whites that characterize the home from feeling cold or sterile. Instead, they join together Becky and Braden’s styles without clashing with either one.

“I just love everything black and white,” she said. “That’s what I gravitate toward.”

The master bathroom features a freestanding tub and a large walk-in shower.

“I like the free-standing tub,” Becky

said. I think it’s just a little bit more modern.”

The bathroom is a good example of just one of the spaces that the Weeks handled themselves.

“Braden and his dad did all the tile in the shower and the floors,” Becky said.

In fact, the only tile work that was hired out throughout the home was the backsplash in the kitchen.

The home’s laundry room is the only project that remains unfinished. There is some tile work that Becky and Braden hope to finish soon, but other than that, Continued on C14

Spring Home & Garden

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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The open-concept first floor is Becky Weeks' favorite part of her home, and the backyard is big enough to entertain any number of friends and family. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

the home itself is essentially complete.

The backyard is huge, and that was a very intentional choice. The Weeks family enjoys entertaining outdoors, and there’s plenty of space for that.

“We haven’t set up a playhouse or anything yet, but we like to be outside a lot. It’s an area to entertain. Normally when it’s not nasty out, we have a sectional couch outside with a fire pit, and lounging chairs with a dining table and an umbrella.”

It’s the perfect spot to barbecue, Becky said, and there’s a lot of room for kids to run around. The playhouse will come very soon, she said, as they plan to construct one for their daughter’s birthday. It will include a flower box and an angled roof, all in the same style as the main house.

In terms of the design of the home, Becky said she wouldn’t change much, aside from some of the finishes she chose.

“Those change as your style evolves,” she said.

As for the future of the home, Becky said Braden’s family moved around a lot growing up, staying around Lynden but moving on soon after they would design Continued on C16

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Spring Home & Garden

World of dahlias opens up for Paul Bloomquist in retirement Lynden man has become a leader in developing new hybrids

By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

WHATCOM — On tables at BloedelDonovan Park in Bellingham, the Whatcom County Dahlia Society has lined up packages of dahlia tubers for sale according to size categories, with flower photos next to variety names. It’s the group’s annual spring sale.

The variety names start to show a pattern: Bloomquist Amethyst 2407 B IC DR 2013, Bloomquist Angela 3209 BB SC PR 2014, Bloomquist Barbara 3002 BB FD Y 2011, Bloomquist Bethany 4413 M IC DB 2018, Bloomquist Tangerine 2512 B LC FL 2017, and ... Bloomquist, Bloomquist, Bloomquist. Who is this “Bloomquist” person in the group? I am pointed to a man who has been the president, Paul Bloomquist of Lynden.

By the end of the sale, few Bloomquist varieties of dahlia remain.

While many gardeners raise dahlias for their colorful blooms alone, sufficiently satisfying, Paul Bloomquist sees beyond. He is developing new hybrids of flowers to name and sell to growers.

A Google search online will show how many farms carry Bloomquist selections.

The Bloomquist family came to Whatcom County in 1963, settling in and around Lynden. The children — Tami, Tracy, Todd, and Thomas — went to Lynden schools. Their farming included bees, cattle and three acres of blueberries.

Paul’s work has been featured in a current glossy publication put together by the Puget Sound Dahlia Society. A page is devoted to his hybrids.

Daughter Tracy, married to Doug Clark, has property near part of the Bedlington potato farming operation, on which Paul plants 8,000 dahlia tubers and plants on one acre. Following a career at Great Western Lumber of Everson as a supervisor around the dry kilns, shipping and planing, Paul retired in 2008 and now gets up even earlier to get out caring for his dahlias.

“I don’t have any spare time,” he said. Working with second-, third- and fourth-year seedlings, he goes out into the plot seven days a week during growth

season, starting at 5 a.m. Surveying tape marks what is planted where, along with a labeled plastic bottle.

His interest started in 1988 as his kids were finishing school. Friend Elsie John gave him a few tubers as a gift. He discovered they grew best over the septic system. His first plants died in the process of being stored. A friend told him to store them in a barn. When he returned to get them, he found holes in the bags.

The mice had enjoyed eating them.

Not a great start, but Bloomquist didn’t give up. He got more tubers. He planted them along the edge of his yard, a smaller border variety that didn’t require staking. After a while, he tore out his raised beds and even fruit trees to make more space for the dahlias, he said. “That’s what an ‘addict’ does,” he laughed.

In 1995 he went to a WCDS show. It had an immediate impact on him: “The flowers were gorgeous and it drew me in.” He joined the local society as well as the Federation of Dahlia Growers.

As he got going, he focused on developing hybrids — between eight and 10 a year. Over 13,000 varieties exist in the world. Flower growers read articles such as “50 Dahlias to Drool Over.” Certified urban agriculturist Bonnie L. Grant claims there are 42 species of dahlias, but innumerable hybrids.

New flowers, once they are three years old and show stability, are shown to a group of judges who have a point system to follow — for form, color, stem and how the new flower appears next to similar ones. At least 85 points are needed, on a 100 point basis, in order to get named.

Paul’s first named hybrid was special. Dawn was not only reminisicent of the morning dawn, but of a child that the Bloomquists had lost at birth. “It’s a beautiful flower,” Barb said.

While many growers focus on selling to florists and stores, Paul’s flowers will be used for seed to develop new varieties and to show to a broker. A portion of the sales at a tuber sale in early April will aid missions at their church, Lynden Community Church (formerly First Baptist), where the couple serve on different boards.

Wife Barb, a former Fisher Elementary School special-ed teacher, joins Paul now in going to seven or eight shows a year in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. On Thursdays they are joined by a pair of great-grandchildren whose play

It’s a big but delightful job in retirement for Paul Bloomquist to tend to an acre of dahlia flowers. (Courtesy photo/Paul Bloomquist) sometimes takes them out into the dahlia fields. The 2-year-old and 4-year-old girls run up and down giggling between the rows.

Growing tips Dahlia growers will quickly correct the use of the word “bulb,” as dahlias are grown from tubers.

For those not familiar with dahlias’ particular needs, the time to plant

in the Pacific Northwest is after the last frost, usually from April 15 to June. 1. The Puget Sound Dahlia Association recommends removing about five inches of soil and placing the tuber with an eye (bud) upward.

Dahlias love to eat, so be prepared to provide plenty of fertilizer, as much sun as possible, and deep watering several times a week (more in hot conditions).

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Spring Home & Garden

The back of the car gets loaded up for going to another dahlia show. (Courtesy photo/Paul Bloomquist)

Support plants with fencing or staking.

Dahlias plants can vary in size from one to seven feet tall. Classifications are for size of bloom: miniatures (under 4 inches), BB (4-6 inches), B (6-8 inches), A (8-10 inches), AA (10 inches and above).

Colors of flowers include white, yellow, orange, red, dark red, lavender, purple, and then combinations of those.

Most local dahlia growers will remove the tubers in the fall after the flowers have been cut down, label and store them. Some leave them in the ground and pile on mulch or straw.

The Whatcom County Dahlia Soci-

ety was founded in 1983. Membership is around 100. While many members boast years of experience growing, new members are welcome, of course. A tuber sale is held in the spring, a flower show in the fall, and other activities in between.

One historian claims little is known of the dahlia before the time of the Aztecs, who used the plant for food. It is a perennial native to Mexico and a relative to sunflower, daisies and zinnias.

New dahlias come from collecting seeds that are harvested. Bees gather pollen, petals fall off the flowers, and a seed pod forms.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Semiahmoo home overcomes a design challenge

A drone’s overhead view shows the unique contemporary-modern design of this home. (Courtesy photo/Greenwoods Photographic Arts)

House on bluff over waterfront had to fit within many constraints, architect says

By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com

BLAINE — To say that designing this Semiahmoo house was a fun challenge for Sean Hegstad would be putting it mildly.

To start with, the site is on a high bluff above the Georgia Strait, meaning big setbacks were in play to where any construction would start. That forced a septic system to the road side of the house, and Hegstad needed to be creative in mitigating for it.

The two-story home needed an eleva-

tor for an elderly parent, and it would have to be in “universal design,” fully accessible at all points to a person in a wheelchair.

The bedrooms and office space on the second floor should maximize views to the water, of course, and the overall look of the place was to be contemporarymodern.

“This one was very challenging,” said Hegstad, architect and owner of Haven Design Workshop of Ferndale. “There were so many parts to the project that

every time you made a move, there was a counter-move. It was fitting function into form.”

The space in which the house had to fit felt like it kept getting smaller, giving rise to a curious trapezoid shape of the house. “Everything was angular.” But Hegstad made it all work — and to the full satisfaction of the owner (see below).

He credits the builder, Mosier Contracting Inc. of Fairhaven, as well for the final completion in 2017.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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The 3,958-square-foot house features a composite polymer siding especially suited for saltwater moisture, adding another unique dimension, he noted.

Hegstad has been in the Whatcom County design business since 2008, serving the Cascadia region. Haven Design Workshop recently settled into new offices in Ferndale, in a building that also contains residences across a courtyard.

“We have really good employees and they are very efficient, and we have a very good relationship with builders — that’s a big thing,” Hegstad says in summarizing the success of his business.

The home’s owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, gave this extensive assessment: “What do I love most about the house design? Everything .... so I will try to narrow it down a little.

“Sean’s homes are a beautiful, blended expression of his own design ethos, the needs and wants of the owners, and the natural beauty in each building site. This one is no exception. It is deceptively simple, delivering open easy spaces and effortless flow, from room to room, upstairs to down, and inside to out, all while delivering amazing privacy for such an open concept.

“As you can see from the pictures, the home is oceanfront, facing due south out to the San Juan Islands, with views all the way to the Olympic Mountains on a clear day. What you cannot see is that the house is strategically placed to exclude the neighbor’s house and patio from view, but capture the view 180 degrees across both yards, making both properties very private but with massive views.

“The magic is not just on the outside — it is on the inside too. Sean designed a home that is light, bright and airy, and the window placement is meticulously positioned to both capture views and let in

The back porch area invites sunset appreciation of southwest views of the Georgia Strait. (Courtesy photo/Greenwoods Continued on C24

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Above: The front entrance works deftly with landscaping around a septic system located there. Below: Skylight, open design and glass railings help to create a gallery feel for the upper hallway. (Courtesy photo/Greenwoods Photographic Arts)

Spring Home & Garden light depending on the seasons.

It is a passive solar home. The floors are concrete and the overhang provides 100 percent shade throughout the hottest summer months, but allowing every ray of winter sun to heat the concrete floors. The Van Air doors are solid core, but built with a sound-dampening vent that allows air to breeze through from an open window and escape the room without having to keep the door open. The entire house is cross-vented, allowing full flow throughout even with all interior doors closed and exterior fully secured and locked. The lights are never used during the daylight hours. The entire home is bright enough with only natural light due to the large, nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. Between the passive solar and the cross-vent design, the house is rarely ever over 70 degrees even in the height of summer on a 90-degree day. There is air-conditioning in the bedrooms, just in case someone wants cooler temps to sleep, but most never get used.

“All homes with second floors need some kind of stair and hallway, generally dark spaces that connect the more important rooms. In this home, the stairs are a feature, and the hallways a light, bright extension of the rest of the house. I love the central skylight that is positioned over the stairs, and the way light spills down the stairs. The upper hallway is like a gallery, a space that is completely open with glass railings all around the stairwell, making it feel like one large room.

“I love pretty much every space in this home, but which is my favorite? My kitchen window makes doing dishes a pleasure. I wake up and just open my eyes most mornings to see eagles soaring and diving just outside, but my favorite is the bathtub.

The tub is placed with a large view window looking out to the ocean, with a strategically placed deck off the master bedroom ensuring complete privacy.

“And that is the genius of Sean’s design ... a fully open concept home with huge views, that is also private. I love my home.”

Spring Home & Garden

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

From the very open lower-level main living area, views out to the San Juan Islands are maximized. (Courtesy photo/Greenwoods Photographic Arts)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Spring Home & Garden

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 Spring Open house

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