House of Life

House of Life is a family home on a steep, wooded lot in Newcastle, Washington. The site drops away from the street among tall conifers and rock outcroppings, and the brief was a house that holds its ground: one that works with the slope instead of levelling it.

AVI designed the house and its interior together: 4,479 square feet over two floors, five suites, an office and a den, and outdoor rooms that step down into the landscape.

Rather than one large box, the house is broken into interlocking volumes. Dark charcoal vertical siding forms the base and the core, while warm off-white panels wrap the upper wings, which cantilever out over the entry. Low-slope roofs with parapets keep the silhouette horizontal against the trees.

The openings change with orientation. Toward the street the facade stays more closed, with narrow vertical slots and paired casements; toward the forest and the back garden it opens into large fixed and near full-height windows. A curved driveway holds back the full view of the house until the last turn.

Inside, the main floor runs as one sequence: garage and mudroom, entry, kitchen and dining, then the great room. The foyer sets the tone with panelled walls, a staircase with a brass balustrade and soft wall lights at eye level.

The dining room was asked for as a table for twelve, close to the entry. It sits at the heart of the plan under a recessed ceiling and a sculptural chandelier, and opens straight onto the covered patio and the outdoor kitchen.

The great room has eleven-foot ceilings, a gas fireplace set in veined stone and built-in shelving, with a glazed rear wall that looks straight into the forest.

Colour comes from a small set of warm accents, rust upholstery, brass and dark wood, set against pale walls and full-length curtains, so the view stays the main event.

The kitchen measures fifteen by twenty feet and is organised around a long island with seating for the family. A dark wood hood and tall cabinetry frame a marble backsplash, and a walk-in pantry behind it works as a back kitchen.

Appliances are built in and the everyday storage lives in the pantry, so the side of the kitchen that faces the dining table stays calm and uncluttered.

Upstairs is a family floor in its own right: the primary suite, two bedrooms, a second suite with its own bath and closet for guests or extended family, and a recreation room of twenty-one by thirteen feet that can serve as a media room, a gym or a place for the children.

The primary bedroom is thirteen by eighteen feet, with a dark wood wall behind the bed, pale carpet and a crystal chandelier, and opens onto a balcony above the covered patio. A reading corner by the window pairs a rust lounge chair with a brass side table.

The primary bath has a freestanding soaking tub by the window, a nine-by-five-foot curbless shower, a double vanity and a separate makeup station, finished in marble with a patterned floor and warm brass fixtures.

Two walk-in closets complete the suite. Hers is thirteen by thirteen feet, lined with open shelving around a lit central unit and a bench, and his is planned to match.