Houzz Tours
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Houzz Tour: An Innovative Small Home With Breathtaking Views
Clever design creates a peaceful and remote family home in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range
Like many city dwellers, architect Jesse Garlick and his wife, Susan Elliott, dreamed of having a little escape away from their busy urban lives in the centre of Vancouver. So four years ago, they started poking around for a place to make that happen. They found their spot during a camping trip near British Columbia wine country, about five hours east of Vancouver, after crossing the border into Washington and falling in love with the landscape.
They also loved the price. In this rocky, high-desert backcountry – 25 miles from the nearest town (Oroville, population 1,676) – they were able to scoop up 20 acres of rolling hills for £20,000. Of course, the remote location meant building a home would prove difficult. But Jesse took it as an opportunity to explore off-grid systems he hopes to use in his architecture practice.
They also loved the price. In this rocky, high-desert backcountry – 25 miles from the nearest town (Oroville, population 1,676) – they were able to scoop up 20 acres of rolling hills for £20,000. Of course, the remote location meant building a home would prove difficult. But Jesse took it as an opportunity to explore off-grid systems he hopes to use in his architecture practice.
In contrast, the interior is all wood. The perimeter walls are prefabricated cross-laminate timber panels, built off-site, delivered and then assembled with the help of a crane over a three-day period. ‘It’s like a giant Ikea set,’ says Jesse, seen here in the living room with wife Susan Elliott, son Theodore and cat Max. A whitewash water-based semi-transparent stain was applied on the walls and pine floor.
The only source of heat in the home is the wood-burning stove. Jesse says when he and his family arrive in the dead of winter, it takes about an hour and a half after they get the stove going to make the home comfortable. In six hours the house is at 70 degrees.
Solar panels affixed to a pole outside store energy from the sun in eight batteries. This powers the refrigerator, which they turn off in the winter when outside temps hover around freezing, plus all the lighting, the water pump system and all their electronics.
They have a mobile phone booster, so there’s phone signal, and they get internet service through a 3G connection, but they can’t stream movies or surf the internet all day. ‘And that’s a good thing,’ Jesse says. There’s also a septic field and a propane tank used to power the gas stove, plus an on-demand hot water heater and a backup electrical generator, which Jesse has had to use a few times during the winter when he and the family were there for long stretches of time. He says it takes about six hours for the generator to charge the batteries, providing enough power for a couple of days if there’s no sunshine.
Woodstove, True North.
Check out ways to use wood in your home
The only source of heat in the home is the wood-burning stove. Jesse says when he and his family arrive in the dead of winter, it takes about an hour and a half after they get the stove going to make the home comfortable. In six hours the house is at 70 degrees.
Solar panels affixed to a pole outside store energy from the sun in eight batteries. This powers the refrigerator, which they turn off in the winter when outside temps hover around freezing, plus all the lighting, the water pump system and all their electronics.
They have a mobile phone booster, so there’s phone signal, and they get internet service through a 3G connection, but they can’t stream movies or surf the internet all day. ‘And that’s a good thing,’ Jesse says. There’s also a septic field and a propane tank used to power the gas stove, plus an on-demand hot water heater and a backup electrical generator, which Jesse has had to use a few times during the winter when he and the family were there for long stretches of time. He says it takes about six hours for the generator to charge the batteries, providing enough power for a couple of days if there’s no sunshine.
Woodstove, True North.
Check out ways to use wood in your home
Looking out the living room windows, you can see the edge of the Cascade mountains in full, sweeping view. Jesse loves watching the light change across the landscape.
The cement patio was the hardest part of the project, Jesse says. The nearest concrete plant is an hour and a half away. In 100-degree weather, the concrete was well heated up by the time it arrived. The hot cement and weather were brutal to work with and in, and the concrete set much faster than they wanted it to.
The cement patio was the hardest part of the project, Jesse says. The nearest concrete plant is an hour and a half away. In 100-degree weather, the concrete was well heated up by the time it arrived. The hot cement and weather were brutal to work with and in, and the concrete set much faster than they wanted it to.
The kitchen shares space with the living room. The same steel on the exterior of the home wraps the island, with a PaperStone worktop, a composite material made from recycled paper, here made to look like steel. ‘It’s kind of like this 2001: A Space Odyssey obelisk,’ Jesse says. Since the steel isn’t exposed to the outside elements, it won’t patinate like the exterior. Jesse wanted it to be a reference point for where the home began and how it changes over time.
Elliott, a contemporary dance artist and personal chef, made an old Wolf commercial stove the main feature in the kitchen.
Tap, KPF-1602, Kraus.
Tap, KPF-1602, Kraus.
The double-height ceiling makes the main living area feel spacious. ‘It’s hard to believe it’s the same square footage as our apartment,’ Jesse says.
A bedroom loft looks over the dining area. A peekaboo window directly across from the loft frames a sliver of a view towards the mountains.
Sofa, Belgian Slope Arm collection from Restoration Hardware.
A bedroom loft looks over the dining area. A peekaboo window directly across from the loft frames a sliver of a view towards the mountains.
Sofa, Belgian Slope Arm collection from Restoration Hardware.
The couple put the only bathroom upstairs to free up the footprint downstairs. In the place where a bathroom might have gone, they created a little reading nook with a queen-size bed just off the living room.
But it’s not just a bed…
But it’s not just a bed…
The bed frame is attached to a boat winch system that can lift up the bed to reveal a bath.
The couple had wanted an outdoor hot tub, but given the harsh climate in the winter, it just didn’t make sense. Instead they added a soaking tub inside.
They can close the curtain for a more private experience and open a window positioned at head height to make it feel like they’re soaking outside.
Jesse says that given the dry climate, moisture isn’t a concern, plus there’s a 6in gap between the bottom of the bed and the bath, so water is never completely trapped beneath.
Jesse grew up sailing, so the winch mechanism just seemed right and practical. ‘It was the most simple strategy,’ he says. ‘The bed goes up and down, so you don’t have to clear the bedding and pillows like you would with a fold-up bed.’
See 9 ways to squeeze more out of a small bathing space
Jesse grew up sailing, so the winch mechanism just seemed right and practical. ‘It was the most simple strategy,’ he says. ‘The bed goes up and down, so you don’t have to clear the bedding and pillows like you would with a fold-up bed.’
See 9 ways to squeeze more out of a small bathing space
A painted metal front door opens to a small boot room.
Upstairs, the shower opens to a Juliet balcony with an all-glass railing that gives the feeling of showering outdoors. No neighbours to worry about here.
The upstairs bedroom is sparse but cosy. A ledge forms a small desk area that overlooks the dining area and that peekaboo window.
Because the perimeter walls are solid wood panels, Jesse couldn’t run any plumbing pipes or electrical wires through them. Instead, he built a stick-framed structure in the core of the house to run all the mechanicals through. This wraps around the central staircase and is covered in plywood stained to match the cross-laminated timber panels. The light switches, plumbing, heating and other systems are stacked in this structure.
The 20 acres rest on the edge of the Cascade Range foothills in northeastern Washington. The landscape features sage brush-covered hills, rocky outcrops, clusters of pine trees in deep valleys and even cactuses (the area is categorised as a shrub-steppe grassland).
It’s ranching country, too. Orchards, patchworks of hay fields and other small-scale farming operations are dotted across the valleys. There are several recreational lakes nearby as well, where the family spend a lot of time during the summer.
The home sits on the edge of the property. Jesse walked the site many times in search of the best spot on which to build the home. In the end he chose a knoll that wasn’t the highest thing on the landscape but wasn’t the lowest either. ‘Go too low and you lose the views; go too high and it’s like what Frank Lloyd Wright said about if you build on top of a hill, you lose the hill,’ he says.
He did a lot of testing using 3D software to orient the house towards the best peaks, lakes and efficient sunshine. Hay fields are clustered below, offering just a glimpse of humanity in an otherwise completely remote landscape, a far cry from the wet coastal climate and busyness of downtown Vancouver. ‘It’s truly a different place,’ Jesse says.
It’s ranching country, too. Orchards, patchworks of hay fields and other small-scale farming operations are dotted across the valleys. There are several recreational lakes nearby as well, where the family spend a lot of time during the summer.
The home sits on the edge of the property. Jesse walked the site many times in search of the best spot on which to build the home. In the end he chose a knoll that wasn’t the highest thing on the landscape but wasn’t the lowest either. ‘Go too low and you lose the views; go too high and it’s like what Frank Lloyd Wright said about if you build on top of a hill, you lose the hill,’ he says.
He did a lot of testing using 3D software to orient the house towards the best peaks, lakes and efficient sunshine. Hay fields are clustered below, offering just a glimpse of humanity in an otherwise completely remote landscape, a far cry from the wet coastal climate and busyness of downtown Vancouver. ‘It’s truly a different place,’ Jesse says.
The long, skinny shed on the left houses tools and the backup generator. Jesse designed it to block views of the parking lot and driveway. All the steel plates on the exterior are unfinished and straight from the mill, laser cut to the design model that Jesse worked out with 3D modelling technology. The size of the panels is based on what two guys – Jesse and his brother – could lift and install. ‘They are 80 pounds, which is the max size we could manhandle into place,’ Jesse says.
It took the brothers about three weeks to put up the metal exterior. They also did the interior framing and plywood. Jesse then hired an electrician, a plumber and a cabinet builder to help with the rest.
It took the brothers about three weeks to put up the metal exterior. They also did the interior framing and plywood. Jesse then hired an electrician, a plumber and a cabinet builder to help with the rest.
Of course, experiencing the outdoors is truly what this property is about. The family like to get out and explore the land, head to a lake, fly-fish or hunt for birds when family are in town.
The white tent seen here is seasonal guest quarters that the couple lived in during construction. It takes them about an hour and a half to put up the tent, which they assemble in June and take down in October.
The structure just to the left of the tent covers the well.
The white tent seen here is seasonal guest quarters that the couple lived in during construction. It takes them about an hour and a half to put up the tent, which they assemble in June and take down in October.
The structure just to the left of the tent covers the well.
Here’s the floor plan for the project. Jesse says they spent £190,000 overall for the house – £20,000 for the land; £25,000 for the solar, septic and water systems; £25,000 for site development, including building the dirt road; and around £120,000 for materials, labour, crane rental etc. Jesse saved some money by doing his own designs and tackling some of the labour himself.
Structural engineers, Eric Karsh and Bernhard Gafner of Equilibrium Consulting.
Timber fabricator, John Boys of Nicola Logworks.
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Structural engineers, Eric Karsh and Bernhard Gafner of Equilibrium Consulting.
Timber fabricator, John Boys of Nicola Logworks.
TELL US…
What do you like about this home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Houzz at a Glance
Location Northeast Washington, USA
Who lives here Jesse Garlick ofPlatform Architecture + Design; his wife, Susan Elliott; and their 2-year-old son, Theodore
Size 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
The home is only 850 sq ft (78.9 sq m), the exact size as the couple’s Vancouver apartment. Several factors contributed to the size and shape. The couple felt their apartment was just the right amount of space for them. Plus, making the home relatively small kept costs down. And building a compact two-storey footprint rather than something more spread out made it more efficient to heat.
Rusted steel covers the exterior, giving the structure a contemporary look with a rustic feel that’s in tune with the abandoned mine shacks and other buildings that dot the surrounding landscape. Jesse chose the material for its aesthetic and because it made practical sense for a home located in an area where wildfires occur.