Designed by Gary Gladwish Architecture, this beautiful house is located in Orcas Island, Washington, USA. The owner requested an open, simple, low maintenance design which works with the site in such a way that her connection to the island, forest and ledges were always present within the house. Each part of the house was to be designed to accommodate the inevitable bad hips, knees and back worn out from a lifetime of moving rocks, dirt and plants. The program consists of a combined kitchen-dining-living area, study, master suite, art studio and storage area with the flexibility to add bedrooms or an apartment. Large doors slide away to open the house to the expansive views, creating a living room in the woods. The entry garden bisects the house creating two zones while it carries the site into the house and the eye out to the view. The 800 s.f. art studio and storage areas are left raw to facilitate converting them to additional bedrooms at a later date.
