SHED Architecture & Design has renovated a 1930s brick farmhouse in Washington State. The derelict house no longer suited the client's needs or the visits of their large extended family, so the brief was twofold: renovate the old farmhouse for guests and design a new primary residence. The architects are at shedbuilt.com.
Exterior kept, interior rethought
Before the work, a sloped driveway led to a lower entrance, and the stairs to the front door were hidden by plants. The team left the exterior largely intact while bringing it up to date, and completely reworked the inside. The driveway now steps down to a lower-level patio, which gives access to a media room, laundry, storage and a mechanical room.
The front door stays in its original position. The windows were replaced, and two small windows on the upper floor were removed.
A larger porch and a metal roof
At the back, a dark porch with a brown tiled roof gave way to a sloping black metal roof. The small rear deck was replaced by a large covered outdoor space that runs along both the new living room and the dining room. On the opposite side, a new rear porch and path lead to the kitchen door, and the back wall received new windows.
The covered porch looks toward the boathouse and steps down to the yard.
Open living and dining
Inside, the entry has a built-in bench and wall hooks. The living room stays where it was, but the wall between it and the dining area was taken out, creating an open plan. The dining area now looks out to the porch and the water.
From dark kitchen to light
The old kitchen had dark wood cabinets, a dark tiled backsplash and dark countertops. The new one uses light wood cabinets and open shelving, a pastel green range hood, a light tiled wall and wood floors, plus a new Dutch door.
Two bedrooms with ensuites
Upstairs, three bedrooms and one bathroom with a separate toilet were reorganised into two bedrooms, each with its own ensuite. Both have built-in cabinetry and shelves, a window bench and picture windows that frame the landscape. The bathrooms have bright walls, wood vanities and round mirrors.
A half-buried boat bunker
Near the house, SHED designed a half-buried boathouse that screens the property from its neighbours and stores sculls and kayaks for the nearby waterway. Concrete walls and a green roof tie it to the site, and its form refers to the coastal defence bunkers found around the Kitsap Peninsula.
Project credits
- Project: 1930s brick farmhouse remodel, Washington State
- Architect: SHED Architecture & Design
- Contractor: Joe Gates Construction
- Structural engineer: Todd Perbix
- Photography (after): Rafael Soldi
- Source: Contemporist