Modern is made family-friendly in this intentionally eclectic home

SOUTHPAW MAY be a surprising name for such a sleek, contemporary house, but it reflects the home's Mediterranean/Moroccan vibe, explains Tim Hossner, of Replinger Hossner Architects. And then there's the home's unusual siting on the lot. It's turned sideways and facing south to flood the interior with light and sun.

Hossner describes the home's orientation as "perpendicular to the norm," explaining that "we weren't driven to chop the lot in half for the lake view." This leaves prime space for terraces and gardens, and a view corridor so neighbors and passers-by can enjoy the sight of Lake Washington from the street.

Designed for a family with two young sons, the house embraces family life with an open floor plan that includes a main-floor "office" the boys share with their dad. Here, a large table holds a changing array of impressive Lego constructions. Then there's the wall-sized photo of a grazing buffalo in the kitchen, as sure to delight adults as children.

Such personal touches soften the home's scale and modernity. "Lisa has a wallpaper thing; she loves patterns and textiles," says interior designer Janice Viekman of the owner who was intimately involved in choosing the furnishings and décor. From the intricately patterned Moroccan tile in the entry to the colorful swirl of floral wallpaper in the powder room, Lisa's choices warm up the hard-edged palette of steel, glass and concrete.

Hossner describes the home's design as a classically proportioned box, with lofty ceilings and oversized, steel-framed windows and French doors. The main floor is devoid of trim and interior doors; ceiling beams and a change of floor level articulate spaces loosely divided into rooms. Upstairs, the bedrooms and bathrooms have molding and doors, but share the same proportions and clean aesthetic as the rooms on the main floor.

Then there's Hossner's triumph of design he modestly calls "the slot," a two-story, concrete atrium that runs the length of the house. This grand-scaled space holds a staircase as central to the drama of the house as the one Scarlett O'Hara swept down at Tara. Yet Southpaw's thoroughly modern staircase is built of sensuously swooping steel. The atrium's tall windows scoop light into the heart of the house and offer views across a billowing meadow to the water. "The house is really all bones, in and out," explains Hossner. "Pretty much all you see is structural." This simplicity of form and materials comes together in the atrium where the essence of the house is clearly revealed.

While the stairwell is the most exciting element in this remarkable home, a glass canopy over the back door is the most touching. The owners wanted to celebrate everyone who worked on the house, so the names of metal worker Tod Von Mertens and contractor Lockhart/Suver, among many others, are indelibly etched overhead. The dozens of names in the glass are a statement of all the creativity and talent it took to pull off a project as unique as Southpaw.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "A Pattern Garden." Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.