Replinger Hossner Osolin builds contemporary cabin for shade and sun

C.J. and Tami Ebert quite literally built on a rock. Their weekend home high above the Swinomish channel is pinned into solid stone. And the surfeit of hard surface on Pull and Be Damned Point isn't the only reason this spectacular view home was a challenge.

"There's a wonderful duality to the site," says Tim Hossner of Replinger Hossner Osolin Architects in Seattle. The property, leased from the Swinomish tribe, juts out like the prow of a ship above the sea at the southwest tip of Fidalgo Island. Its shady eastern side is quintessentially Northwest, while its western side feels full-on Mediterranean.

Hossner made the most of the home's two-facedness. One side is wrapped in shady solitude, with a quiet view to the water through firs and madrones. Here the family can watch eagles in the treetops and find respite from the sun on sheltered decks. On the home's arid side, the sun beats down on stone terraces and outcroppings. This is the place to catch up on your light therapy and watch the sun set over the sparkling saltwater. If a home can have a dual personality, this one is introverted to the east and gregarious on the west.

"The place looked like Fred Flintstone lived here during construction, there were so many piles of rocks lying around," says C.J. Ebert. He called in high-school friend Pete Peterson of Habitat Construction in Anacortes to build the house. A concerted effort was made during construction to save as much of the rock and as many trees as possible.

Ebert and Hossner had worked together before on commercial projects, and their collaboration shows. After Ebert bought the property, the two men talked about the house for two years. Ebert wanted a place for his family to relax. "I wanted to come up here and have fun," he says. This means low maintenance was key.

The house Hossner designed is small, sleek and single-story. It cantilevers to take advantage of the view, yet is so simple and low it looks almost as if it grew up out of the stony promontory. The contemporary design is warmed with wood, and the overall effect is of a stripped-down, modern cabin. The framing is exposed, the ceiling plywood, and the floors concrete, stone and medium density fiberboard. Oversized wooden doors slide shut to close off access to the breezeway and to protect the home from the site's punishing sun and weather. A carport provides privacy from the neighbors up the road, with a sloped roof and slatted privacy screen, defining elements as you approach the house.

Affectionately dubbed Dr. Joe after a former resident of the area, the little house is 1,100 square feet. Yet it sleeps eight and has a private wing housing a kid's bunk/guest room/office/music room. The expanses of glass, open floor plan, decks, terraces and big view make the house feel spacious, light and larger than it is.

The main living space is one large room, divided into three seating areas. At the view end are built-in cushioned benches, perfect for curling up with a book or as overflow sleeping space. The kitchen cabinetry outlines the dining area. "We didn't need a formal dining or living room," says Ebert, "We wanted everyone to be together."

The cabinets are from Ikea, and most of the furnishings are flexible and movable, which work with the home's cabin-casualness.

"I love it when it rains up here," says Ebert, "It's so dynamic . . . I hadn't realized how good it would feel to live in this house."

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer. Check out her blog at www.valeaston.com. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine photographer.