Trial Run
Making a house for many uses was an open-and-shut case
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 BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Besides making a strong architectural statement, steel is tough, permits an open stairway and shows the importance of good craftsmanship. The uncoated metal is beginning to rust to a visual softening that is to Barbara Rose-Leigh's liking. The main-floor baseboards defy marring -- they're steel plate, and were installed by her husband, Rob.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES The view down the south side of the house shows storage, stairway, kitchen and living area. Shoes are typically lined up on the windowsill, ready to go. The fan on the upper-floor ceiling helps circulate air near the master bedroom.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES The Rose-Leigh family and a next-door neighbor have unfenced lots so their children can play where they like. The roof canopy serves as a rain shelter for decks off the southeast-facing bedrooms.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES A glass-paned garage door can open the living room to the front lawn and deck, where Rose-Leigh and her children enjoy an afternoon snack. Because of the surrounding glass, the roll-up door seemed the best option, Rose-Leigh says.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES The dining area is informal and bright. There is privacy despite the floor-to-ceiling glazing because the house is carefully sited above street level.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Rose-Leigh kept the kitchen compact yet easy to move around in. Drawers and cupboards are designed to hold specific items, so clutter is minimal. "If the gadgets don't get used, they leave," she says. Most small appliances are stored in a hall pantry on the other side of the kitchen wall, as are dry foods and other commodities.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES The master bath is a bit quirky, but it fits this family perfectly. The bright, all-tile bathing area has a Japanese soaking tub, at right, traditional bathtub and European-style open shower with a central floor drain. Windows offer a treetop view.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Barbara Rose-Leigh revises house plans in her second-floor office, behind a desk she built from scratch as part of a graduate-school project. Now, at 43, she prides herself on being a hands-on designer who learned how to build and remodel houses well before she completed her formal education. |
Barbara and Rob Rose-Leigh saved money by routing most of the electrical conduit and major plumbing runs along the north corridor. As a result, the ceiling height changes from 8 feet 6 inches in the hall to 10 feet in the living areas for a pleasing visual effect. The couple was fortunate that Rob, a teacher, could do the electrical work himself.
Radiant heat in the exposed-concrete lower floor, south-facing Milgard aluminum windows and abundant insulation were a good investment. Barbara says the utility company confirms their 4,000-square-foot house has an energy-use footprint of a home half its size. They have supplemental forced-air gas heat for the upstairs.
Clerestory windows in the second-floor bedrooms practically eliminate the need for electrical light during the day, as do narrow windows in the corridor. These small windows also work well in the guest and children's bathrooms, and open for ventilation.
Barbara Rose-Leigh has built a house for the ages — young, old and in between.
When she set out to design a home for herself, her husband, Rob, and their two large dogs in 1998, she took the long view and decided on interior spaces that could expand or contract, depending on need. Her strategy was to create transition points for soundproof partitions so parts of the house could be closed for privacy and quiet, with minimal expense. That way the same basic layout would work equally well for a family with young children, or a couple with long-term guests and a home office, or a family caring for an infirm relative.
This multiuse factor is a bonus. The roomy, two-story, contemporary-style house in Seattle's View Ridge neighborhood is otherwise bright on dim winter days, easy to clean and kid-friendly — ideal for Rose-Leigh's family, which now includes two young children.
Right now, you could call the living/dining area one big family room. Because it is open, with a large expanse of glass on the east and south sides, it's a natural playground when it's too wet to go outdoors. When the weather is fair, a glass-paned garage door rolls up, opening the house to the deck and lawn play area for Henry, 8, and Hannah, 6.
The first floor also includes a guest room, alcove study and bathroom just off the hall. The layout is atypical in that the sight line extends from the main entry straight back through a corridor into a guest bedroom, about 72 feet. This is that long view mentioned earlier, which takes in a mudroom, pantry, laundry area, storage cupboards and washbasin in one blink.
Barbara and Rob Rose-Leigh saved money by routing most of the electrical conduit and major plumbing runs along the north corridor. As a result, the ceiling height changes from 8 feet 6 inches in the hall to 10 feet in the living areas for a pleasing visual effect. The couple was fortunate that Rob, a teacher, could do the electrical work himself.
Radiant heat in the exposed-concrete lower floor, south-facing Milgard aluminum windows and abundant insulation were a good investment. Barbara says the utility company confirms their 4,000-square-foot house has an energy-use footprint of a home half its size. They have supplemental forced-air gas heat for the upstairs.
Clerestory windows in the second-floor bedrooms practically eliminate the need for electrical light during the day, as do narrow windows in the corridor. These small windows also work well in the guest and children's bathrooms, and open for ventilation.
At this stage of life, uncluttered access is a blessing, Rose-Leigh explains. The washing machine is continually in use, so why hide it? "This is an example of the circulation strategy; all of the space in the house is usable space."
Upstairs is a master bedroom and bath, walk-through closet and a corridor lined with storage cupboards — essential, given that there is no basement. The kid zone is in this second-floor west wing, and can be insulated from the adult area with sound-blocking sliding doors.
The master bath is lustrous with ceramic tile. Carefully positioned windows permit mountain and treetop views. "You wake up, you're connected to the day," Rose-Leigh says. Most of the time the family shares this bathroom because it is so open and bright. There are two bathtubs, a standard as well as a deep Japanese soaking tub, and an unenclosed European-style shower.
The children's bedrooms are arranged so they, too, can be altered over time. For example, Rose-Leigh designed it so Henry could add a loft. "This offers them a way to be creative in the future," she says. "The two bedrooms bleed out into a compact 'commons' that's a play area now, but I envision this with study desks. Later, Rob and I can have bookshelves and use this as a small office."
Barbara has an expansive office at the far end of the kid-zone corridor. This western-most space, which includes a small kitchen and balcony, could easily be closed off to function as a self-contained unit. This section also has sound-blocking doors.
Some of her ideas for privacy nooks were inspired by the experiences of Cambodian exchange students who lived at her parents' house while attending high school. At times, a quiet refuge in that house helped them cope with culture shock.
Rose-Leigh grew up in Kent and went to Meridian High School, where a drafting class sparked her imagination. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture. Although she has worked as a project manager for local architecture firms, she has not sought her professional license. Motherhood and her own projects intervened, she says. In the main, her clients are remodeling their own homes and want drawings for additions or upgrades. Her own hands-on experience as a remodeler has proven valuable.
This is the fourth house in the neighborhood to bear her imprint — including one next door — but the first that she planned and had built from the foundation up.
"I love to be anywhere in this house," Rose-Leigh says as she walks around the exterior to point out details. "But I like it even more to be outside looking in, to see how beautiful it all looks, the stairway and openness, and the people in it."
Dean Stahl is a Seattle free-lance writer. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.
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