Harmony In Stages
With some give and a little take, a small place finds its balance
PREV
|
 BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER Peter and Linda Stoner enclosed a seldom-used deck two years ago to create office space at one end of the master bedroom. They repeated the shapes of the Dutch Colonial's exterior to make their improvements appear as seamless as possible.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER As with many older houses, the way upstairs to the bedrooms is somewhat narrow and steep, but a skylight and a strategically placed window make it feel open.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER It takes a discerning eye to see where and how the Stoners pushed out walls to gracefully bring their vintage home into the new century. The couple vow to change the courtyard garden this summer so it will better harmonize with the house. The climbing vine, right, softens the art studio's wall.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER Most of the kitchen was remodeled 22 years ago. Recently, the Stoners refreshed the area and gained natural light by moving a bank of cabinets and taking out a wall, which had been to Linda's right. They added glass in the cabinets, a backsplash and new countertops. They also found space for a small pantry and a nook for a tiny powder room.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER Peter Stoner demonstrates the proper way to use a sunroom in late spring. He enclosed a crumbling deck to create this space and improved access to the rest of the house, including an informal breakfast area and the kitchen, out of view to the right. The cream-colored structure in the background is Linda Stoner's art studio, originally part of a carport Peter converted into an office.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER The living room has the original windows. The couple tore out and replaced the old fireplace and added a new chimney. Linda combined her own paintings and sensitive eye for color with a grandmother's antique wicker and custom contemporary couches. The result is a warm, inviting space.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER Until their last remodeling project, the Stoners climbed a ladder to a sleeping loft. They added a pop-out on the east side of the house to accommodate a bed, bedside tables and bookshelves. Dana Farley of Independent Cabinets in Poulsbo crafted the cabinet, at right, which disguises the opening to a laundry chute. He also made the built-ins in the master bedroom and kitchen. |
PETER STONER IS principal and founder of Peter Stoner Architects, an eight-person firm established in 1979, with offices near Lake Union. Stoner's wife, Linda, works as a designer on many of the firm's projects, often focusing on finishes, space planning and lighting. We spoke with the couple recently in their three-bedroom, Dutch Colonial-style home in Seattle's Montlake neighborhood.
Q: This house has a very welcoming aspect. Did it start that way?
Peter Stoner: We didn't buy this because it was a rock-solid house for the ages. It wasn't. The original plan was to stay a couple of years in the little box — which measured 24 by 28 feet — make some improvements and move on.
Q: What changed your mind?
P.S.: Well, this is a wonderful location.
Q: What's the first thing you did?
P.S.: When we moved in, there was a carport in the alley that had been built to house two long Cadillacs. One of the first projects, 30 years ago, was to wall off about 6 feet of carport and convert that space to a garden shed and design studio, so I could work from home. Linda uses that room for her art studio now.
Q: How did you approach the rest of it?
P.S.: If we don't count the little phases — such as making the sleeping loft in what's now the master bedroom — there were two major stages. First, the sunroom off the dining room and then the rest over a period of 20 some years. We worked hard to try to match the house with the pop-outs and exterior work, especially, and added by bits. We didn't want to use up the land on the small lot. We repainted all the trim and walls after the last remodel, which was a couple of years ago. As you'd expect, the list of things to do was refined after living here for a time.
Q: What inspired the sunroom?
P.S.: We needed to replace a falling-apart deck in the back of the house and decided to build an enclosed sunroom. We put in a slate floor on a 4-inch concrete slab with heating tubes, with the mass to absorb solar heat from the windows, which extend to the ceiling. Originally, we had a dead-end kitchen. There was no southern light coming in. We popped out 9 ˝ feet on the south and 6 ˝ feet on the west to get a slightly enlarged kitchen, and that adjoins an informal eating area and the sunroom. Most of the kitchen was put in 22 years ago. A couple of years ago, as part of the last major project, we moved a cabinet bank to the west and blew a kitchen wall open to gain a powder room, and added a mud room and brighter stairway up from the side yard.
Q: What did the living room look like originally?
P.S.: It had been an awkward plan, with the living room and dining room closed off, boxy. We whacked this open and added structural beams that had been missing. We only discovered that problem by tearing the house apart. The low head room going upstairs to the bedrooms is the kind of thing that got us started with all this. We said, well, we'll fix that. But there it is. I'm used to ducking.
Q: Your master bedroom includes office space for both of you. What made you decide to do that?
Linda Stoner: We like working at home. When we tackled the kitchen extension two years ago, we also pushed out 6 feet to the east in the bedroom, so we had space for a bed and a little bay for books. At the same time, we pushed out and enclosed an open deck on the north side that we didn't often use because it was exposed to the weather and too far from the kitchen. That became an office.
P.S.: These little houses require you to capture every inch you have. We have a great work area here, a wonderful living area, in a bedroom suite that's almost like an apartment. We also turned a master closet into a master bath. It's not a grand bathroom, but it's twice the size of the one that had been here. And there are some nice features, like a skylight over the shower for extra light and ventilation. We worked with a one-man construction outfit and took about a year to build this last phase, including the work in the kitchen. We weren't trying to break any speed records.
Q: You went through the architecture program at Yale. Were there other architects in the family?
P.S. I'm kind of a ringer — most of my family works at Boeing. We have a son who's finishing his master's in architecture. Linda's father was an architect.
Q: Can someone look at one of your projects and identify it as a Peter Stoner design?
P.S.: Probably not. We can handle a lot of different styles. We do all kinds of residential work, from a porch remodel to a 10,000-square-foot house to a compound with four houses. So, we want to listen closely to (clients) in the beginning to see what they are imagining or expecting. What clients want isn't always clear, and each is different. It's a dialogue. If they're not sure, we take that as our cue to challenge their ideas a bit and see what works best. We try to bring a new way of looking at their projects. The intent in all of these projects is that at the end the owners will have a house they are thrilled with.
Q: What's next?
L.S: It's not finished, by any means.
P.S. Oh, we're always fiddling around with something. This summer, it'll be the garden.
Dean Stahl is a Seattle freelance writer. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.
Back to top