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Pacific Northwest Magazine By Valerie Easton
Rooms With HuesFor kids, for comfort, a Redmond home opens up in living color
IF COLOR IS emotion, which is how architect Philip Christofides reads it, then Larry and Susan Tseng's new home in Redmond is chock full of it. The unexpected hues add warmth and individuality to the contemporary house. The surrounding forest sets off the rich red and bright yellow exterior, while the deep green of the trees seems to absorb and soften all that vibrancy. Yet it's more than shades of umber, moss and blue that transform this basic box of a house. Utilitarian materials such as stained plywood and plastic panel railings combine with mahogany and blackened steel to create sophisticated yet casually comfortable interiors. The owners wanted a home to suit their active, kid-oriented lifestyle. So Christofides and Jeff Floor of Arellano/Christofides Architects eschewed the concept of formal living and dining spaces in favor of an open kitchen and family room with sliding-panel doors to close off the quieter media room. The central design idea was to open the home up to its woodland setting and let in plenty of natural light. The two-story main living area is all about volume, with clerestory windows and huge sliders leading to the back patio and garden. Upstairs, the playroom is an open loft linked by a bridge to the bedroom wings. The study is a mahogany box that seems to float off the stairwell, which is itself a dramatic construction of blackened steel risers and wooden stairs. The Tsengs came at their project builder first, architect second. They started by hiring Flip Builders of Seattle, because more than one of their friends highly recommended the firm. The couple then searched out an architect by visiting the Environmental Home Center and going through books of architects' work at the American Institute of Architects office in Seattle. Color counts "I think about color in the very first sketches. In general, I like to work with colors that are a little vague (red/browns, yellow/oranges, gray/greens). For instance, the gray/greens are the neutrals in the Tsengs' scheme, but they are still warm. It is very similar to composing a painting or drawing — the composition has to work in black and white, but the color is the element that takes it to the next level of design, mood and intent. "Most of the colors we work with are warm, due to our climate, light and my sensibility, but as in a painting, you need some cooler contrasts to balance the piece — or throw it out of whack a little! I am very careful not to have color schemes be too tasteful if that makes sense. There should be a little bit of the unexpected and original. "At the Tsengs we used green, yellow, orange, gray/green and wood tones, but they are all of a similar value — there is very little contrast if you were to see the space in black and white. This keeps it calm despite the variety." They chose Arellano/Christofides, known most widely for restaurant interiors such as El Gaucho and Flying Fish. The restaurant experience shows not only in the theatrical use of color but also in the home's seamless, modern kitchen. A glass-front cabinet facing the dining room is lit from inside, and the lack of upper cabinets makes the room more living space than traditional kitchen. A big pantry for staples and a built-in desk continue that illusion. Children and their toys, bikes and clutter were considered throughout; a mudroom accommodates the children's outdoor things, and a playroom is fitted with tough Marmoleum flooring. Despite the strong architecture and provocative mix of materials, the house is defined by its masterful color play. "The intensity of color made me kind of nervous at first," says Susan Tseng. "But I thought if the Scandinavians can do it, we can, too." On the outside, bright yellow steel beams have been nicknamed "the cheese sticks." The garage/workshop has a lively façade of orange. Inside, richly colored ipe wood floors in the main rooms ground the color palette. Pale maple cabinetry sets off seafoam-green laminate counters, the television room is painted a cozy deep red, the playroom floor flashes broad orange and gold stripes. But the biggest color surprise comes in the master bathroom, tiled in a confetti mix of blue and white. "Susan wanted blue tiles," says Christofides. Perhaps harkening back to his restaurant-design experience, he explains, "The color in here is kind of a palate cleanser." Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.
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