The culmination of the route up from the ground floor is a sunny roof terrace. This provides some good-quality amenity space, far more enjoyable than the original dank back yard which was infilled as part of the project. Photographer: Bruce Hemming

Jefferson Door supplied: Windows: Integrity from Marvin Windows and Doors Ultrex (fiberglass) windows with wood primed interiors. Exterior Doors: Buffelen wood doors. Interior Doors: Masonite with plantation casing Crown Moulding: 7" cove Door Hardware: EMTEK

Jefferson Door supplied: Windows: Integrity from Marvin Windows and Doors Ultrex (fiberglass) windows with wood primed interiors. Exterior Doors: Buffelen wood doors. Interior Doors: Masonite with plantation casing Crown Moulding: 7" cove Door Hardware: EMTEK

Our clients wanted to create a room that would bring them closer to the outdoors; a room filled with natural lighting; and a venue to spotlight a modern fireplace. Early in the design process, our clients wanted to replace their existing, outdated, and rundown screen porch, but instead decided to build an all-season sun room. The space was intended as a quiet place to read, relax, and enjoy the view. The sunroom addition extends from the existing house and is nestled into its heavily wooded surroundings. The roof of the new structure reaches toward the sky, enabling additional light and views. The floor-to-ceiling magnum double-hung windows with transoms, occupy the rear and side-walls. The original brick, on the fourth wall remains exposed; and provides a perfect complement to the French doors that open to the dining room and create an optimum configuration for cross-ventilation. To continue the design philosophy for this addition place seamlessly merged natural finishes from the interior to the exterior. The Brazilian black slate, on the sunroom floor, extends to the outdoor terrace; and the stained tongue and groove, installed on the ceiling, continues through to the exterior soffit. The room's main attraction is the suspended metal fireplace; an authentic wood-burning heat source. Its shape is a modern orb with a commanding presence. Positioned at the center of the room, toward the rear, the orb adds to the majestic interior-exterior experience. This is the client's third project with place architecture: design. Each endeavor has been a wonderful collaboration to successfully bring this 1960s ranch-house into twenty-first century living.

An old WWII era house in West Seattle with a very small footprint had one obvious recommendation for a buyer who called us in 2005; a sweeping view of the City of Seattle. The view from the existing house took in Magnolia and Alki Point to the north, the skyscrapers of downtown Seattle, the bustle of Harbor Island, and Mt. Rainer to the south. Working with the existing footprint and foundation, and adding a garage to the west, we created an urban residence of 3925 square feet. A glass curtain wall that stretches across the east side of the house and turns the south and north corners was dictated by the view; any walls used would have blocked the view to the City of Seattle. A basement designed to house office, theater, an exercise room, and a guest suite supports a main floor with kitchen, dining, and living areas in one open space. Commercial sliding doors allow a 21 foot by 9 foot opening to a cantilevered deck and makes the deck a part of the living space. A glass skylight and window walls bisect the house to create a stair core that brings natural daylight into the interiors and serves as the spine of the house. The upper level includes bedroom-bathroom suites. A west courtyard garden lends outdoor space to a home that sits above a steep east hillside. Exposed structural steel allowed the exterior walls of the City View Residence to be 55% glass. Portland cement stucco and zinc-coated steel panels side the opaque walls and modulate the scale of the house. A roof plane of sealed Douglas fir rafters and fir plywood caps the house with a warm natural material and shelters the walls. A warm pallet of American Cherry cabinetry, bamboo flooring, natural limestone and granite creates a comfortable interior. The City View Residence was a collaboration of Rhodes Architecture + Light, Swenson Say Faget Engineering, LightWire, and the owners and was completed in 2006 by Mark Madison of Bob Talbot Construction.

Renovated kitchen in old home with low ceilings. Photography: Rob Karosis

Bart Reines Construction Photo by Robin Hill

Photo: Becki Peckham © 2013 Houzz

Built by Old Hampshire Designs, Inc. Architectural drawings by Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC John W. Hession, photographer

Ariel Simmons

This home was constructed with care and has an exciting amount of symmetry. The colors are a neutral dark brown which really brings out the off white trimmings. Photo by: Thomas Graham

Mark Lohman

Simon Wood