From Lake Washington, this hillside Kirkland home is reminiscent of an Italian villa. Living areas maintain both informality and grace. Terraces off most rooms invite throwing open the doors to embrace views and the breeze. Darwin Webb’s landscape design features classic columns with a Northwest twist.
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Lake of Luxury
A Kirkland couple looked to the water—and Italy—to design their dream home. Old and New World influences meet and coalesce beautifully as cozy beach house chic meets dazzling villa elegance
BY
Kathryn Renner
PHOTOGRAPHY
Alex Hayden

Most waterfront lots are narrow and long, says architect Curtis Gelotte, who worked within tight zoning and setback requirements to design this family’s dream home. But after two years of planning, “the home doesn’t feel at all condensed,” Gelotte says. Even outdoor rooms, such as the fire-pit area where the sons romp, are amenably sized for family living. The formal dining room momentarily veers from the home’s laid-back theme, yet even its stately décor doesn’t trump the view.
With cool, serene simplicity, the master suite is spa-inspired. A built-in bar, minikitchen and media center are within arm’s reach. Stone tiles and a fireplace in the bathroom make it look like a resort getaway.
The powder room off the main-floor entry showcases an antique chest converted to a vanity flanked by graceful old sconces. The ceiling is painted gold gilt.
A serious sailor can get frustrated on Lake Sammamish. It’s great for water-skiing or wave running, according to one Microsoft executive, formerly a worldwide cruising sailor—but sailing? Not so good. After 12 years living on the shores of the Issaquah pond, that executive and his wife looked for a home near better sailing waters. 

Now Lake Washington shimmers in the sun, crisscrossed with patterns of currents and boat wakes, just steps from their new Kirkland villa. Straight ahead: the Mountain. By the pier, the new stone boathouse, looking weathered and delightfully old, harbors the family’s boats.

The couple had remodeled previous homes, but this was the first time they built from the ground up. They’re still thrilled with the journey. “There was a small old house on this lot that could have blown down in a strong wind,” the wife says, retracing their four years of architectural planning and construction. Guided by architect Curtis Gelotte, they razed the original cottage and designed their hillside dream house.

They knew exactly what they wanted. Give them a house with the arches, square rooms and symmetry of a venerable Italian residence, they told Gelotte. But make it “Italian lite”: no thick monastic doors, gloomy heavy woods or cloistered rooms. 

Today the home is approached from a narrow lane, its tall stucco walls reminiscent of a tucked-away Italian manor. But inside there’s an explosion of space and view. Doors fling open to breezes and languid terraces. “The home is really an interpretation of Tuscan style,” Gelotte says. “A true Tuscan villa doesn’t have many large windows, and of course we wanted to open up the water side from as many rooms as possible.”

It’s been three years since they moved in, and the owners find the home obliges their every need and whim. Besides accommodating their boating passion, the villa has the wife’s large craft room for painting, sewing and sculpting, and the two sons’ bedrooms are close enough to the beach that they can go out and skip rocks, then clean up at the outdoor shower. An apartment above the four-car garage accommodates guests or their adult daughter when she’s in town. Remote-controlled window coverings and brainy media and security systems gratify the husband’s penchant for technology. 

It’s high tech with high style. The main room is part beach house, part castle. Interior designer Gregory Carmichael balanced casual comeliness with distinction. “We used constraint,” he says. “The setting is so spectacular there was no need to accessorize much.” His design embraces an uncluttered cachet, but lends a grace note with a dramatic, 16-foot-square rug. “We took a damask motif and enlarged it to create a rug that anchors the space,” he says. “It’s not overly formal but offers the appropriate elegance. Then we mixed furniture styles so the room is welcoming, not standoffish.”

A minimal leather ottoman pulls up to a traditional chair. A gold-and-coral-hued slab of marble sits atop the coffee table’s stark contemporary base. Overhead the French iron chandelier subtly emits Old World vibes. 

Every room exhibits a hesitation to disrupt design simplicity. The only diversion is a stunning formal dining room, secreted into a corner. Its highly carved furnishings and antique chandelier are a surprise, although a butler’s pantry with dark, dressier cabinetry near the kitchen forecasts this design shift. Even here, Carmichael defers to the room’s most salient feature: the view. He simply paints walls a deeper rust and curtains the windows with delicately striped silk.

Landscape design by Darwin Webb melds into the Euro-villa charm. Trellises with vines and water falling over rugged rocks look sublimely natural, not too manicured—as if a hidden garden has just been found. Terraced down to the pier, the landscape, like the family, points its compass toward the water and the wind that beautifully fills a sail.

Kathryn Renner writes about life and lifestyles for regional and national magazines.

 

Design Details:

Interior Designer:
Gregory Carmichael Interior Design, 5953 California Ave. S.W., Ste. #100, (206) 623-2002

Architect:
Curtis Gelotte, Gelotte Hommas Architecture, 150 Lake St. S., Kirkland, (425) 828-3081

Builder:
Bender Chaffey Corporation, 205 Lake St. S., Ste. 203, Kirkland, (425) 827-5511

Landscape Architect:
Darwin Webb Landscape Architects, 3407 241st Pl. S.E., Issaquah, (425) 391-6946