From a bunkhouse to a do-it-all shed, these Washington backyard projects expand life at home

written by Melissa Dalton

SEATTLE

This Backyard Shed is an Office, Gym and Extra Hang Spot During BBQs

In 2018, the owners of this classic Seattle Craftsman in the Madrona neighborhood wrapped up an extensive, top-to-bottom remodel, which included an enlarged kitchen with a small desk, covered outdoor spaces, a finished basement for the kids to play and a newly landscaped backyard with a shed. Then came the pandemic.

The parents soon decided that they needed their own place to retreat while at home and started eyeing the backyard shed. “It was a complimentary design to the house, but a very simple box with a door,” said Ian Butcher, architect and founding partner of Best Practice Architecture, who guided the couple’s main remodel and returned to maximize their outbuilding into a multipurpose studio. “They wanted to revise the shed to incorporate an office, and then also have a place where they could exercise.”

Butcher configured the 217-square-foot interior to contain, not just the much-needed desk, but storage for a random assortment of things, like wine, road bikes and children’s skis, as well as a dedicated spot for yoga. The interior design was kept simple, so as not to clutter the small footprint, and choices for the material palette cost effective.

Butcher specified beech plywood for the custom cabinetry and ceiling. That light wood is contrasted with an inky black rubber mat for the floor, opposite wall and corner for hanging bikes. The mat was chosen for its functionality, in order to cushion movement and protect the wall from scuffs, but also its “dense blackness.” “It makes the plywood really pop,” said Butcher, noting that using the material in a monochromatic fashion is “a more volumetric effect rather than decorative.” When all the doors are closed, the desk niche looks like any other cabinet, but offers a “little surprise” when opened, thanks to an interior covered in mint green, an accent color in the main house.

At the opposite end of the room, a large accordion window overlooks the garden, making for a pretty backdrop for yoga or Zoom calls, and a custom concrete bench is flush with the sill. “That can be a spot for one of their children to read while dad is wrapping up work, or guests can come in from the BBQ and have a private conversation,” said Butcher. And since finishing up in 2021, the clients use it all the time, whether for work, winding down or to grab a bottle of wine from the mini fridge for happy hour on the patio.

GUEMES ISLAND

A Compact Bunkhouse Complements a Century-Old Log Cabin

Tucked among the trees along the banks of Guemes Island, you might just catch a glimpse of Pamela Austin’s log cabin from the water. “If you don’t know it’s there, you can’t see it,” said Austin. According to the neighbors, the small cabin has sat in the same spot since the 1940s. Before that, it was built on Lopez Island about 100 years ago, then disassembled, and floated over to this one. By the time Austin bought it in 2000, it was “moldy and mice infested,” said Austin. “But I could see that it would be a really simple place. Nothing precious. The kids could run in with sandy feet and nothing would get hurt.”

Austin and her then husband cleaned it up, getting rid of the mice, and keeping much of the rest as is. At 450 square feet, the cabin is one room, with a fireplace at one end and kitchen at the other, and a built-in bed nook. “When the kids were little, we just put them on cots, and we were all together as a family,” said Austin. “Well, my kids are grown now and married and sleeping on a cot isn’t going to cut it.”

Not wanting family gatherings on the island to end because of a lack of sleeping accommodations, Austin reached out to Seattle-based SHED Architecture & Design for a solution: a petite, two-story bunkhouse that can sleep up to eleven, with a bathroom that handles multiple users, a built-in desk for emergency work sessions and a covered porch. A kitchenette and small communal hangout space ensures much of the gathering and cooking still happens at the main cabin, and at 590 square feet, the new building preserves as much of the surrounding property as possible. “The whole point was to keep things simple and small,” said Austin.

The bunkhouse kitchenette is simple but functional.

SHED sited the bunkhouse so that it mirrors the cabin’s position, with the entrance facing the drive and a massive skylight over the couch capturing views of the Bellingham Channel over the cabin roof. With Disdero log cabin siding on the lower portion and tongue and groove rough-sawn western red cedar ship cladding above, the exterior echoes the cabin and the dark stain blends into the trees, which were undisturbed during construction.

Inside, the materials were all chosen for their low-maintenance qualities, from the custom stainless-steel counter in the bathroom, to the plywood covered walls and built-in furniture, to the Marmoleum floor in the kitchenette. Interior designer Jennie Gruss helped Austin pick out textiles and colorful accents.

Now, thanks to the bunkhouse, the beloved cabin is still much loved for making new family memories, from hosting Austin’s August birthday weekend featuring lots of fresh crab, to holiday festivities for Thanksgiving and Christmas. “We wanted to stay true to this 100-year-old structure that really is so important to the site,” said SHED architect Georgine Botha. “And create a space that Pamela’s children could still continue to come back to with their own families.”