W Roy Residence
For two architects making a home in a 1955 penthouse, the existing apartment was something to work with, not simply replace. They wanted a home rich in material and texture, with a more open relationship between rooms and a stronger connection to the 850 square foot terrace. The renovation responds by removing divisions between living, dining, and cooking, allowing daily life to extend more naturally outdoors. A restrained palette brings warmth and visual continuity across the newly connected spaces while staying with the clarity of the original midcentury architecture. The home reflects the particular priorities of its owners through careful decisions about what to open up, what to introduce, and what to keep.
Seattle, WA
Single Family Residential
1,500 SF
Material continuity brings the apartment into a more contemporary register while preserving its mid-century bones.
Dark cabinetry and a travertine island gives the kitchen a compact working space depth and presence, with a sliding wood dining table that nests into the island and pulls out for guests.
In the living room, rift-cut dark-stained white oak bookshelves and a built-in media cabinet hold books, objects, speakers, and a concealed television behind sliding pitted-steel panels.
The couple’s in-home studio provides a blank slate for the work from the table to become the defining feature of the room.
Views beyond the desk reach out to the lush vegetation rising up the hill, making the space feel enveloped by nature.
The interiors blend vintage, custom-designed and contemporary furnishings. The custom desk built in next to the bed is both a night stand an impromptu private work space.
The articulation and texture in the tiled surfaces and the use of natural travertine in the primary bathroom create a spa-like oasis atmosphere.
Light washes in the primary bathroom from both windows, highly detailed light fixtures, and reflections from the artfully attached mirrors.
The exterior deck serves as a second living space with warm lighting and an ipe “area rug” defining a cozy, terrace sitting area not far from the double-sided sandstone fireplace.
