This Serene Pacific Northwest Home Was Built New – But Designed to Look Generations Old

Situated on Washington's peaceful Camano Island, this newly built vacation home is all about juxtaposition – a sensitive balance of the old and new that blends indoor and outdoor living – thanks to the meticulously designed interiors by Shannon Adamson.

'My client is an octogenarian matriarch who has owned the bluff-top property for decades,' says Shannon. 'She'd built a house there 30 years prior, but it never matched her vision, so she decided to replace it with a legacy vacation home for her family’s future generations.' To do so, she turned to local architecture firm Designs Northwest Architects.

Contrary to the style of many new builds, this one channeled classic design sensibilities. 'Their design for the home leaned slightly traditional, with beautifully pitched roofs, natural stone, and soaring interior ceilings,' the designer notes. For Shannon, the task was to bring character and soul to the white-washed rooms. 'I loved the challenge of bringing to life a 6000 square foot new build home that needed to look as if it had always been there.'

Shannon worked alongside builder Holbeck Construction to add extra architectural details to the modern home – the first step in adding personality and charm – from the entryway's wall paneling to the door and window moldings. 'Because this home was built as a legacy project meant to last generations, I drew on classic architectural details that would fit with the house’s large scale, and weather trends over time,' she explains.

'The moldings used in the house were carefully considered, for both scale and detail,' Shannon says. 'I didn’t want to go with anything overly ornate, but knew the window and door trim would be an important architectural layer in the house.'

When it came to the home's colors, furniture styles, and patterns, the nature of the surrounding area was a major inspiration. 'The house is surrounded by windswept evergreens and a gorgeous seascape, so keeping the design in harmony with the surroundings was certainly a focus,' says Shannon. 'I incorporated deep greens, chocolate browns, seafoam green, and lighter clay tones set off by warm light neutrals. The overarching goal was to mirror the feeling of the outdoors inside.'

'The client also wanted to incorporate elements from a 1920s homesteader’s log cabin that sits on the property,' Shannon adds. 'It was hand-built from felled trees and found stone taken from the immediate surrounding land.'

Shannon also took inspiration from her design experience from across the pond. 'I spent my internship in Edinburgh working on Scottish country houses and drew on those classic interior architectural details, filtered through a Pacific Northwest lens,' she says.

'Despite the large scale of the house, the client wanted the interiors to have a cabin-like feel, with lots of wood details,' notes Shannon. This is realized in the entryway, where the wood wall paneling, which was crafted from Douglas fir by All Finish Carpentry, makes an elegant statement.

'The entry was designed to set the tone for the rest of the house, with emphasis on the deep wood tones in the paneling,' says Shannon. 'A sage green, tartan-esque runner was chosen to help lighten the room, and to bring in a little color into the space.'

'This room is the primary family gathering space, centered around the massive wood-burning fireplace,' the designer says of the living room. 'It was designed to be comfortable and durable, for large family gatherings, including the family dogs.'

Hand-built by stonemason Roger Garcia, the fireplace was inspired by that of the existing log cabin on the grounds. 'To create the same look, the stonemasons hand-picked individual rocks to make a sample board for the client to review and approve,' Shannon explains. 'From there, he sourced rock from a local quarry and picked through those rocks to find stones that fit the color palette and shape. It was quite an amazing undertaking, and one of my favorite parts of the project.'

The furniture was chosen to ground the room, given its generous proportions. 'The high ceiling is planked in wood and laced with large beams, so the furniture needed to visually anchor the room,' Shannon recounts. 'The size of the seating area helps with that balance, while the colors for the fabrics were inspired by the fireplace stones.'

And while the statement stone fireplace, warm wood tones, and patterned fabrics exude the feeling of a cozy, historic home, the sliding glass doors add a modern sensibility. 'With this amount of glass comes a lot of sunshine, especially later in the day,' the designer says. 'To help with lighting control, we used a mix of interior window treatments (draperies on a motorized track) and exterior window treatments (a large motorized solar roller shade). This gives the client control over how much sunlight enters the space, and also keeps the furnishings protected from fading when the house is not in use.'

The dining room is situated between the living room and the kitchen, and the main challenge in its design was to do with the tall ceilings. 'The ceilings are about 25 feet high in this area, which is far longer than any off-the-line lighting,' says Shannon. 'Fortunately, the team at Holbeck Construction and I had solved a similar issue on a previous project. We created a suspended “beam” from the ceiling that allowed us to route power closer to the table. The fabric drum pendants create a really nice diffused lighting that evenly lights the table.'

The kitchen takes on a cozier and more intimate feel with the lower ceiling, which repeats the Douglas fir of the entryway on the ceiling beams.

'The kitchen was a fabulous room to design,' remarks Shannon. 'The green cabinet color was also inspired by the log cabin on-site, which has cheerful billiard-table-green cabinets. I toned the saturation of the greens down to reflect the evergreens surrounding the house. The profile of the backsplash echoes the outline of the decorative corbels at the beams.'

'There is also a large pantry tucked behind the kitchen, which is purpose-built to house all kinds of dishes, picnic supplies, and other necessities for large gatherings,' she adds.

'This room is a getaway for my client, a refuge during large family gatherings where she can relax and read or nap, so I really wanted to make it feel special and snug,' says Shannon. 'The English arm sofa is enveloping and perfect for napping, and the armchair is a well-disguised recliner.'

One of her favorite rooms in the completed home, Shannon leaned into British interior style references for its charming fabrics. 'I had fun drawing on my British design training, and it was fun to play with the juxtaposition of pattern, which is considered pretty daring here in the Pacific Northwest.'

'It’s all too easy for new builds to feel like a blank white box, so I’m always looking for ways to introduce a sense of history and patina,' says Shannon, who turned to antique furniture to do so in this powder room.

'The powder room was spacious enough to accommodate a beautiful English Arts & Crafts antique cabinet, with only slight modifications needed to press it into service as a sink cabinet. We topped it with a spectacular marble that the client fell in love with at Meta Marble & Granite.'

'This suite belongs to my client’s son and daughter-in-law,' says Shannon. 'They were involved in the design process for the house, and have a more contemporary personal style. I used pieces with cleaner lines and more beachy wood tones and colors in their suite.'

Continuing the more contemporary design aesthetic of the main bedroom, the adjoining bathroom features sleek surfaces, from the vanity that was made from stained cherry wood to the Quartzite countertops.

Despite its comparatively more modern feel, the wood in this bathroom nods to the home's prominent theme. 'The wood used throughout the home really creates the cabin-like feel that the client had on their must-have list,' says Shannon. 'It injects warmth into the house and creates that feeling of history.'

Alongside its sophisticated look, this bathroom was future-proofed with accessibility front of mind during the design process. 'One of the earliest discussions I had with the client was about reducing the size of the shower to make sure a grab bar is always within reach (these are custom in gorgeous unlacquered brass),' the designer recounts. 'We also made sure to use a slip-resistant tile throughout, and the cabinet doors below the sink swing open to accommodate a wheelchair.'

'I hope this bathroom proves that accessible design can be beautiful,' says Shannon.

'The most fun wood detail is probably the built-in bunkbeds, made by local cabinetmaker Juggernaut Woodworking,' says Shannon. 'This room was designed for flexibility. It can house a group of rowdy kids, a few families, or college kids. The room is tucked up into the upper floor, so it definitely feels like a separate hangout space for kids.'

'This is not the first bunk room that Adam Hughes (of Juggernaut Woodworking) and I have collaborated on, so we were able to riff on past designs. It was really fun to add elements to the bunks that tie into the rest of the house, like the bracket and corbel detail on the upper bunks. This design also features recessed shelves next to the lower beds, along with outlets for charging devices.'

Given the incredible location of this home, designing the outdoor areas was just as important. 'Although the family uses the house year-round, summer is when it really shines,' says Shannon. 'A large west-facing deck runs along the entire house, and features a custom-built barbecue area, and plenty of outdoor seating spaces for gathering.'

'The deck is all about the views overlooking the sea and neighboring Whidbey Island. The large sliding doors create a true indoor-outdoor experience off the living room, which I expect the client will take full advantage of in the summer.'

For Shannon, the true success of this home lies within the collaborative approach of the design process. 'The finished pictures don't show the story behind the construction of a project of this scale,' she says. 'There are hundreds – if not thousands – of hands that have built the house, installed the tile, built the cabinets, created the furniture, woven the carpets, sewn the draperies. Twenty-two years into my career as a designer, it's the building, collaborating, and coming-to-life process that is truly my favorite part.'

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