HomeHome & DesignHomes › Washington Home - The Sound of the Holidays
 
 
 

Inspired by the Puget Sound, this Phoenix couple built a second home in Washington State that is symphonic and spiritual—a Northwest getaway that celebrates their passions for music, nature and faith. The end result is the perfect year-end and year-in present for themselves, and for family and friends.

puget-sound-home-kitchen

Just outside of bellingham, the largest city in Whatcom County, the 3,465-sq.-ft. home rests on just less than an acre, sloping down 30 percent from the entry, facing east, to an escarpment 60 feet above Puget Sound on the west.

Designed by CCBG Architects of Phoenix and San Diego, the regionally inspired home—a trio of highly articulated wood structures—comprises four bedrooms, including a semi-separate 350-sq.-ft. guest suite, three and a half baths and an 800-sq.-ft. three-bay garage pavilion.

This home is just right for celebrations. Open and welcoming, it’s designed for family gatherings and entertaining friends—one that unostentatiously celebrates success and togetherness. Just off the kitchen, for example, is a small space to chat while meals are being prepared. Beneath the living room, at the lowest level of the home, is a wine cellar and a theater with stadium seating.

A space fit for entertaining is appropriate, as both husband and wife are trained as musicians (she’s a retired cantor) and the dining and living rooms are designed to accommodate mini-concerts and musical performances. The couple has hosted several in the living room, including the soloists from the Bellingham Festival of Music, called “Sunsets and Sonatas.”

“The house is graced with framed posters of many of my concerts with my alma mater’s symphony orchestra,” says the husband, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music in addition to his medical degree. Music is everywhere in the home: Even family boats have musical names, starting with the Handelian “Water Music,” to the current “Sea Major, Opus 3.”

Just outside, the views of Puget Sound offer its own music of water and light. Another 1,500 square feet of decks and covered walkways showcase the spectacular location. To the west is the Sound—the fjordlike system of bays explored in 1792 by George Vancouver and named for Lieutenant Peter Puget, one of his officers. To the northwest are the snow-capped Olympic Mountains, peaking at almost 8,000 feet.