When Pb Elemental Architecture decided to erect a 1,688-sq.-ft. single-family house at 12th Avenue and John Street in Seattle's Capitol Hill, the firm turned to the neighborhood for inspiration. "The home is built on a small urban infill lot, and the project as a whole responded to that," said firm partner and cofounder Dave Biddle. "There are houses on all three sides and a busy arterial street in front. It's an eclectic neighborhood with a lot going on."

The description is apt for an area that is known for its vibrant mix of culture and counterculture. Closely associated with the city's grunge rock scene, as well as its gay community, Capitol Hill is home to both venerable old mansions and modern apartment buildings and offers a diverse array of cultural and recreational attractions, including a thriving nightlife, that keep its thoroughfares bustling with activity day and night. The home at 12th and John embraces all of this with a contemporary design that is open, simple and unabashedly straightforward.

"The home is honest," said Biddle. "What you see on the outside is what you get on the inside." Externally, the three-story building appears composed of two major elements—one black, the other white—which are used to delineate the home's interiors. The former, a vertical rectangular volume clad in black aluminum, contains the main staircase and a secondary bedroom and bathroom, while the other resembles a white aluminum plane folded around a series of large, cedar-framed windows that look into a kitchen, a living room and the master suite on the top floor.

As with much of the house, the architects employed an open floor plan in the master suite, which, like the kitchen and living room, was conceived as an "interstitial space" formed by the fold of white aluminum. As Biddle noted, "It was important that the bathing, sleeping and closet areas flow into one another so we weren't breaking up that mass any further." The lack of partitions also makes the most of the room's modest size by creating the illusion of more space and, with the master suite extending the entire length of the home, allows the windows in the front and back of the house to flood the room with daylight. A simple black and white palette, applied throughout the interiors to match the exterior of the house, further enhances the feeling of expansiveness.

Tucked into the back end of the master suite is the master bathroom, which, at a mere 250 sq. ft., "is not enormous," said Biddle, but its streamlined aesthetic, open plan and narrow floor-to-ceiling windows—strategically located to frame a view of the Space Needle and the city beyond—belie its limited footprint. Comprising a double vanity, a toilet and a walk-in shower (but no tub), the room is simply furnished not only to save space, but also to reflect the needs and lifestyle of a potential homebuyer, which, in this case, would be an urban dweller on the go. "We were expecting someone who's not going to be home soaking in the tub all the time," said Biddle. "So instead of a small shower and a small tub, we made the decision to provide a nice, larger shower."

Because the master bath bridges both black and white architectural elements, the shower, which is housed in the former, is tiled in 1-in. x 1-in. black ceramic mosaics as an extension of the home's sense of "honesty." Finding the perfect tile, however, took some effort. "We looked at a lot of different products to seek out something that was more of a matte black and not a high gloss, which would have been overwhelming and less functional," said Biddle. "We had a couple of different size options, but we liked the texture that the smaller mosaic adds, as well as its ability to wrap the entire shower seamlessly." To maintain openness, the shower is enclosed by clear glass, while a long horizontal window in the shower wall and a clerestory above augment the feeling of light and space.

In addition to a toilet/bidet, which is framed by a wall also paved with black mosaics, the other significant component of the master bath is an 8-ft.-long double vanity that is mounted off the floor for a floating appearance. The unit is finished in a wood grain and color similar to that of the tiger wood flooring, which was used in the rest of the master suite and throughout the home "to introduce warmth," explained Biddle. Twin, white countertop sinks and wall-mounted faucets keep the vanity top clean in look and clutter-free, and for greater access to the storage compartments below, the cabinet doors are hinged to swing downward, much like an oven door, so they can function as additional counters. Above, dimmable incandescent sconces ensure even facial illumination and a single pane of glass serves as the vanity mirror.

Although the home was constructed as a speculative project, it has since been bought, which perhaps is not all that surprising. After all, its design and functionality capture the energy of Capitol Hill and the lifestyle of its residents, and as is the case with most things in life, honesty is the best policy.


SOURCES

Architects: Dave Biddle, Chris Pardo, Chris Greenawalt—Pb Elemental Architecture, Seattle; www.elementalarchitecture.com
Contractor: Greg Squires, Shane Hyatt—LEAD Construction
Manufacturers: Vanity: Sky River Industries; Sink: MTI Whirlpools; Faucets: Grohe; Shower fittings: Grohe; Toilet: TOTO USA; Tiles: Coverings Etc; Flooring: Edensaw
Photography: © Vista Estate, Digital Savant