Sitting on the fence. It’s not an easy perch. The inability to commit can eat away at a person and annoy anyone demanding a decision. But when it comes to design, neutral is not a dirty word. That somewhere-in-between can be a place of richness. There’s depth and nuance in a tight spectrum of hues. Not every shadow is, as a poet might say, a shade.
In a Clyde Hill, Washington, home just east of Seattle across Lake Washington, James Fung and Whitney Maehara, co-principals and owners of the Emerald City’s NB Design Group, have gone all in on a unified, understated palette. Cool but far from cold, the orchestration of earth tones – shot through with black and gray – makes for a distinctive visual composition. More Philip Glass than Mozart, these interiors project not so much a sense of reserve or restraint but a kind of self-assured inevitability. A calmness pervades each room, a settled tranquility. Restful they may be, but uneventful they are not.
To outsiders, the Pacific Northwest often reads as wet and dreary, but as Fung notes, sunshine isn’t nature’s only comforting attribute. “What people don’t know is that with the amount of greenery and the proximity to water, even with the gray skies, there is a beautiful warmth and serene feeling. By using that color scheme and integrating soft, warm neutral tones, we wanted to create a nice connection between the interior and exterior. For this house, in particular, where we have a lot of large picture windows and exterior living space, that creates a seamless transition and timeless feel.”
Designed for a couple who likes to entertain while raising three active children, the house is sophisticatedly contemporary, its lines and planes cutting cleanly through space. Fung was brought on early in the project. “This was great,” he reports, “because we were able to work collaboratively with the team to ensure that the program and interior spaces were sized appropriately for the growing family’s everyday living. Our involvement at the onset of the process also allowed us to create a consistent language between the exterior and interior spaces, both in materiality and overall look.”
Because the house is so amply fenestrated, so open to the outdoors, Fung wanted to create a welcoming distinction between the built and the natural. “We felt it was important to heighten the experience of moving between the areas. This was done with the use of rich, darker casework in the kitchen/ bar/pantry and the blackened metal that shows up throughout the home. And with such an open space, we relied on the contrast of form and finishes to help define space, creating wall partitions that read more like textural artwork between the entry and bar, draping pendants above the dining table to add movement and softness and incorporating a modern wainscot in select areas to visually bring the height of the space down in more intimate spaces, such as the powder room and primary suite.”
Custom upholstery, furniture and artwork create a decidedly tailored look throughout. An intriguing art piece made of singed velvet and wood by Portland, Oregon’s Peter Gronquist makes for a dynamic focal point in the dining room. The very businesslike office is anchored with a surprisingly jazzy, custom hide rug by Kyle Bunting. And a handmade Grand Dynamic Stilk Chandelier from Daikon dances over the roomy, quartzite-topped island in the kitchen.
Ah, let it rain.
Photography by Kevin Scott.
Design by NB Design Group.
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to aspire design and home magazine.