Bring together an architect raised in Czechoslovakia and clients from India and Columbia and what do you get? A decidedly cosmopolitan new house that embraces color and culture. Owners who came from these exotic countries wanted to replace their conventional 1960’s ranch-style house in Kirkland with a dwelling for themselves and their young son and daughter, that richly captured their contemporary taste and cultural heritage. After interviewing a handful of prospects, they found Heger Architects. The solution? A three-story jewel of a house that is at once open and intimate, exotic and elegant. To make the most of the site’s previously unrealized lake views, we adroitly repositioned the new house. Before it was parallel to the street, but now the house is completely skewed to frame the lake, and it really worked out to everyone’s satisfaction. To achieve the beautiful views in the areas of the home where the clients wanted to entertain frequent guests, the day area was untraditionally placed above the night area.

The clients, who value entertaining family and friends above all, wanted the focus of their new home to be an open-plan second floor that plays host to the imperative kitchen, great room, dining room and master guest bedroom. Upping the entertainment ante is a third-story nest, accessible by spiral staircase imported from Germany, which offers dreamy views aided by a wet bar and outdoor deck.

Another key ingredient for the couple was a marvel of a kitchen. As previously requested by the client, the kitchen was going to be a work horse, since they possess a passion in culinary arts and often host parties with 40-people plus. We provided a double-galley design with plenty of splatter-friendly flat surfaces to work with all the bells and whistles any chef could dream about. These are a professional cooking range, two sinks, two dishwashers, a warming drawer, and ice maker and a pantry stocked with a dumbwaiter and, in addition to a slim fridge for-everyday-use in the kitchen, a nicely out-of-sight industrial-sized fridge and freezer.

The family’s three bedrooms are now on the ground floor, secured behind the entry way’s floating staircase. There comes a time about eight o’clock at night, where the clients go downstairs and it’s just their bedrooms, the kids, and the TV. All within the night family area, completely private.

Equally impressive is how each space is deftly delivered with seemingly simple elements such as ceiling, lighting, and color design. Each space is like a different room and each room like a different mood. The colors were selected from an array of natural spices often found in Indian markets. We’ve included another cultural aspect that is particularly fitting for a house designed with family and friends in mind. A custom sculpture of the Hindu deity Ganesh, prominently positioned inside the home’s entryway, was the owners special request. Almost every Indian home has Ganesh at the entrance, as he welcomes everybody who enters.

This home is contemporary in its core, and the materials reflect that idea. A combination of stucco and cement panel siding make a durable shell for the exterior of the house. There is also a “story” of the gradual expansion. This is anchored in the stone veneer of the entry, which welcomes the visitors with echoes of the past. The house includes many shades of pastel colors that work together in harmony. Day areas consist of wooden floors of wide white oak, producing a combination of functionality with aesthetics, coziness with comfort, and luxury with elegance in ways that seem natural and display its owners’ character, attitude and life style.

As the owners have decided to tear down their existing home and build a new one on the same property, we were approached to design something special and custom for the family. The result was a tailored house that fit all the family needs. The project took 4 months to design, with another 12 months to deliver.