“Architecture is really about well-being. I think that people want to feel good in a space…On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.”  – Zaha Hadid

Environment and Design

Summers are an oft overlooked gem of the Pacific Northwest. Long expanses of daylight, bright mornings, days fit for fun, and warm evenings on the patio–it’s a delight to the senses. Great home design harnesses the beauty of such a vivid environment. It captures light. It frames views. It welcomes its surroundings.

So when a Seattle couple commissioned Gelotte Hommas Drivdahl to remodel their historic storybook home, Eric Drivdahl ensured that the new master suite inspires the morning and winds down the evening.

Light-Filled Remodel

Eric’s remodeled home design broke into the unique home’s former attic and transformed the cramped bedroom into a spacious, light-filled master retreat. The sun shines through banks of windows and a Juliet balcony and bounces off the clean, white walls, but the master suite’s crowning glory is its custom balcony.

Situated with a view of the lake and to take in the morning sun, the custom balcony provides the ideal excuse to throw open the doors and embrace the fresh air. With the French doors flung wide, the outdoor space becomes an extension of the bedroom, and the homeowners can sip their morning coffee from their storybook perch. When the corresponding Juliet balcony is also open, a gentle, pine-laced breeze rejuvenates the air and life within the remodeled suite.

Even in winter, the full balcony and its companions–bright walls, insulated window banks, and the Juliet balcony–provide light and comfort for the season and ready reminders that waterfront views, snow-covered mountains, and steadfast evergreens thrive year-round.

Master suite balconies grant homeowners a piece of the outdoors that is uniquely theirs. The bedroom’s occupants alone have access to that specific view and that particular ray of sun. It’s private and serene.  

Tell us about your dream home design.