Hillside Sanctuary in the San Juan Islands, Washington Building, New Property Images, Architecture
Hillside Sanctuary in the San Juan Islands, Washington
Contemporary Real Estate, WA, USA – design by Hoedemaker Pfeiffer
Jan 14, 2019
Hillside Sanctuary
Architects: Hoedemaker Pfeiffer
Location: San Juan Islands, Washington, USA
Hillside Sanctuary
The owner of this property came to Hoedemaker Pfeiffer looking for a personal retreat inspired by a treasured stone and wood home lost to fire decades earlier in the hills of Appalachia.

The design firm?s task was not to recreate it but rather to give its spirit new form in the Pacific Northwest. Taking inspiration from its remote site in the San Juan Islands, the design team conceived of the project as a series of simple stone volumes growing naturally from their rocky surroundings. From that concept emerged a main house and a guest house, each responding to its own unique location on the site. Together they provide friends and family comfortable accommodation while offering a sanctuary for the owner at the main home.
Taking full advantage of sweeping views of Puget Sound, the main home is sited on a small plateau high on top of a steeply-sloping hillside. The view opportunity on one side and the road on the other suggested a stone plinth and stone wall to form the base and rear of the house. A pair of thick stone walls with fireplaces rising together within the home?s interior enhance the concept, separating the main level...