Small Island Home at Washington

Though the “Salsa House” was initially named for the salsa made on the home (the ingredients are grown there too), this eclectic small dwelling on Washington state’s Vashon Island lives up to its festive and colorful title. Engineered materials, a bold exterior and smart small-home solutions all unite in this cozy Northwest cabin.

The owners, a New York couple called Walter Lewis and Blair Dean, fell in love with a plot of land on Vashon Island possessed by Blair’s daughter, Dalinda, along with her partner Delene. Lewis and Dean decided to construct their very own guesthouse and abandoned the inventive process up to Dalinda, Delene and local builder John Demyanovich. Demyanovich has a passion for building furniture out of finds along with a knack for discovering, refurbishing and reusing materials. Working together, the crew came up with a design evolved out of salvaged materials, tiny-home thoughts, minimizing redundancy and producing character. The Salsa House is currently Dean residence and Lewis.

at a Glance
Who lives here: Walter Lewis and Blair Dean
Location: Vashon Island, Washington
Size: 1,000 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, attic space
That is interesting: John Demyanovich is Delene’s brother-in-law, so the construction process was a real family affair.

Louise Lakier

The first 950-square-foot house was constructed in the 1920s, and it was somewhat cozy. Walter and Blair assembled their house toward the rear of the property.

“We spent hours looking at images to find that perfect blue and orange,” Dalinda says. “We found the yellow out of a coloured pencil, the paint individual at True Worth was sporting the perfect green, and the red is out of my kitchen trimming.” All the colours were individually blended till they matched the proper imagined color. Every surface stain inside the house is custom blended as well.

Louise Lakier

Builder Demyanovich along with his wife, Donna, and their granddaughter sit on the wraparound porch of this Salsa House. Demyanovich bought a truckload of twisted and damaged timber and milled it into trimming, but the siding, articles, beams and rafters are brand new. The deck is cedar.

Demyanovich made and built the Salsa House with Delene because his superintendent, laborer and craftsperson, while the rest of the family functioned as the service crew.

Louise Lakier

Indoors, an open design along with a attic ceiling create a sense of spaciousness in the 1,000-square-foot home.

Louise Lakier

The stair treads are made from a pressure-treated timber that has been badly warped and twisted. Demyanovich ran the planks via a planer and shimmed them to acquire uniform thickness.

Louise Lakier

The bookshelves were added afterwards Lewis and Dean moved in forever. Demyanovich Lay boards to the beams overhead to make this space-saving shelf.

Louise Lakier

The kitchen cabinets have been closed out of a remodel in nearby Ballard. Demyanovich reconstructed the frames and painted them with door and drawer pulls from Hardwicks. The wood paneling in the kitchen is constructed from plywood and trimming fabricated onsite.

Louise Lakier

Demyanovich constructed the kitchen countertops, using miter joints and herringbone detailing at the corners to allow them to stand out. The timber flooring are salvaged from a house torn down in 1999. Delene applied a water-based stain and revealed that the grain with a little rubbing to get a worn-in appearance.

Louise Lakier

The natural rock to get the bathroom tile floor and a small section by the front entrance is a combination of salvaged and contributed rock. Delene created and made the semipolished rock shower surround, hand placing each rock.

The window has been salvaged from a buddy, the bathroom was liberated and the medicine cabinet was constructed by Demyanovich.

Towel pubs: Restoration Hardware

Louise Lakier

Sprinklers were installed in lieu of a turnaround for fire access, because the Salsa House is set so far back in the road. All the doors are all flashed, and the light fittings are out of Ikea.

Louise Lakier

In order to place a power line easement alongside the land, the power company had to reduce the limbs of a tree. Demyanovich gathered the branches and repurposed them for beautiful banisters within this upstairs area. In accordance with Demyanovich, there was very little shrinkage — that the alignment took a little more time, however, the result is magnificent.

Louise Lakier

The spinet desk is a find from Canada, along with the rocking chair is in a secondhand shop on the island.

Louise Lakier

Building the cabin with a 12-to-12 roof pitch provided some extra room for attic space. Adequately sized ceiling joists and thoughtful detailing permit the prospect of a full second floor in the future.

Louise Lakier

The newel posts in the stairwell provide perfectly sized spaces for light switches within this spacious attic program.

Louise Lakier

When they were working on the project full-time, Demyanovich and his wife moved to the property to make the process simpler. They bought a comfortable 1970s Airstream to dwell in during construction. The one-of-a-kind seats were constructed by Demyanovich out of salvaged wood.

Now the Airstream functions as a guesthouse. Demyanovich and Donna remain there when they see in their house in West Seattle.

Louise Lakier

Delene and Donna remodeled the interior of this Airstream together. They removed the first shag carpet and cut down 4-inch tile to produce the colorful floor pattern.

Louise Lakier

All the linens, pillows, blankets and decoration in the Airstream came from thrift shops.

Louise Lakier

The Airstream does not have a fully functioning commode, or so the couple built an outhouse in the woods.

Louise Lakier

There’s plenty of space around the home for growing vegetables and fruits, in addition to raising cows and bees.

Can you have a vibrant, eclectic house? Discuss it with us!

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