Street Elevation

Madrona Residence
Completed 2015
4,100 s.f. plus Garage

Featured in Gray Magazine February 2016 issue: https://issuu.com/graymag/docs/gray_no._26_final/99?e=3579295/33198275


The Madrona House is a new single-family home designed on the foundation of an existing 1940’s home. The Owners, Ben and Kitty Suidman are a Dutch professional couple (Kitty is a Colors, Materials and Finishes Director at Sonos and Ben a VP of Merchandising at shoes dot com) who have spent the better parts of their lives growing-up and living in various parts of Asia before settling in Seattle. The house was designed in close collaboration with the Owners in an effort to define a place where their collection of Asian antique furniture and art could live in balance with their desire to live in a contemporary setting.

The location takes advantage of the challenging steep site and remaining foundation, leaving an existing mature garden to surround the home and the sense from inside of hovering above Lake Washington. Light reflects off the lake and provides a beautiful almost ethereal reflective glow and warmth in the mornings - with views to Mount Rainier and the Cascade Mountain Range beyond. The house form was derived from a large main-level loft-like room that could handle entertaining guests with ease; encompassing Living, Dining and Kitchen functions in one space.

While the home is designed to be energy-efficient, it was above all designed to be original and respectful in scale to its neighborhood and the Pacific Northwest’s natural surroundings, both through views and natural materials.

General Contractor: MN Custom Homes

Photography: Charlie Schuck Photography