Before & After: An Architect’s Home Reinterprets Suburbia in the Pacific Northwest
Near Seattle, Neal Barber creates a dream house for his family that suits the neighborhood while subtly standing out.
Near Seattle, Neal Barber creates a dream house for his family that suits the neighborhood while subtly standing out.
When architect Neal Barber met his future wife, Inga Keller, in 2019, she had just decided to buy a house in Kenmore, a suburb located northeast across Lake Washington from Seattle. "It was on a nice corner lot with a great backyard, and Inga had grown up in a similar ranch-style house in Santa Barbara, so it worked well for her," recalls Neal, who founded his practice Studio Nocturne in 2021, the same year the couple married. As they began thinking about starting a family, the couple knew the house needed to grow with them. "We were looking for a little more space and a layout that worked better for us," recalls Neal.
Neal and Inga Barber built a new home atop the existing foundation of their previous house in Kenmore, a suburb of Seattle, Washington.
Photo: Kyle Johnson
The 1960s home appeared to be in good shape, but it had a segmented layout and only one full bath for all three of the bedrooms. Besides a larger primary suite and room to grow their family, Neal was also looking for a better home office setup, knowing he would be working from home as he built his architecture practice. "Originally, we thought we could do a renovation and expansion," says Neal. But, as they discovered some leaks and a sagging roof, the project quickly turned into a full rebuild. "With a limited budget, we knew we needed to be smart and not overbuild," says Neal, who designed a new family home to fit atop the existing foundation.
Before: Exterior
Before: The low-slung home was fairly nondescript, although Inga was initially attracted to the generous yard, and the cozy living room anchored by a corner fireplace. "It was a nice example of an early 1960s ranch house," says Neal.
Courtesy Redfin and Julia Buckley
For the rebuild, the couple knew they would keep the original foundation while adding more square footage. "The original house was 1,600 square feet, so it felt a little tight knowing we wanted to have kids," says Neal. To stay within the same footprint, they decided to add a second story. "We couldn’t build up on the south side of the house because it was encroaching on the property line, so we knew the upstairs was going to be a relatively small portion of the home," says Neal.
After: Exterior
The new home quotes the forms and materials of the neighborhood, but remixes them in a more contemporary combination.
Photo: Kyle Johnson
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: An Architect’s Home Reinterprets Suburbia in the Pacific Northwest
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