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I solated by water on three sides, West Seattle exists as both a peninsula and a state of mind. While animated by the bridges, roads, and ferries that bring it closer to downtown, it remains determinedly aloof and uncitylike. It is here that the beachfront community of Fauntleroy emerged, developed at the turn of the last century as a summer getaway. Fauntleroy rests on the eastern edge of Puget Sound, offering panoramic views of Vashon Island, Blake Island, and the Kitsap Peninsula to the west. The white-capped Olympic Mountains in the distance can be glimpsed from behind these bodies of land.
Here, architect George Suyama, FAIA, of the Seattle-based firm Suyama Peterson Deguchi Architects, created a home for himself and his wife, one that rests comfortably within an eclectic mix of suburban houses and beach bungalows arranged into rows of narrow rectilinear lots aligned to the beach along the sound. "We don't produce very aggressive architecture in Seattle because the landscape is too beautiful, and the weather too benign," says Suyama. This couldn't be a more accurate description of the Fauntleroy house's inconspicuous street presence, which belies its interior--a serene, Minimalist sequence of spaces that references and opens gradually to the water at its back.
The 2,600-square-foot house features a main floor containing the key public areas: an entry courtyard, outdoor sitting room, kitchen/dining area, bath, living room, and porch. A downstairs landing houses a master bedroom and bath, while a library/office/den, bath, and storage reside on the level below. Outside, the backyard steps down to the beach where a dock...