Roots & Beams: The Fall City Family Home
A house with strong bones — ceiling opened, anchored by fire, and rebuilt for how the family actually lives.
Fall City homes have character that newer construction doesn’t manufacture. The bones are there — the proportions, the scale, the sense that the house was built to last. When those homes work, they work deeply. When they don’t, it’s usually a handful of specific elements holding the bones back. This project started from that distinction.
The beam configuration was dated convention. The fireplace that should have anchored the living area wasn’t there. The family room was undersized and felt disconnected from the rest of the house. We worked from what was worth keeping and removed what wasn’t.
Designed Around What the Home Always Had
The remodel focused on three moves: remove the beams that compressed the ceiling volume in the primary living area, install a statement fireplace to anchor the main gathering space, and add a family room that connected to the rest of the house rather than sitting apart from it.
Earth tones, wood textures, and natural character materials carry from the original structure into the addition without a visible seam. The house reads as a single cohesive home — not a renovation with an addition attached.
The Work Begins With One Conversation
We hold a limited number of consultations each month and are selective about the projects we take on. If you’re ready to discuss yours, we’d like to hear about it.
The glass surround allows the fire to be seen from multiple positions across the room — and brings the Fall City landscape in at the floor line.
The Challenge Was Specific
The existing beam configuration closed off the ceiling in the primary living area, compressing what should have been an open volume. There was no strong focal point anchoring the main gathering space. The family room was undersized and felt separate from how the family actually used the home.
The clients wanted the character of the original home preserved. They didn’t want a renovation that erased what was valuable — they wanted the house to feel more like them. They had become a family that needed more room.
“Opening the ceiling was the single move that changed the character of everything else.”
How We Opened the Home
The beams were removed. Opening the ceiling volume was the most significant structural move in the project — it allowed light and air to move through the space and changed the living area from compressed and compartmentalized to generous and connected.
In place of the beams, a statement fireplace with a wall-to-floor glass surround became the room’s center of gravity. The glass allows the fire to be seen from more positions in the space than a standard firebox, and it brings Fall City’s landscape into the room at the floor line.
The family room addition is generous enough to anchor a full seating arrangement and tall enough to hold a large drop chandelier that reads as a design statement. Earth tones, wood textures, and natural character materials run from the main house into the addition without a visible seam.
Frequently Asked
The work in this portfolio is the standard we hold ourselves to on every project — not just the celebrated ones. We take on a limited number of engagements each year, which means the projects we commit to receive our full attention from the first conversation through the final installation. If you’re considering a renovation, a new build, or a full redesign, tell us about your home. We’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit — and what working together would look like.
Your home should stop you. Every time you walk in.
