Boat House

Island: Orcas Island
Year: 2021
Architect: PBW Architects

A one-room boathouse on slender steel stilts at the water’s edge, with a roof that lifts toward the sea.

Merit Award, 2023 Your Modern Cottage Design Awards

The story

The old boathouse sat on concrete and creosote piles. Its replacement stands on a few thin steel posts, and the shoreline is better for it: native rock went back in, and the dock steps over the eelgrass.

Inside, the ash ceiling rises in two planes toward the sea, and the glass corner slides open to the deck. It received a Merit Award in the 2023 Your Modern Cottage Design Awards.

Architect: Dan Wickline, PBW Architects
Interiors: LeeAnn Baker Interiors
Structural: Harriott Valentine Engineers

Living room with a blue sofa and lounge chair under a sloped ash ceiling, with glass walls opening to the deck

Boathouse on slender steel stilts above the rocky shoreline of Orcas Island, with a stair down to the dock

Sitting area with a blue lounge chair and gray armchair before floor-to-ceiling glass overlooking the water

Built-in window seat with yellow pillows and wall sconces beside a fireplace and a blue lounge chair

Blue lounge chair and sofa facing sliding glass doors that open to a deck and forested island hills

Dining table under an ash ceiling with a large abstract painting, framed by corner glass and views of the water

Covered deck with slatted wood decking and steel posts running along the glass wall above the water

Gray armchair beside a corner of sliding glass that opens to the deck and water views

Planning to build in the islands?

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