Heliotrope Architects designed this cedar-clad family vacation home on San Juan Island, Washington, along a windswept shoreline exposed to weather coming down the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the Pacific Ocean. The home’s distinctive “bowtie” footprint is a response to the site: the architects nestled it between two rock outcroppings to integrate it with the terrain.
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populated of the San Juan Islands, located 90 miles north of Seattle in the picturesque Salish Sea. There are only two ways to access the island: by boat (there are ferries that run to and from the island) or by seaplane.
The owners are from Seattle and have friends who also have homes on the island. They desired a retreat for their family where they could entertain and eventually spend more time there as they age…