Northwest Asian Fusion
When Ross Grier set out to build his dream house, he knew it would have a Japanese influence, because he grew up there—as a U.S. citizen and part of a missionary family. The two-bedroom, two-bath home’s soft appearance derives from a deep, warm exterior; rich Douglas fir timbers; a wraparound deck with a curved railing and entranceway roof. The home’s shape, vertical with the middle level as the main living space, “offers a feeling of being in a nest high in a tree,” says Ross, who shares the Fairhaven home with wife, Sharon. Because who can’t use a little nesting these days?
Grier, one of four co-founders of workers’ cooperative Bellingham Bay Builders, used a diversity of materials in this staircase, mixing wood and milled stone in the stair risers.
The center of the Japanese daily bathing ritual is the ofuro, a deep hot tub where you sit in soothing waters up to your shoulders. The practice, held in fresh air, maintains daily hygiene but is also intended to rejuvenate.
A charcoal ink drawing of Mount Rainier, and heavy timber influence, add to the natural setting of this indoor-outdoor room.
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