Indianola Custom Home

On a 6,000 SF wooded lot in Indianola, the goal was a small house that lives large: every room with a water view, a connection to the trees in all directions, and the feeling of a quiet retreat rather than a house trying to make an impression.

PROJECT STORY

Small lot, tall trees, and a house that fits both

Indianola is a small community on the Kitsap Peninsula, and the lot here is modest even by neighborhood standards — 6,000 square feet of wooded ground on a gentle east-facing slope, bordered by a public trail to the south, an empty lot to the north, a neighboring house to the east, and an access road to the west. Fitting a house, garage, septic system, stormwater management, and the county's on-site parking requirements onto this lot while still delivering the spaces the client wanted took careful work from the start.

The design steps down with the slope, moving from entry and garage at the upper level to a generous open living, kitchen, and dining area below. The level change creates a taller volume in the living space, with windows set to frame the surrounding Douglas firs rather than compete with them. Some windows are tall and narrow, chosen specifically to read the vertical nature of the trees. When you open the front door you can see straight through the house to the back deck and the woods beyond. The two bedrooms are modest and private, both facing east toward the water.

The client, her parents, and their extended family acted as general contractor and built the majority of the house themselves. That owner-builder relationship shaped every decision from the outset — drawings were developed to be clear and buildable, details were resolved for efficiency, and the collaboration was genuine from the first conversation to the last. The siding is designed to weather naturally to a driftwood grey over time, blending with the native ferns and plantings filling back in around the base of the house.

The house sits on a public trail and draws attention from neighbors. The response, as the client describes it, is that the house looks like it was always meant to be there. That's the right outcome for a wooded lot this size: not a statement, but a treehouse.