Olson Kundig Architects principal Alan Maskin has renovated and extended a beach cabin from 1938 in Washington State, turning it into his wood-lined retreat.
Agate Pass Cabin overlooks the Agate Passage, a tidal waterway on the Olympic Peninsula. Maskin added a first-floor extension and proper foundations to the old cabin.
Low ceilings have been open up into the old attic
Original wide planks of Douglas fir ? a species that was bountiful in the region 100 years ago ? still line the walls and ceilings.
Where some panels were taken down to make room for alterations, the wood was refashioned into cabinets or storage or used to line new ceilings.
Panels of original Douglas fir still line the walls
Contrasting wood such as Gulam plywood was chosen for additions to the cabin, to clearly mark what is original 1930s and what is new. Maskin bought the cabin as a dream renovation project, although it took him years to find the time to work on it after he was made an owner of Olson Kundig Architects.
"My work life and love life were separated by Elliott Bay and a three-hour commute," said Maskin.
"I was looking for a small, extremely inexpensive fixer-upper. In my dreams, I wanted it to be a small cabin with a view of the water ? hopefully with some character ? and located somewhere in the middle of my two primary destinations."
A screened-in porch has become a dining room at one end
When he heard the cabin had come up for sale he went to view it and realised that ...