Some houses are designed to enable a lifestyle, and then get out of the way. This 1952 custom beach retreat emphasizes the beach and the retreat while keeping quiet about all the customization necessary to make it all happen.
Down by Carr Inlet, west of Tacoma, is a narrow peninsula. There's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1,597 square foot house that straddles it from shore to shore, and extends for 10.95 acres. If you're going to have a beach retreat, you might as well have two beaches. With that much land and that much sand, they made the decision to build a house that was there to celebrate the land, the water, and the quiet.
The biggest surprise may be that you can buy it for $725,000.
Don't build a loud house in a quiet place. The ceilings may be considered vaulted, but they are angled, rather than peaked, to draw in the view. The tendency is to look outside rather than up into the rafters. Window walls like these are becoming more common. It would be interesting to learn if they were a remodel or a trendsetter.
Decks are common too; but instead of just opening a door, or window, or wall onto a flat set of boards there is a long counter built outside the wide kitchen window. Beside the covered seating is an outdoor kitchen, a natural way to work with the fishing, crabbing, and clamming that is possible. Keep the mess and the smell outside.
One measure of how well it has worked as a retreat is the number of beds. There may only be 2 bedrooms listed, but the photos show 8 beds, some of which are built-ins. That sounds like the recipe for family gatherings, lots of kids running around, and probably a good party or two. Maybe the place isn't always quiet, after all.
· 1515 S Head Avenue Kp S, Lakebay [Zillow]