A rotunda of a house on Vashon lists for $1.1M

The rotunda is hard to miss. A custom home built by Pete Crocker in 1975 sits near the isthmus that connects Maury Island to Vashon Island. Waterfront is valuable, but the shape is the thing that makes this house distinctive.

They went beyond octagonal to give the main roof about a dozen radial elements, getting closer to a curve than most round houses. For some added flair, the roof flares as if it was a circus tent or a parachute draped from a pole. That pole also acts as an anchor for an appropriately conical fireplace, and pokes through the roof beside a pair of wedges of skylights. The panoramic view is wrapped by a panoramic deck, just in case the views are so intriguing that the windows are too much of a distraction.

The gracefully curved wood softens several rooms including the kitchen and at least two of the three bedrooms. The two and a quarter bathrooms look more rectangular, and may sit under the pair of four-sided draped roofs on the land side of the house.

The total interior space is 3,367 square feet that extends to some flat-roofed structures to the north, and an uncommon bonus, a rotunda of a basement. Find room for billiards, media, and maybe a studio. Evidently there’s a wine cellar down there, too.

The house exists because of what’s outside, about three quarters of an acre with over eighty-seven feet of low-bank shoreline protected by a bulkhead. The lot is a mix of fruit trees and gardens, with low-maintenance gravel by the water.

As a package, the prime example of Pacific Northwest innovation and creativity is priced at $1.15 million. Be ready for lots of “getting around to it” jokes.

• 22811 Kingsbury Rd SW, Vashon [Estately]