Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

A Seattle Couple Design a Home Around Indoor/Outdoor Gathering Spaces

A Seattle Couple Design a Home Around Indoor/Outdoor Gathering Spaces

A designer duo add 1,200 square feet to their petite bungalow and create a private courtyard where the whole family can converge near the garden.

When Sharon Khosla and Chris Armes, founders of furniture design studio 16th Workshop, were house hunting in Seattle in 2013, the couple were looking for a small residence. "As designers, we were looking for a home that we could add on to and make our own," says Sharon, who is also principal at Fivedot, a local architecture firm. The designer couple soon found an 825-square-foot bungalow on a corner lot in the Central Area neighborhood. Then, they hashed out plans for a brand-new addition that would help their family of four spread out.



A new, two-story wing now hosts all of the home’s bedrooms. On the main floor of the 1,200-square-foot addition, the couple incorporated an extra room to ensure that are enough accommodations if the grandparents come to live with them in the future. Consolidating the bedrooms to the new wing freed up the original home to become what the owners refer to as a "great room" that centers around the kitchen.

"We find that most of our activities, whether as an intimate family or with larger groups, always happen around food, or whatever comes in from the garden," Sharon says.



The centerpiece of the kitchen is a large island that sits under a skylight adorned with hanging orchids and tropical plants. The light-filled space features custom Oregon white oak cabinetry built by 16th Workshop, which is also integrated into the central kitchen island. This handcrafted feel threads throughout the rest of the home, where various spaces feature additional case goods by 16th Workshop, as well as bespoke light fixtures from the United Kingdom and Texas, and handmade Fireclay tiles.



The homeowners wanted the new wing to protect the lush backyard garden. "We pushed the addition as far to one side as possible to preserve as much space in the sun as we could," says Sharon. Now, the L-shaped home-which is clad with vertical cedar siding-encases a private rear courtyard.



Since the Central Area Home was completed in 2018, the serene outdoor courtyard has served as a site where the family gathers throughout the year. The married couple often drink their daily morning chai in the backyard and "watch the hummingbirds feed on the sage," Sharon says. Meanwhile, the children use the space to bounce on pogo sticks or have ping-pong competitions.



In the evening, the family sometimes hosts small gatherings around the fire pit. And the list goes on: "Dance parties. Dinner parties. Yoga and late afternoon naps. The courtyard also gets used for drying the garden harvest and making marigold garlands for Diwali," Sharon says. "How does it not get used!"



A peek at the Central Area Home before the 2018 renovation by Fivedot.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×