BREAKING RULES
OPENNESS WAS THE KEY TO
A FRESH DESIGN AND AN AIRY FEEL
 

	At night, the Nuler-Cudahy home glows in this view from the back. AIA contest judges praised how well this house fit into a neighborhood of older ranch-style houses.

West Seattle
Architect: David Coleman of David Coleman/Architecture
Builder: The owners
Construction cost/size: $400,000/3,400 square feet; three bedrooms, two full, two half baths

A REMODELED West Seattle ranch house has been chosen the 2002 Seattle Times/American Institute of Architects Home of the Year.

Selected from among the 10 open houses the AIA picked last year for publication in this paper's Home/Real Estate section, the winner was designed by Seattle architect David Coleman. It is owned by Kit Cudahy and John Nuler, two veterans of the California film industry who purchased the 1950s house with a remodel in mind.

Instead, Coleman presented them with a plan that salvaged the existing foundation, fireplaces and chimney and replaced almost everything else. "The sketches David showed us basically called for tearing down the house," Nuler said. "Once we got to a certain point, it kind of snowballed."

"Letting go of the rules and constraints of traditional architectural styles allowed us to create a home that is truly responsive to its site, orientation, day lighting and views, as well as to our clients' functional needs and contemporary lifestyle," said Coleman, of David Coleman/Architecture.

The new house has a basement with a family room and half bath, the main floor has a living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, two bedrooms and a bath and a half. The upper-floor "penthouse suite" contains the master bedroom, dressing room, bath and study.
 

Natural light filters into a main-floor hallway in the Nuler-Cudahy house.
The couple wanted a modern house to complement their modern furniture and art collection. The look is spare and sleek. "We love the openness of it," says Kit Cudahy.

"We love the openness of it," Cudahy said.

For the exterior, the owners chose prepatinated copper panels and cedar siding. The interior features ebonized oak and stone floors, unpainted plaster walls and fir cabinets.

Construction cost for the 3,400-square-foot home was $400,000. To keep expenses down, Nuler spent two years building it himself. The cost of finishing the 1,100-square-foot basement, which was postponed, is not included in that figure.

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