Peak Opportunity

The outdoor stove and propane-fueled fire pit - and the fact that the patio is situated directly parallel to the home's dining room and kitchen - give the homeowners many options for cooking, serving, eating and entertaining. Kathleen King Photography

To guarantee that the homeowners would have precisely the view they sought, Blue Canyon Construction crews built mock-up deck platforms, and when the mountain appeared through the clouds, they would summon the homeowners, who would rush home to weigh in. Rick King, the company's president, estimates that six such mock-ups were created over the course of 30 days before the perfect placement was achieved.

To augment the home's ranch style yet retain its classic Northwest feel, the sandstone bricks along the exterior were reversed for a "like-new" effect, creating a key spatial and structural boundary for the patio. The new clear cedar siding on the home establishes a relationship with the new window frames and doors, which King says were purposely speced as fiberglass so

The old-growth cedar trellis creates an eye-catching focal point; functionally, it shades the eating area. The multicolored Indian slate tiles and copper caps and iron handrails pick up the color schemes of Mount Rainier Park and Lake Washington, and the columns echo the sandstone siding and the pillars at each corner of the patio.   After photo by Steve Keating

The four-month project cost $87,950.

"This project is a testament that you can still get value for a project without adding huge rooms or changing the footprint," King says. "Here we lived in the footprint, and by using upgraded materials on this exterior addition, we really made the project blend in the neighborhood and improved the homeowner's asset."