Rock Creek

Eric, Erika and their curious, playful cats wanted a house suited to their unique needs and site in an established neighborhood. Eric had been diagnosed with MS years prior and Erika was training for the Olympic Trials as a swimmer during the design and construction process. The house was designed using universal design principles, introduced to us via collaboration with architect and founder of Seattle-based studio pacifica, Karen Braitmayer, FAIA.

The site slopes down from the street towards Rock Creek, begging for a two-story house with views into the woods that climb up the hill from the creek. The main level of the house is completely accessible and contains the majority of the indoor and outdoor amenities. Guest bedrooms, a workout space and storage are located on the lower level. The cats love the big open spaces, ample millwork for perching and windows galore for basking in the sun and observing everything that moves outside.

Eric and Erika wanted the house to appear modest from the street so that it would strike a comfortable balance between the original scale of the neighborhood and new houses being built around them.

Durham Potter built the house and Xylem Inc. fabricated and installed the custom millwork.

Photography by Keith Isaacs Photo.