A ranch home goes from outdated to outdoorsy in Everett

They fell in love at Crystal Mountain.

Cam Stefanic and Kari Logan go skiing together — either downhill or cross-country — about 15 to 20 times a year. They’re at their happiest when schussing down the slopes.

But the couple of three years are a long way from their winter playground. So when remodeling their 1976 home in the Silver Lake area of Everett, Cam and Kari decided to bring Crystal Mountain to them.

Crystal Mountain is Washington’s largest ski resort. Just northeast of Mount Rainier National Park, near Enumclaw, it features 2,600 acres of powdery peaks and snowy basins. Its summits — the highest is at 7,002 feet — offer a panoramic views of Mount Rainier.

Stefanic, 32, a design engineer for Boeing, bought the ranch-style home with gable roof in 2015. Logan, 33, an acupuncturist at Mae Integrative Medicine in Mill Creek, moved in about a year and a half later.

They describe the house before the remodel in one word: ugly. Popcorn ceilings. Fluorescent lighting. Beige and brown walls with pink accents.

The 2,140-square-foot house’s only redeeming qualities? The vaulted ceiling in the living room, the brick fireplace in the family room and the French doors near the kitchen.

The couple hired KB Design in 2017 to transform their house from outdated to outdoorsy. The Lynnwood interior design company, owned by Katerina Bolshakova, works to incorporate the personalities and lifestyles of its clients into a space.

Stefanic and Logan wanted the house to feel more spacious and match their outdoorsy lifestyle. (In addition to having season passes at Crystal Mountain, the couple also skis at Stevens Pass, Mount Baker and Whistler in British Columbia.)

The redesign features a mural of Crystal Mountain, a live-edge wood bar made of black walnut, dark blue and white painted walls, and new wood-look floor coverings. The renovation is reminiscent of a ski resort at wintertime.

They had alcoves removed to connect the kitchen with the family room. The new space’s Northwest color palette (blues, oranges, browns) was designed to reflect a youthful energy and a cabin-like atmosphere.

“It’s a little bit of the outdoors brought into the house,” Stefanic said. “It just really makes you realize we live in a great place where we have easy access to that. It reminds me of where we came from.”

The 8-by-12-foot mural of Crystal Mountain on a wall next to the kitchen ties the space together. Painted by Maple Valley artist Jonny Bobgan, the mural shows Mount Rainier from the perspective of Pickhandle Point, a peak across from the Crystal Mountain ski resort.

It was Bobgan’s idea not to include signs of the ski resort in the mural: There are no ski lifts, ski trails or skiers. All you see is the sunny side of the mountain. He painted it in about five hours.

“I watched the entire thing,” Stefanic said. “It was beautiful.”

In the family room is a triptych — a picture in three panels — of an open road with a mountain range in the distance. In the living room, they hung several pairs of antique skis.

The cabin-feel extends into the kitchen with a 15-foot-long live-edge wood bar made by Everett’s Elpis & Wood. The tree’s natural edges are incorporated into the design.

“What we liked is that it’s just natural wood that has epoxy on it,” Stefanic said. “There’s no stain, so it’s completely the natural black walnut.”

Today Stefanic and Logan are happy to call their ranch-style house in south Everett home. They enjoy inviting friends over for beers and steaks.

“I’m happy when I come home,” Stefanic said. “It’s such a wonderful place. It makes me want to go skiing year-round.”

They’ll hit the slopes again in February. This time, they’re headed to Utah to ski at four resorts.

Evan Thompson: 425-339-3427; ethompson@heraldnet.com.

Twitter: @ByEvanThompson.

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