Camano Island home mixes chic and traditional, inside and out

Modern houses have a reputation for being beautiful yet … cold.

Metallic surfaces, stone accents, muted color palettes and modular designs never fail to look stylish and chic.

But do they really make sense in a land devoid of sun for so many days a year?

For John and Linda Hadley, who recently built a 1,650-square-foot home on a Camano Island bluff overlooking Juniper Beach, the answer is, surprisingly, yes.

Though their home’s exterior is clad almost entirely in metal and dotted with tubes of LED lighting, its overall architecture — including traditional roof lines and a south-facing dormer — is more conventional.

Inside, their subtle balance of styles is even more accessible.

Slab granite counters, sleek maple cabinets and dark slate flooring mix easily with antiques, vibrant artwork, cozy chairs and many other down-home touches.

Take the dining room, for example: Eight polished stainless steel chairs with red velvety cushions surround a gleaming piece of glass perched on pillars of still more stainless steel.

Right behind all that, however, sits a large antique buffet filled with English pewter measuring cups, gleaming with wooden warmth and the history of European culture.

Across the room, an old, intricate fireplace mantel and surround, salvaged from John Hadley’s parents’ former home, creates a warm hearth.

Near the entrance, a modern take on a traditional Japanese storage staircase has an eye-catching handrail, an 8-foot-long muzzle-loader musket that looks like it could have come from the 1700s.

Just a few feet away, a jockey scale chair, another of John Hadley’s father’s antiques from England, offers a place to rest or put on shoes.

“I’ve always tried to use common materials in a different way,” said 70-year-old John Hadley, a longtime architect who designed the home for himself and his wife, Linda, 71.

It’s easy to imagine being nestled here on a cold, blustery morning as well as on a beaming breezy, beachy afternoon with the windows thrown open.

Two newly upholstered chairs swivel 360-degrees to face either the living room or a trifold wall of windows that opens completely to the deck and sweeping views of Port Susan.

Linda Hadley said the delicate pairing of such soft interiors with the modern elements of the home was no accident.

“I wanted it to be comfortable looking, comfortable and inviting inside,” said Linda Hadley, who works as a real estate broker. “The exterior is a little scary to people.”

The Hadleys worked closely on the design, drawings and interiors with Pelletier + Schaar, an architecture and design firm in Stanwood.

Because it was a remodeling project, restricted by septic system regulations, the new house couldn’t go beyond the former home’s footprint.

John Hadley used high, maple plywood ceilings, numerous large windows, and even mirrors to create a light and bright feeling. He also added a 200-square-foot loft with an office upstairs.

“It’s small and compact, but you get the feeling of space,” he said of the home. “I think volume is equally important as square footage.”

It’s a big change for the couple who own a larger home in Los Angeles.

The Hadleys wanted a low-maintenance escape, hence the metal roof, aluminum horizontal siding, and slate flooring on the deck and main floor. Even the exterior window trim is metal with a permanent cranberry-red finish.

“I’m never going to have to paint,” John Hadley said.

The Hadleys worked with local craftsmen, including general contractor Jeff Holbeck with Holbeck Construction and Design of Camano Island and Rick Wesley with Wesweld Corp. of Stanwood, which provided custom metal work for the Hadleys’ furniture, canopies and other architectural accents.

David Pelletier with Pelletier + Schaar said John Hadley definitely wanted to break from the convention of a shingle-style beach house.

“He wants things to be different and creative. He just wanted to throw the standards out,” Pelletier said. “The best part was the fact that he was from L.A. He just brought all that energy with him.”

Pelletier said John Hadley’s design, especially the barnlike gambrel roof, reflects a respect for Camano Island’s rural heritage.

“Sometimes the homes that are way, way too modern can feel kind of cold. And homes that are way too traditional can feel kind of stodgy,” he said. “He’s actually trying to respect — at least in scale and form — the area.”

Such decisions aren’t always easy.

When choosing colors for the house, John Hadley found himself feeling a little conservative. When his wife and Pearl Schaar of Pelletier + Schaar suggested a dark gray wall surrounding the dining area, he reluctantly agreed.

“It’s absolutely sensational,” he said, noting how a white or colorful wall would have upstaged the view of the outdoors. “You see the outside more than the inside.”

Every evening, the dark wall blends with the dark of the outdoors. It’s also the perfect backdrop for one of the couple’s biggest splurges, a stunning glass bubble chandelier.

In the long term, the Hadleys plan to sell their home in the Pacific Palisades area of L.A. and live permanently overlooking Port Susan.

John Hadley said their economy-socked retirement accounts combined with California’s high taxes and the charms of Washington led them to make the change.

“I never thought I would wind up in the Northwest,” John Hadley said. “I love what I‘ve found here.”

Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com.

Mirror, mirror on the wall …

Longtime architect John Hadley used mirrors on the exterior and interior of his new Camano Island home.

Closet: In the master suite’s walk-in closet, Hadley used floor-to-ceiling mirrors as bookends on the two small walls in the long space, creating the feeling of an infinite hallway.

Near the ceiling: In the kitchen, Hadley put a long strip of mirror between the ceiling and the top of the cabinets. It reflects light from the south-facing view windows and gives a double image of the decorative bowls on top of the cabinets.

“It really fools your eye,” he said. “It gives your ceiling more depth.”

Front door: Mirrors also surround the exterior entry. They echo elements of the outdoors and provide guests a place to check their hair and makeup.

Garage: When building the home’s freestanding two-car garage, Hadley added strips of mirror as architectural accents to repeat the surrounding evergreen scenery and natural light.

Resources

Pelletier + Schaar, Stanwood: 360-629-5375, www.pelletierschaar.com

Holbeck Construction and Design, Camano Island: Jeff Holbeck, lholbeck@wavecable.com, 425-508-8661

Wesweld Corp., Stanwood: Custom architectural metal work, canopies, stairs, railings. Rick Wesley, wesweldcorp@verizon.net, 360-631-0993 or 360-629-3314.