Kelli Smith has worked on numerous important projects as an architect for Dykeman, an architecture and interior design firm in Everett.
Not only is she behind some of the most well-designed residences in Snohomish County, but she’s also had a hand in creating the look of many schools, banks, child-care centers, city halls and even the stylish coffee shop in the downtown branch of the Everett library.
But when it came time to create her own brand new home — something most architects only dream of — she knew she was in for the ultimate challenge.
“I thought long and hard about our patterns,” Smith said of her family, including her husband, Dan Rankin, and their children, Oliver, 11, and Ben, 8. “We don’t have a formal living room or anything like that because that’s just not our lifestyle.”
Standing in the 1,400-square-foot finished product — a warm, glowing urban loft tucked into a wooded hillside outside Darrington — it’s easy to see Smith was also concerned with the home’s place on the Earth.
Its roofline and footing follow the slope of the land so that as you walk up the main staircase, you are walking uphill and in line with the land.
Inside, stunning views of Whitehorse Mountain are easy to find from numerous points in the home, which feels more like a treehouse in the upper levels.
“We wanted to experience different parts of the outdoors in different parts of the house,” Smith said, adding that they intentionally put the open kitchen, dining and family room space in the vertical and horizontal center of the home. “It’s definitely the heart. It’s where we spend our time.”
Smith, 44, didn’t start out as an architect.
After graduating from Washington State University in 1986, she began working as an interior designer.
She went back to school, however, about four years later at the University of Washington for an architecture degree.
“I wanted to incorporate the interior and the exterior. They really all have to be a cohesive whole,” she said. “Doing just interior design, I didn’t have that ability to do all of that.”
With architecture, Smith found a more multidisciplinary approach to design.
“I love it,” she said. “You’re creating something tangible that people can move through and use and experience.”
Tim Twietmeyer, a principal architect and partner at Dykeman, said Smith’s combination of skills have made her an exceptional architect.
“She is one of the more sensitive architects I’ve ever dealt with in terms of environment and place,” Twietmeyer said. “I think one of the things about Frank Lloyd Wright is he understood where he was in the world and he made his buildings fit their place. I think she understands that. She understands the Northwest.”
Of course, designing a home with and for your spouse isn’t easy.
Rankin, Smith’s husband, said if he were the architect on their home he might have gone a more traditional route.
But he was pleasantly surprised during his first night in the new space.
“You always have those first-night jitters,” he said, adding that he happened to be all alone that night.
As he put his head to a pillow in their new bedroom, however, he found an incredible peace.
“I crawled into bed and I felt home. Immediately,” he said. “It was the most comfortable feeling.
“We ended up with a house that fits us perfectly.”
Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com
Kelli Smith
Firm: Dykeman, 1716 W. Marine View Drive, Everett; www.dykeman.net; 425-259-3161. Dykeman offers architectural and interior design services for commercial and residential clients.
Biggest influence: “I am always searching for the most direct response to a problem. I have probably been most influenced by vernacular architecture. I’m intrigued by the untrained approach, which I find often makes a more authentic connection to nature, culture and the environment.”
Approach to design: “I start the design process with two simultaneous and opposing approaches: I step back and take a global look at the problem, attempting to discern the most fundamental question. At the same time, I look very closely for specific patterns or details of the site that might inform the design and provide a connection between the building and the site.”
About this series: This is the third installment of a new Home &Garden series on local architects, featured on the fourth Thursday of every month for the next year. Do you know a great local architect? Contact reporter Sarah Jackson at 425-339-3037 or write sjackson@heraldnet.com.
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