BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. — Renowned Northwest architect Bernie Baker has been designing custom homes for over 40 years. But his most personal project is the farmhouse he and his wife Linda bought in the early '80s on Bainbridge Island.
"We just wanted to have this countrified little place next to the city because we were working in architectural firms in Seattle and taking the ferry every day and we just wanted that country life," Baker said.
Over the decades, the couple made major improvements to the property - creating a space that respects the home site's past while adding present-day amenities.
"It was built by Captain Sunderland 1904," said Baker. "This is the original 120-year-old floor throughout the whole level. All the windows on that side of the house are the existing windows with most of them having their existing old float glass in it. The kitchen has a lot of special features in it. It's custom casework throughout. I designed and had all the hardware handcrafted. The glass that you see is green, it's all handmade glass from Pennsylvania. The top on the island is actually from one tree here on Bainbridge Island."
The second floor of the home is one giant bedroom and bath.
"The upstairs is one of the best places," said Baker. "You go up a narrow staircase and then boom, you're, the whole space is dedicated to sleeping personal space."
Another place to sleep is in the one-of-a-kind guest house.
"The tower form, it's sympathetic to an open water tower form there," said Baker. "The grandkids all love that tower. Any kids they have to sleep up there."
Some of the structures Baker designed and had built look as if they've been on site from the start.
"Everybody thinks that they were built at the same time. And that was the intent," said Baker. "The main inspiration was to get a really good studio. You have this incredible view overlooking a great place to work."
"When I walked on the property, I just went into awe," Ty Evans from Windermere Real Estate and the co-broker for the home said. "I haven't seen anything so beautiful, and a long, long time in selling real estate. When you can move into a house and it's done, and it's done in the taste and level that you know Bernie and Linda have placed this house, it's an extra bonus for purchasing a home."
Baker and his wife are ready for a new chapter in their lives, but they hope the future owners will cherish the home as much as they did.
"I want it to be somebody that has the same appreciation that we did." said Baker. "This is not just an ordinary home."
The Bainbridge Island compound is currently on the market for $1,948,000.
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