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Photo by Rafael Soldi Photography
A new home in Seattle’s Mt. Baker neighborhood from Best Practice Architecture dubbed ‘Lil Shingle’ was completed earlier this year at 2,617 square feet.
The home, an early-1950s vestige that was salvaged after falling into a state of considerable disrepair, derives its name from the custom-made scalloped cedar facade shingles featured in the new design. Its past degradation had earned it the dubious moniker “Slanty Shanty.”
Best Practice says only the walls of the basement foundation could be repurposed for the rebuild, which replicated its layout, pitched roof, fenestration, and building footprint while adding a small (52-square-foot) mud room through construction.
A list of delicate interventions includes repositioning the home’s interior staircase, which has been rotated 90 degrees to allow for the insertion of a U-shaped kitchen into the plan. Vaulted ceilings were also added to the design to grant a sense of spaciousness inside, and a new fireplace made from green glazed bricks serves as the focal point.
In the end, this transformation affords the owner couple the opportunity to continue using their downstairs as either a rental unit or an ADU for older family members. A full bathroom with a kitchenette and two bedrooms completed the basement. The owner’s daughter and her partner provided a finishing touch with the incorporation of their stained glass window designs.
Speaking about their work, Best Practice says their plan was “never to maximize lot coverage or square footage but to thoughtfully enhance what was already there,” while they “prioritized strategic structural changes, preserving the idiosyncrasies that made the house special.”
Best Practice, which describes itself as a “nimble-minded design-intensive architecture firm” was founded in 2011 by Ian Butcher, Kailin Gregga, and Kip Katich and won the Emerging Firm Award from the AIA Northwest and Pacific Regions in 2019.
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