Have you ever seen a great house in a magazine and fallen in love with it?
Ever wished you could get the floorplans and build a house just like it of your own?
That’s what the owners of this cottage on Bainbridge Island in Washington did when they saw Coastal Living magazine’s Idea House 2002.
Architect Chuck Dietsche designed the Idea House, which was built on the outer islands of North Carolina.
The homeowners obtained the plans and modified them a bit so the house would work for their family and on their lot.
They have now put their house on the market and sent me photos of it, so I thought it would be fun to compare some of them to the original Coastal Living house.
The Coastal Living Great Room
The Coastal Living Idea House was decorated by designer Linda Woodrum, who is well known for her work on HGTV Dream Homes over the years.
The Bainbridge Island Great Room
The homeowners say, “We love to entertain, and the Great Room is the ideal venue. Once a year we throw a big birthday party – and often have 50-60 people, yet the room holds them all and the huge kitchen and bar make it the perfect gathering place.”
The Coastal Living house had a screened porch off the kitchen.
In the Bainbridge house, they left the deck open for a clear view of the water outside as you can see below.
The Bainbridge Island Kitchen:
The homeowners say, “One of the best things about this house is that it’s so light and so warm. It faces south, which means the house and yard are flooded with light for most of the day. The large number of windows and their large size also makes the space so light, bright, and inviting.”
The more light, the better, when you live in the Pacific Northwest!
Thanks to the homeowners for letting me share their cottage with you.
For the listing photos and information, check the listing (sorry, it sold).
Love this! It is so open and bright! Love those tiered windows in the kitchen! Thanks for sharing!
.-= Jess @ Frugal with a Flourish´s last blog ..Redoing a Metal Dining Set – Beginners Guide =-.
This is gorgeous. They did a fabulous job!
.-= Beth@The Stories of A2Z´s last blog ..Mother’s Day Gift Ideas =-.
What a beautiful cottage. . . and a dream come true, it looks like! Stunning!
.-= Richella at Imparting Grace´s last blog ..Overwhelmed with gratitude =-.
What a view!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Dining Room =-.
Wow – they did an incredible job! I have always wanted to do the same thing, or at least just see what the floor plan looks like in case I ever wanted to build. It’s amazing to see people actually going through with the whole process!
.-= Sarah @ Dream In Domestic´s last blog ..Revamping Recipes: Tator Tot Hotdish =-.
Those kitchens are beautiful but the furniture was Nothing to look at. You just cant skimp on that part! I see homes that a are ugly but the decorating pulls it together, like my house for instants.
Love Linda Woodrum’s interiors in the Coastal Living house. Bainbridge Island interiors aren’t as inviting, but those views are fabulous.
Wow, that house is amazing! It was smart to leave the deck open. Those views are fabulous. It really is a great space for entertaining. I hope they have luck selling it!
.-= Kelli´s last blog ..Tuesday Truth #8 – Oww, my neck! =-.
I like the inspired one more than the idea one! The homeowners did a fabulous job!
.-= Emily@remodelingthislife´s last blog ..Does This Blog Make My Butt Look Big? =-.
I love this idea. It’s funny but I, for one, find the Bainbridge house much more comfortable and inviting. Maybe because it is cleaner and streamline and less cluttered. It goes well with the view and surroundings.
Julia, whenever a home has decided no window treatments, I am glued to find out more. Because what usually comes with that home is great views. So I was immediately wanting to find out more. Both of these homes are stunning! I loved the green painted cabinets in the idea home and the choices of furnishing more. the use of fabric to soften the space, which is usually needed when you don’t have window treatments. Like the white fabric Parker chairs, but what I went omg about was the BEDROOM! Did you see the bedroom in the idea house with the reading/relaxing nook. And they decided to ‘drape’ the bed. That bed and the walls and the nook. I fell in love with the bedroom.
Both of these houses are my cup of tea. But I am so obsessed right now with landscaping around a porch, especially a wrap around porch and when the house sets high up off the ground like mine, that I was a bit disappointed again, the lack of high plant useage. I have been pouring over photos of houses with deep porches and what use of plants. I know, I know, there are more things going on than plants, but after I finish the planting around my house, then I can focus again on the broader picture.
I love the Bainbridge fireplace mantel and their view is Gorgeous!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Mary Lake Thompson =-.
Ohhh this is so beautiful….Bainbridge Island is such a great place…this is my husband and my “Grown-up” vacationing place….Great House!!!
.-= Tracie´s last blog ..Earth Day….. =-.
Btw, big Home Depot ad still there.
Windows and paint can help make a great room spectacular. Well done!
.-= Sheila´s last blog ..It’s cold in here: Web site vs. website =-.
I’ve been up on the island a few times and it’s just amazing. I wish I could live there in one of these cottages!!!
.-= the BLAH BLAH BLAHger´s last blog ..A Darling and Flirty and Sparkly Apron =-.
Hi,
I enjoyed this a lot. What a great room!!! It came out so beautiful. Love all the light that comes through!! I can imagine great parties there.
Thank you for sharing.
Claudia
.-= [email protected]´s last blog ..It’s Monday and that means only 5 days left till Spring Break! =-.
How interesting to see the two versions side by side!! I love a good “beach” house, it is a dream of mine…I think I say that every time you post a beach house. Janell
Lovely houses! I think I would have to take some pieces from the inspiration and some from the homeowners house and put together the perfect space. Those views are incredible, they must really enjoy that deck!
I want this house! I have never visited that area of the country, but I am becoming convinced that I must go there. I love how green everything is.
.-= Nichole´s last blog ..Customer Service – the good, the bad and the why are you in business? =-.
What a unique and different color scheme to use for a coastal home! It looks lovely. So calm and warm.
Julia, I wanted to ask you to take a look at a post I just did on my cousin’s city loft remodel. It is a hip and modern space now that is gorgeous. It would make my day to have your input! 😉
Thank you!
https://www.mooreminutes.com/2010/04/apartment-therapy-feature-hip-and.html
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Apartment Therapy Feature: Hip and Modish Interior Design =-.
I live 20 minutes from Bainbridge, there are so many beautiful houses on the Island, it’s so fun being able to see the inside of this one!
.-= Lindsay´s last blog ..far away from where you are =-.
Yes, I could move right in. The colors and style are just so comfortable and approachable.
Pamela
.-= Pamela Rosenberg´s last blog ..Coming Up Next – My Take On Red =-.
So open and light!! I love that they used the plans, but tweaked the design to make it their own. 🙂
I LOVE that black cherry paint on the house! so gorgeous and unique!!
What a difference good design makes.
Simply beautiful! However, I can’t help but wonder why there is a patio set in the dining area….perhaps they will have the house empty when they show it or have it staged……
Ummmm I think you just posted my dream home! I have been hearing about this bainbridge island recently. Looks great to me! lol I would love to live on the water and it looks so cozy!!!
.-= Jen @ After The Alter´s last blog ..Where’d I go? =-.
Very beautiful. I think I could live there!
.-= Lesley @ TheDesignFile´s last blog ..Etsy pick: Modernizing the traditional quilt =-.
Great house. Bainbridge island is such a fun place to go to, especially since you get to take a ferry! Too bad I don’t have an extra $945,000!
When I have seen this kind of cottage from the outside for the first time, I thought it will have a lot of rooms, corridors and stairs… I was pleasantly surprised to see such a bright open space with a lot of day light coming in through the large, white coated windows. The very simple design of furniture and its placement in the interior makes the space wider but not empty… What a tremendous work!
Julie
.-= Julie´s last blog ..Winner of our Easter Koloring Kontest =-.
What a cozy nice home. I would love to have a vacation house like that. Why do things we want or need, have to be really expensive?
I’m about to build a cottage and hope to track down one of these plans. They are perfect. Add 2 master bedrooms and voila!
Thanks
Champe MyDesignGuide.com
I was just thinking that I don’t usually see such a rich red used in typical beach cottage decor. But, then, I realized that perhaps they wanted to bring the red exterior into play inside. You think? I did a post last year about Coastal Living’s Idea House on Galveston Island, just south of Houston. It was pretty fabulous! Thanks for sharing this one. best, -susan
.-= LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE´s last blog ..Tuscan Villa Show House =-.
I love Linda Woodrum’s work. I always love her rooms immediately, even before I read that she is the designer!
Very lovely! I really like open floor plans, and this house also looks so light and airy. It seems you could wake up each day feeling refreshed, in a home like this!
.-= Josanne´s last blog ..The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year =-.
These places are just grogeous! They are making me warm up to the idea of white walls 🙂
.-= Tamara´s last blog ..It’s a Dog’s Life! =-.
I live just below the southern tip of that island. It has a ton of beautiful houses. And those views are great, but there are even prettier ones in the area!
.-= Valerie´s last blog ..A Girl’s Best Friend =-.
the house is beautiful. the furniture is boring.
.-= mishelle´s last blog ..Kitchen and Family room brightened up! =-.
Oooohh, this is a really beautiful place. My absolute favorite part is the giant windows, all that natural light in the kitchen/eating area is divine!!
.-= Nancy@marcusdesign´s last blog ..{pretty packages + the designs they inspire} =-.
they have an fantastic job, i like it..:)
Last blog’s Prince ronel and iamronel
.-= ronel´s last blog ..My New Themes =-.
That is a gorgeous cottage. I love how open and light the whole place is.
Thank you for posting this 🙂
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..Front Page of Etsy? Can I get whoo-hoo? =-.
I love how many windows there are in the main room – plenty of natural light!!!
-Trish
.-= Trish @TheOldPostRoad´s last blog ..Florence Griswold House =-.
Great house. Love your site, but it’s a little annoying now that I have to “click to continue to site” to get past a bit Home Depot ad. However, I will do that because I love your site, but I’m not lovin’ Home Depot.
Hi Julia everything about the place is beautiful – I like open spaces and this one is perfect love the kitchen and the fireplace is very elegant looking thats it I’m movin….. Thanks Julia I was going to bed and not look at the comp. tonight but I just had to and now I’m going to have pleasant dreams…. wonderful post. Regards Esther from Sydney…
Very cool. I w0uld totally do that with HGTV’s Green home this year. Love all those big windows and I’m so jealous of their amazing view!
Just beautiful – love it.
.-= Liz@VioletPosy´s last blog ..Google Streetmap & History =-.
Our cottage was Country Living’s House of the Year in 1988. It looks almost identical on the outside but changed quite a bit inside. I keep meaning to send it in to CL and will someday.
So beautiful and airy. Anywhere you can open up the doors and see water, isn’t too bad of a deal 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Julia.
Best,
Robin
.-= Robin´s last blog ..Garbo and Gilbert =-.
Bainbridge Island is such a dreamy little place. I just love it. I can only imagine how much that house costs! It’s beautiful, and a good copy of the original!
I remember that being one of the first homes I’ve ever fallen in love with and looking back at it felt like meeting up with an old boyfriend unexpected! If anything, the new version, updated, is even more lovely and airy. *sigh* Dreamy!
Love the updated version!
I’m having kitchen/family room envy. What a great space!
.-= Sally´s last blog ..Psalm 143-8 =-.
I didn’t know much about Bainbridge Island until our company started shiping alot of cottage furniture there. It reminds me a lot of the Maine Coast were I live. I think I will have to plan a vacation out that way!