Garden Pavilion | Gary Shoemaker and Ninebark Design Build

This copper, glass and cedar structure sits in a Seattle backyard. The owners were outgrowing their small house but didn’t want to leave the neighborhood. A relative, the principal of New York studio Gary Shoemaker Architects, produced a conceptual design for a stand-alone “garden pavilion” that could serve as a music studio, guest house, home office and general family room.

Liking the idea of a flexible-use space separated from the main house, the owners hired local firm Ninebark Design Build to make it a reality. The pavilion has a 12′ by 25′ (3.66 m by 7.62 m) footprint with a double-height main room and a full bathroom to one side. The tall bank of windows keeps the interior bright on Seattle’s many overcast days. Reclaimed wood rafters span the ceiling overhead while underfoot is a heat tile floor.

In one change from the initial design (see the floor plan in the gallery), Ninebark replaced the work counter in the main room with a thinner shelving unit, allowing a tiny kitchenette to go where the closet is shown in the floor plan. If this were being used as a full-time home, most people would want a bigger kitchen, but for now it is sufficient for storing drinks and preparing snacks. In a nice detail, a soap dish was cast right into the concrete countertop.

A custom-made aluminum and wood rolling ladder gives access to a small loft that the owners use as an office. When guests are staying in the pavilion, they sleep on the convertible couch on the ground level.

Click a thumbnail to view a larger photo, then click on the photo to advance to the next one.

Photographs by Aaron Leitz, except where noted, courtesy of Ninebark Design Build.

Text copyright 2015 SmallHouseBliss. All Rights Reserved.