They found the property in late 2020, which was quite the year as you know. Planning a new build can be fast if it’s in a development with a basic plan for a house that is easy to replicate. Therefore, permits are mostly signed off on (or so I’ve heard) but this house is near a river which means that a lot more engineering and permitting needed to happen to ensure that it is solid and can be flood-resistant. Not to mention all the pylons that were drilled into what felt like miles underground to find our firm foundation (sorry, neighbors – that was LOUD). So the planning took a year, at least. But honestly, the supply chain situation, the cost of wood for framing, and the scarcity of subcontractors or higher quotes kept my brother from wanting to move super fast. And without a rush to move in they intentionally waited for costs to come down and the supply chain to normalize (which wasn’t til 2023). I was not really involved in any of this – Annie Usher, the architect (who did an incredible job) and an engineer, and JP Macy of Sierra Custom Construction are to be credited for all this planning. It was 2 years from foundation pouring to move-in and that sounds super fast when you think of all the work that goes into a house of this scale and quality.
We wanted this to be a contemporary and yet cozy river house, similar to the mountain house, with more PNW vibes. Ken and his wife (and me, duh) love the mountain house because of its simplicity and ease to just exist there. So a lot of the choices were modeled after that (tons of wood, focus on nature, warm minimalism, views), with the hopes that the decor and styling will be more PNW-inspired. I’m excited to bring in cozy colors into the decor but we have a great neutral foundation to get going.
I’ve mentioned it before but it’s such a common question so here goes: I essentially struck a deal with my brother four years ago that I’d donate my time in exchange for the rights to document the design process here. This meant that they wouldn’t get full creative control (and neither might I, btw), but that I’d be able to help them land deals to bring down the cost of some materials, fixtures, and finishes. Meanwhile, my time is paid for by our brand partners, ad traffic on the blog, and more (read below). It can slow things down (some contracts take 2-3 months to solidify) but is worth it in the end to get the best of the best. This takes a huge amount of bravery and trust on my brother’s part because this project was still expensive, despite the (literal) material contributions of EHD, and so much of the process is out of his control. It’s 100% not normal but hopefully will pay off.
At this point, we’ve built incredible relationships with all kinds of partners (whom I love – it’s great when the people are as awesome as the product), and after years of collaboration, they’ve seen firsthand that EHD can create high quality photo and video assets. You often see these on the blog or on our stories, but partners often use these shots or clips on their own sites and in their own paid marketing. These partnerships often gain a second life through print media, like our Soake Pool partnership in this month’s Better Homes & Gardens.
So this time, I pitched certain projects and areas in the River House to a handful of our tried-and-true partners. Those spaces became my focus, but it also means that I wasn’t involved with some of the more granular renovation work like the electrical plan, window/door plan, HVAC, etc. Obviously, I want the entire house to be stunning from top to bottom so I was emotionally invested in all decisions, but there’s only so much you can do in a day:) Moving forward, my job is threefold. I’m going to make Ken and Katie happy (because it’s their house, and they are still paying for the labor – it’s not totally free for them), I’m going to put my own spin on the home (you’ll see it here on the blog), and eventually, the team and I will work with our partners to create whatever type of assets they need. Does this complicate things? SURE. Does it save them loads of money? YEP! I hope. I’m so used to the process that it doesn’t really phase me, but I know it frustrated others and this type of exchange definitely set us back time-wise.
