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Natural Harmony: A custom house lets a Bellingham couple tune into nature, as well as their favorite pastimes
ON THIS DECEMBER morning in Bellingham, the surface of Lake Whatcom looks like matte stainless steel, the color only slightly darker than the milky gray expanse of Skv above. Wispy clouds are draped along the evergreen treetops. Errant raindrops scatter on bursts of wind. Jay and Debra Barnett's home, high up in a neighborhood on Squalicum Mountain and ten minutes from downtown captures the view and the mood perfectly. Such was the couple's wish: "Not a moody house" said Debra. "But a house with mood and character."
Previously, the couple had lived and worked in Portland, Oregon, since 2006. In 2017, their recruitment platform business, called Decision Toolbox was acquired, kicking off the next phase of their life plan: to buy some acreage and build a house. As longtime architecture lovers, the idea appealed because they'd built a custom house in Topanga Canvon in 1989, and it had been a fulfilling experience. They started scouting buildable Portland-area lots that were two acres or bigger, and signed on with architect Risa Bover. founder of Risa Bover Architecture.
But they weren't finding much until they decided to expand their search farther north to Bellingham. which appealed for its smaller size and slower pace. "I had been here in my early twenties, and the energy was incredible," said Debra. On a weekend revisiting the city, the couple toured sixteen lots in two days, and the one on Squalicum Mountain stood out: a remote twenty acres high up on the ridge with far-reaching lake views and no neighbors in sight.
