Mercer Island Residence

If you’re designing a home for a lover of swimming, what do you include? Well, if the Mercer Island Residence is anything to go by, you include three separate water features across the property and, truth be told, it looks fantastic so who are we to argue. The Mercer Island Residence has been designed by Garret Cord Werner and it is one of the most striking pieces of architecture we’ve seen in a while here at Coolector HQ.

The Mercer Island Residence is located, as the name suggests, on Mercer Island in the middle of Seattle’s Lake Washington and boasts glorious views out upon it. As mentioned, the owner of the property is an avid swimmer and water features heavily throughout the design of this contemporary piece of architecture. It has a reflective pond, a lap pool, and a jacuzzi dotted about its footprint and they all add significantly to the aesthetic appeal of the property.

Vast Property

Extremely grandiose in nature, the Mercer Island Residence has some 4,200-square-feet of living space and it was designed for a client who had a desire for a sanctuary within the city, one that delivered privacy to him but that also made the most of the property’s panoramic views of Lake Washington and the Olympics Mountains that stretch beyond. This three-bedroom home is laid out on two levels and has a contemporary vibe throughout its interior.

One of the most eye-catching features of the Mercer Island Residence is how it is traversed by a “spine” of water that divides the interior spaces and provides access to water to multiple different rooms in the home. There are two bridges, one covered and the other open to the elements, that span this divide and provide a compelling visual impact for anyone who visits the home for the first time. When driving up to the home, visitors pass by a reflective water feature that signals the entrance to the property.

The experience of walking up to and over water, both inside and outside of the home, delivers a relaxing and tranquil feeling that one rarely experiences inside a residential building and it’s clear to see that Garret Cord Werner have done a magnificent job of hitting their brief of making water a focal point of this majestic, modern home on Lake Washington. It has an interior bridge which is enclosed by glass and leads from the foyer to the main living area, an open-concept kitchen, living and dining room with wraparound glass walls that deliver the amazing views out onto the lake.

Superior Exterior

Just as impressive on the outside as it is on the inside, the Mercer Island Residence has a terrace to the east which lets the homeowner extend their living space outdoors when the weather is in good spirits. Garret Cord Werner are a studio that are synonymous with an ability to effortlessly blend outdoor and indoor living and they’ve accomplished this goal again with this supremely impressive property on Lake Washington.

An astounding piece of architecture that puts water front and centre of its design, the Mercer Island Residence from Garret Cord Werner is sure to impress anyone with a love of contemporary architecture and it has so many striking elements to its make up that it’s difficult to know where to begin in its praise. We can’t wait to see what else this talented studio comes up with in the rest of 2019 and beyond.

Leo Davie