Concept, Design

53 Ford House is a new home for a young couple on a narrow, steep site in White Salmon, Washington. Listed by the county as unbuildable, the lot was hemmed in by a power line easement on one side and a sewer easement for the local high school on the other—leaving only a sliver of land available for construction. But with tenacity and careful design, a solution took shape.

The project is named for the rusted 1953 Ford Customline sedan discovered under thick brambles during site clearing—one of the site’s few original inhabitants. The resulting home consists of two simple rectangular volumes, each with a steep 12:12 pitched roof, clad in unfinished local cedar and topped with standing seam metal. Designed to weather into the landscape, the volumes are both modest and precise.

The primary structure includes a lofted, double-height living space with one bedroom, a bath, kitchen, laundry, and services below, and the primary bedroom and office tucked into the upper level. A detached ADU mirrors the form at a smaller scale, serving as a flexible guesthouse and second workspace. Between them, a shared deck connects interior and exterior life, extending toward gardens, a sauna, and covered outdoor rooms.

CREDITS

Design: Locus Studio
Interiors: Locus Studio and owners
Additional Documentation: Tristan Shepherd
Materials: Cedar, standing seam metal, CVG douglas fir, birch
Windows: Marvin