The Stunning Results of a Decade-Long Renovation on Washington's Vashon Island (2024)

Practicality was the first reason restaurant owner-turned-dairy farmer Kurt Timmermeister was drawn to the 1880s log house he now calls home. A fixer-upper located on Washington's Vashon Island, it was a bargain compared to the other homes he'd been looking at in nearby Seattle. In time, the neglected structure and its 4 acres of farmland became a labor of love and, ultimately, a way of life.

Upon purchasing the property in 1992, Kurt's first order of business was to relocate the entire cabin so it didn't rest right on the property line. "It felt wrong for a structure this old to be so close to its neighbors," he says. "The move helped it feel set off, as it would have been originally." Kurt hired a crew to shift the structure back 100 feet and place it on a newly poured concrete foundation.

In this photo: An antique mahogany sideboard serves as a bar. To its left, Haley the dairy cow wanders in for happy hour.

When it came to restoring the home, Kurt relied on old photographs from the local historical society to stay true to the original 20-foot by 30-foot floor plan, with a living room and dining room downstairs, two bedrooms upstairs, and a tiny bathroom hidden below the staircase. Altogether the inside-and-out project took nearly 10 years (completed in 2002), largely due to budget. "The contractor would work for a couple of months and then hand me a whopping bill," Kurt says. "It would take me twice that long to pay it off."

In this photo: A mahogany table and bistro chair create a makeshift foyer at the opposite end of the living room.

Kurt outfitted (he's quick to avoid the word "decorate") the restored cabin with simple, understated pieces that felt in keeping with the historic structure. "Whether it was a new piece of furniture or a vintage area rug, I tried to pick things with a bit of humility and patina," he says.

In this photo: Four English engravings of farm animals (from Vashon Island thrift shop Granny's Attic) hang above a green mohair sofa that Kurt splurged on at a Seattle estate sale.

Altogether the inside-and-out project took nearly 10 years (completed in 2002), largely due to budget. "The contractor would work for a couple of months and then hand me a whopping bill," Kurt says. "It would take me twice that long to pay it off."

In this photo: To contrast with the raw wood paneling in most of the cabin, Kurt treated the dining room walls with a soft whitewash.

Wanting a large, chef-worthy kitchen but not wanting to disrupt the home's footprint to add one, Kurt opted to build a spacious, chef-worthy cookhouse in an outbuilding 30 feet from the cabin. Rounding out the overhaul were necessities such as replacing rotted logs, installing a new roof and gutters, and equipping the home with improved wiring, heating, and plumbing.

In this photo: Boston ivy covers the sides of the cookhouse, which adjoins a covered porch, where Kurt entertains in the summertime.

Wanting a large, chef-worthy kitchen but not wanting to disrupt the home's footprint to add one, Kurt opted to build a spacious, chef-worthy cookhouse in an outbuilding 30 feet from the cabin. Rounding out the overhaul were necessities such as replacing rotted logs, installing a new roof and gutters, and equipping the home with improved wiring, heating, and plumbing.

In this photo: The cookhouse's simple concrete walls link the modern appliances and the rustic surroundings.

Fortunately, Kurt's love for living on the land never wavered—in no small part thanks to large dinner parties held on the property during the renovation. "We would sit at long tables overlooking the grounds and eat meat and vegetables grown in that very spot," he explains. "I fell in love with the lifestyle."

In this photo: The Boston ivy charts its unpredictable course alongside the concrete walls of the cookhouse. The dining table, built from Douglas fir, is paired with mismatched French bistro chairs.

In fact, the dinners led him to do something he never intended when he bought a farm: become a full-time farmer. "I just got hooked on it," he says of his decision to sell his restaurant and buy 8 additional acres of adjoining property. While he continued to tend a vegetable garden and raise pigs and goats, he began to focus his efforts on Jersey cows and making cheese and ice cream from their milk supply. Today Kurt has a herd that's 16 strong, and his Kurtwood Farms dairy goods can be found in 36 grocery stores and 25 restaurants in the Seattle area.

In this photo: Kurt's thriving kitchen garden also features an ever-rotating assortment of native wildflowers.

Though the farm is now his place of business, Kurt considers the cabin itself an oasis and takes delight in the fact that people have lived in it continually for more than a century. "A lot of things have happened in this house that give it depth and texture," he says. "There are places you just naturally put your hand where the wood has worn down beautifully. You can see where people have walked the same paths over and over. There's a rough-hewn spirit you just wouldn't find in a modern house."

In this photo: Homeowner Kurt Timmermeister stands on his front porch as his cattle dog, Daisy, basks in the sunshine beside a McIntosh apple tree.