For Art's Sake -- Color And Life Fill A Bainbridge Creation

LITTLE REMAINS OF THE thriving Bainbridge Island shipbuilding community of Port Blakely that was established in 1864. Captain William Renton's mill there grew to become the largest in the world by the turn of the century, and the town had 2,000 residents. The mill closed its doors in the mid-1920s and its buildings were dismantled, recycled or destroyed. In its heyday from the 1880s to 1903, the Hall Brothers' Shipyard built 78 vessels, mostly schooners for hauling lumber, before relocating to Eagle Harbor in 1904.

But craftsmanship and the work of skilled artisans are still very much a part of this community. Just north of the former mill town, Michele and Kent Van Slyke have fashioned one of the most unusual, whimsical and colorful houses on the island. The property includes the house, a large studio facing a pond, and a small guest cottage carved out of an old garage.

French-born Michele is a self-taught artist and metal sculptor. Kent is a graphic designer and wood craftsman. They met in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was stationed and she was enrolled in an interpreter's program.

When they moved to the Northwest, they lived for a time in Bellevue but wanted more land. With limited funds, they focused on finding the land rather than the perfect house, and finally settled on two acres north of Port Blakely, with a house that had originally been a small cabin on a mill worker's farm on New Sweden Road. The old house had been so changed by additions and alterations that it had "no more style whatsoever," Michele said. "We transformed it, opened it up."

Then 11 years ago the house was destroyed by fire.

"It felt like our whole life had ended," Michele remembers. Kent likens it to losing a member of the family.

There was little question that they would rebuild, and rebuild they did, on its original foundation, doing the architectural design and interior decoration themselves. They lived in their studio - without indoor plumbing and kitchen - during the construction.

Their 2,400-square-foot, two-story cedar contemporary has high ceilings. The 1,600-square-foot main floor uses an open plan, with a mural wall on rollers and a movable shoji screen giving flexibility to the main room and shielding the bedroom and bathroom. Decks off three sides of the house allow free and easy access to the garden.

The design evolved naturally from their living habits.

"In all the houses we lived in," Kent said, "we always seemed to sleep in the living room or nearby. We want to be a part of the whole. We can't understand the idea of a master suite and the duplication of things. If you like the living room, then live in it. We participate within the living space. There is no one area we never use."

They were their own contractors and had few conflicts because they balanced their roles. Kent took responsibility for the exterior and worked the framers, electricians and plumbers. Their son, Tarquin, who builds and restores houses in Portland, helped with construction. Michele designed the interior, hung doors, installed glass block and tile, painted and eagerly anticipated how it would all look.

Michele would occasionally check up on the progress of the house, silently observing, then walking away without comment. Kent would have to reassure workers that she was not being critical. She wasn't even looking at what they were doing.

"I was putting in my furniture already," Michele laughs. "I could visualize every room the way it was in the end. I couldn't wait to see it happen. It's like a work of art. You visualize what you want to create, you put it on canvas or you make a sculpture. It's the same."

From the outset, for example, she envisioned the entrance hall with a bright orange wall and blue and white floor tiles. She had in mind a specific shade of blue which, after she had searched a number of tile outlets, finally materialized. So it went, and today vibrant wall colors greet guests at every turn.

Not all the daring accent colors were done at once. Some came after living with the house and starting to feel more connected to it. Then came decisions to paint a white living-room wall yellow, to paint the fireplace wall blue, to paint bedroom walls burnt orange and lilac.

"People are so afraid of color," Michele says. "So what? If you don't like it, it's not a big deal to remove.

"The house felt like an art project," she says.

She designed functional furniture and was eventually joined in building it by husband and children. Building furniture was nothing new for them. As early as the 1970s, when they moved to the area, "rather than buy furniture, we would buy tools, like table saws and planers."

Each piece of furniture is unique and made from scratch. Says Michele, "We will not make something that is already available. We want to do something that has not been made before."

Kent built all the windows and cabinetry in the house and crafted wood pieces that Michele designed and then painted. In the process, they created murals, hangings and accessories that are combined with the works of many Northwest craftsmen they know and whose work provides texture, pattern and more color.

In last spring's issue of Decorating magazine, Michele discussed their design as responding to their lifestyle and the decoration as complementing their personalities.

"I don't think I was born and raised to be whimsical," Michele said. "I had to teach myself to look at what is bright and beautiful."

Lawrence Kreisman is author of six publications on regional architecture and historic preservation. He writes regularly for Pacific Magazine. Greg Gilbert is a Seattle Times photographer. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Open to view

The home of Kent and Michele Van Slyke is one of several historic and contemporary residences and gardens included in the Bainbridge Island Homes and Gardens tour offered by the Seattle Architectural Foundation as part of its 1997 Viewpoints tour program. To be placed on the mailing list for the upcoming season, call 667-9186.

Northwest designer craftsmen Michele Van Slyke is like many craftspeople who work largely alone, but seek contact with a community that understands and appreciates creative vision, process and art. She is a member of an organization formed in 1955 to foster excellence of design and craftsmanship in the arts, Northwest Designer Craftsmen (NWDC). It has grown to 160 juried members living in five Northwestern states and working professionally in all materials. The organization promotes hand-crafted traditions and the talent that is represented in the community. Membership gives artists the opportunity to meet with people in the field, share experiences, keep abreast of current activities and exhibitions, learn about newly emerging techniques, and advocate for the arts. Artisans interested in learning about NWDC should contact Gloria Crouse, membership chair, (360) 491-1980.