Outward Looking: Hancock Fields in Methow Valley Home Magazine
/This article by Natalie Johnson appears in its entirety in the 2021 issue of Methow Valley Homes.
a heated window seat runs the length of the great room and gives visitors a front row seat to stunning views / photo by Ed sozinho
Pick a window, any window, at Joan Wellman and Tom Robinson’s Mazama home, and you’ll enjoy a stunning view.
Wellman and Robinson knew what they were looking for when they started house hunting.
”And this house wasn’t it,” Wellman said. “When we first looked at it, I just said ‘no’".”
While their first impression of the house wasn’t great, the spacious house on 30 acres started to grow on them.
”And then we came back and looked at it again and I said, ‘maybe,’” she said.
The site, adjacent to Lucky Jim Bluff on the valley floor, and the all-day natural lighting eventually won them over, along with helpful ideas from Johnston Architects.
“That started getting us more excited. And we’re really delighted with the outcome. We couldn’t be any happier,” Wellman said.
a wall between the dining and living rooms was knocked down and views were exposed in every direction through strategic window placement and indoor/outdoor connections / photo by ed sozinho
Wellman and Robinson lived in the Seattle area before their retirements, and vacationed at a Methow cabin since 2007. Now they have a small condo in the Seattle area but spend most of their time in the valley.
“It used to be that our vacation home was here, and now it’s the opposite,” Wellman said.
They decided early to buy an existing home and remodel rather than build a new house. The timeline was considerably shorter.
Johnston noted remodels generally cost less than construction of a new home. Johnston said his business in the past has only received a request to do a remodel every few years. In the past year, they’ve had three new requests.
However, that’s how their business was sustained when it was formed 30 years ago.
”Most of our work for the first year was remodeling little bungalows in our Seattle neighborhood. Our roots are in that kind of transformational effort that a remodel is,” said Johnston.
Thirty years after starting their business and being introduced to the Methow Valley, Ray and Mary Johnston also moved from Seattle to the Methow full-time this year.
“About 30 years ago we were introduced to the Methow Valley, and we loved it instantly…it was the beginning of a long love affair we’ve had with the place,” Johnston said.
the hancock fields residence takes advantage of the 30-acre site’s views and vistas / photo by ed sozinho