Studio
Jun 2026 · 6 min
What a nine-year-old house teaches us
We returned to our very first residence nine years later to see how the concrete, the cedar, and the client had aged — the house had opinions.
Introduction
Our first residence turned nine this year. We asked the owners if we could spend a day walking through it with fresh eyes.
What We Found
The concrete spine had darkened exactly where hands and light had touched it most, a map of nine years of living we never could have drawn ourselves.
The cedar cladding we worried would silver unevenly had instead gone uniform — the one material decision we’d second-guessed turned out right.
What We Changed
We now spec every finish material against a nine-year mental model, not a photograph of day one.
A house isn’t finished at handover. That’s just the day it starts aging into itself.
Journal
Jun 2026 · 6 min
