Dan Klaue had a heck of a real estate agent. Every foray to look for property was accompanied by brochures, detailed listings, and maps with the day's route planned and potential houses circled. Yet after Dan had seen more than 50 properties, his search was still fruitless. Quite casually, he took matters into his own hands.

"He was the best Realtor anybody could ever have," assures Dan. "But one day as we were driving around, I started thumbing through the listing book, and this one photo just popped out. He hadn't taken me there because he was sure I wouldn't like it. I had to talk him into showing it to me."

Sure enough, the minute they drove up, Dan knew he was home. "I thought, this is it!" He smiles. "In a way, that's how my life has always been—gut-level things just sort of turn out. Maybe they're meant to be."

What really attracted Dan was the location, which provided the perfect antidote to the hectic pace of his work as owner of two Expressions furniture stores. The property is a peaceable 2 acres with plenty of trees, views of the Olympic Mountain range, and access to his favorite pastimes—sea kayaking, waterskiing, and biking. Best of all, it is on idyllic Bainbridge Island, located 30 minutes west of downtown by way of a soothing ferry ride across Puget Sound—certainly one of the more relaxing commuting options anywhere in the country.

The house that came with this scenic property, though, was not yet perfect. It was a pastiche of previous dreams never completely realized. The original structure—a one-story log home built from a kit in 1979—had been reinvented in the 1980s by a couple who added walls and created a second level, trying to give the house a Scandinavian style. When he made the decision to buy, Dan had only a rough idea of the considerable amount of work yet to be done.

"Let's just say that, from what I could tell, the bones were here," he says. "It was white walls and wallboard. There were no details or fixtures.

"Architectural design, however, has always been a love of mine. As time went by, I began to visualize the changes that were necessary."

First on the list was the cramped 10x12-foot kitchen. "It was awful," says Dan. "There was really no thought to the layout—the fridge was sitting in the middle of the room. The cabinets were prefab oak that had been painted white, but the grain was still showing through." With the help of kitchen designer Nancy Fortner, a new kitchen emerged from the shell of the previous one.

"Dan had very specific ideas about how he wanted the space to work and what the cabinets would look like," Fortner says. "We didn't take the kitchen and make it a different shape; we took the existing space and made it work." Fortner reconfigured the layout of the appliances—particularly the stove, which had blocked the doorway when it was opened—and oriented the kitchen toward the dining room for entertaining. Granite countertops and sleek fir cabinets made by local craftsman Art Grice add natural colors and textures, making the space a satisfying blend of contemporary and rustic.

Dan's love for the rustic influenced plans for the rest of the house, as well. The changes were profound, but they also required a subtle understanding of the space. Although he wanted to add a river-rock fireplace to the living room, Dan couldn't quite picture such an imposing element in such a confined area. He worked with architect Priscilla Zimmerman to develop a creative solution—a small room addition that would bump out 6 feet, forming a cozy inglenook in the Arts and Crafts tradition.

"I'm a big fireplace person," says Zimmerman, and "the inglenook just made it that much more inventive."

In true renovation fashion, however, the solution to one problem created another. Removing a window and opening up the wall for the nook revealed a large load-bearing girder, so the plan needed further adjustments: The beam was incorporated as part of a frame for the inglenook passageway. Flanked by decorative, nonsupporting columns, the frame displays the inglenook like a piece of fine art.

"I love that fireplace," Dan says. "It looks as if it's always been there."

A new bay window in the dining room, opposite the living-room fireplace, establishes visual harmony and lets more light into the interiors. Bumped out 3 feet, the bay offers an inviting window seat filled with cushions. The renovation also created a continuity of style throughout the house. Motifs that the previous owners had established on the main floor, such as cedar tongue-and-groove ceilings, were repeated in the master bedroom and bath.

With his focus on renovation—and on the joys of life on Bainbridge Island—Dan had lived in the house for years with only a sofa, a bed, and a dining table. Interior designer Barbara Rostad changed all that, invigorating the interiors with unexpected character. The finished rooms, furnished with an eclectic mix of cherished antiques, rich earth tones, and custom fixtures, have the warmth and personality Dan remembers from the homes of a favorite aunt.

"Dan's a bit quirky," says Rostad, "but so am I. We're both avid antiques collectors, and it was fun working together. We started with things he already had, some rugs and antiques from his family, then began embellishing. Those collections gave the house its basic personality. From there, it was like layering one treasure after another, building it and making it rich and beautiful.

"It seemed almost a contest at times to see who could find the most fun thing first," she recalls. "I would sometimes call him from a shop about some treasure he needed to check out right away—wonderful tramp art, and mirrors and boxes that would fill out his collections and could add even more warmth to his home."

The eclectic results suit Dan perfectly. "I'm pretty down-to-earth," he says. "I like things that are fun and spontaneous and a bit on the edge. I like having things around that have meaning and are special to me."

Although Dan swears that months of living amid the dust and tarpaulins of a construction site have made him swear off renovations, he truly appreciates the process.

"I admire all the people who worked here," he says. "I enjoyed all the camaraderie and watching the house evolve. There are some really neat, talented people living here on the island."

Text: John Riha

Photography: Bill Holt

Production: Trish Maharam

Architecture: Priscilla Zimmerman, Zimmerman Architecture

Interior Design: Barbara Rostad, Ch踠Motif

Kitchen Design: Nancy Fortner