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A river runs through it

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Deanne and Keith Kenneally and their two teenage daughters, Andie and Renée, were frequent visitors to Bend before moving there in 2008 after purchasing a lot on a golf course. “We’ve been traveling here since our kids were young,” says Deanne. “It’s such a beautiful place, and we wanted a lifestyle change from the Bay Area.”

The family wanted a home that had office space, outdoor areas and a floor plan that would make it easy for the family to be together but would also create spaces for distinct activities. Most importantly, they wanted a contemporary design instead of traditional Pacific Northwest architecture. “We also wanted it to be low maintenance, not fussy and durable with first-quality materials,” says Deanne. “We didn’t want to worry about things failing.”

To plan the 5,400-square-foot home, they worked with designer Eric Meglasson and architect Peter Jahnke of Pique Collaborative in Bend, who specialize in designing innovative, contemporary homes. “We enjoy working with clients who are open to the design process and want to design something that’s specific to the site and that uses a lot of interesting materials,” says Meglasson. “That was one of the major attractions of this project, to build a family home that incorporated great design.”

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A dynamic mix of metal, concrete, glass and stucco creates the perfect frame for enjoying Central Oregon’s high-desert views.

The home’s windows were placed to ensure maximum light and maximum privacy. The siding is FunderMax, an engineered wood that stands up well to extreme weather.

Deanne and Keith Kenneally enjoy one of their home’s many outdoor spaces.

// Photos by Ty Milford

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{besps_c}0|01.jpg|Decks at different levels provide changing views of the home’s Central Oregon setting.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|02.jpg|White Voido chairs by Magis provide stylish seating off the formal living room..|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|03.jpg|A deck with stairs to the lawn extends the formal living room into the outdoors.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|04.jpg|The heated deck off the kitchen’s informal seating area makes it possible to enjoy the outdoors throughout most of the year.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|05.jpg|A water feature lined with river rock runs through the home’s courtyard.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|06.jpg|Comfortable seating and lots of space at the kitchen island make this part of the home family central.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|07.jpg|The dining room is a glass bridge between the kitchen area and the formal living room that appears to float above the water feature.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|08.jpg|The home’s interior windows have courtyard views.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|09.jpg|The placement of the solar tubes adds a design element that also increases energy efficiency.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|10.jpg|A short bridge from the house leads to shared office space with large windows that provide mountain views.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|11.jpg|Keith Kenneally rakes the bocce ball court in preparation for a game.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|12.jpg|Keith Kenneally takes his turn watched by daughter Reneé and his wife, Deanne, while his older daughter, Andie, plays volleyball with her Summit High “Storm” teammates.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|13.jpg|The proximity of the bocce ball court to the volleyball court makes it easy to switch between games.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|14.jpg|Andie Kenneally enjoys an afternoon of volleyball.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|15.jpg|Andie Kenneally (left) and Taylor Pierce work on their net game.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|16.jpg|Hannah Harrer prepares to make a return.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|17.jpg|Taylor Pierce prepares to block Andie Kenneally’s shot while Laney Hayes (left) and Hannah Harrer stand at the ready.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|18.jpg|Reneé Kenneally scales the 16-foot climbing wall that leads to her bedroom.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}

{besps_c}0|19.jpg|A wide ledge at the top makes it easy to access the climbing wall and put on and remove the safety harness.|PHOTO TY MILFORD{/besps_c}






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A major design decision early on was to bury the large garage, which contained space for cars, sports gear, wine storage and a man cave for Keith, to give the exterior a clean, minimalist look. “Luckily, this lot was in a pumice zone and not filled with rocks like a lot of Bend, which meant it was possible to excavate deep enough so that the garage is not visible,” says builder James Fagan of Timberline Construction in Bend.

The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home, completed in 2010, is built around an indoor courtyard with a water feature. “Bend has a river that runs through it, so we thought we’d have one run through our house,” says Keith. The water feature begins at the home’s entrance, runs under the house, through the courtyard and down a small waterfall that flows under the dining room before entering a recirculating pond. A layer of river rock below the home’s staircase is visually aligned with the water feature to give the impression that it continues through the home.

Although Keith and Deanne, both entrepreneurs, work from home, they wanted to maintain a division between home and work. The home’s staircase leads to a door opening onto a small exposed bridge to the office. “Although it’s just a few yards, we wanted that separation,” says Keith. “When it’s cold, you still have to put on your coat to go to work.”

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A combined kitchen and casual living room leading to the outdoors creates a family-oriented area. The black leather furniture is by Calligaris.

Building the garage below the home’s sight line created the opportunity to landscape its roof. The rooftop is planted with yucca and natural grasses.

Keith walks across the exposed bridge that leads to the office workspace he shares with Deanne. “Not getting on a freeway to go to work has made our lives calmer,” says Deanne.

// Photos by Ty Milford

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The office windows look toward the mountains, and the office deck looks over the golf course and the garage’s rooftop garden. “The office is above the master bedroom,” says Deanne. “People often ask us why we didn’t flip them, but we wanted to have the view while we worked.”

To the right of the staircase, a hallway leads to their daughters’ bedrooms. In exchange for having the smaller bedroom, their younger daughter was allowed to choose a special feature for her room. She wanted stars on the ceiling. “We didn’t want to stick something up there,” says Deanne. “Our builder installed a system of little fiber-optic lights, and they’re controlled by a switch by the bed.”

To get back downstairs, you could take the stairs or you could scale the 16-foot rock wall — a design feature chosen by their daughters — and land in the family room. One side has comfortable Danish yellow leather furniture for watching television, and the other has an exercise area. Sliding glass doors lead to an outdoor area that includes a piece of lawn the size of a regulation volleyball court and a bocce ball court. Many of the home’s rooms have immediate access to the outdoors. “We wanted to have multiple ins and outs,” says Deanne. “That lets us enjoy the outdoors at different times of year and during different times of the day.”

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The formal living room is a contrast in light and dark. The white leather chair is by Fjords, and the table is by the Phillips Collection.

Deanne designed the glass dining table. “We didn’t want to put heavy furniture in this room,” she says. The chairs are by Magis, and the light fixtures are from Foscarini.

Renée demonstrates an alternate method of getting to her bedroom: climbing the rock wall to it.

// Photos by Ty Milford

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A horizontally paneled hallway cleverly conceals a series of doors, one of which leads to an orchid greenhouse that is fully integrated into the home. “I get the orchids from my clients,” she says. “In California I had a separate greenhouse, but I like having the space where I take care of the orchids to be part of the house.”

The hallway leads to the home’s center, a kitchen with a large island. “In California our house was play central,” says Keith. “We wanted a huge kitchen so people could help and easily flow in and out.” The adjacent seating area, furnished in black leather couches and chairs, opens onto a covered outdoor area with a fire pit.

The kitchen and the more formal living room are connected by the dining room, a suspended, enclosed glass bridge. The dining room’s etched-glass table and acrylic chairs were chosen specifically for the space. “Because the room is made of glass, we wanted it to be kind of a see-through room,” says Deanne.

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Keith and Deanne and friends Rich and Lynnanne Hayes socialize on the covered deck off the kitchen area.

The courtyard water feature ends just beyond the dining room, which  floats above it in a glass-enclosed bridge. To the right, the heated outdoor living area allows year-round enjoyment of the home’s setting.

Summit High School Storm varsity volleyball players (left to right) Hannah Harrer, Andie Kenneally, Taylor Pierce and Laney Hayes practice their technique in a side yard that doubles as a regulation-size volleyball court.

// Photos by Ty Milford

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For the Kenneallys, one of the best things about their home is that its design is a good fit for where and how they live. “While our home isn’t primarily wood and stone like a lot of homes here, our concrete, stucco and aluminum have turned out to be very functional in this environment,” says Keith. “We were able to have functionality and aesthetics and have that in a wonderful place to live.”

 

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The home’s decks and overhangs were designed to take into account bright sunshine. The white lounge chairs are by Magis.

The kitchen island is divided into a stainless-steel cooking area and a Caesarstone seating area. The cabinets are by Pedini.

To protect Deanne’s orchids from Bend’s harsh climate, a greenhouse connected to the home was a must-have feature.

// Photos by Ty Milford

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