Ten years ago, Melissa Milewski drove 80 miles from Portland to Klickitat, Washington, to see a 12-acre parcel of land. Accessed by a winding two-lane highway, the property was thick with wild apple trees, sharp-smelling firs, and giant oaks that practically begged for a rope swing. “We’ve both always loved the Northwest,” says Melissa, whose husband, Anthony, grew up in nearby Kennewick. He had been raised reeling in salmon and bass from the very river that ran next to the property—the Klickitat. As Melissa puts it, “basically every childhood photo of Anthony with his dad had a fish in it.” The couple had been living abroad and thinking of having kids, yet they were far from putting down roots. The purchase of the land—even though they were years from saving enough to build—was their way of notching out a lasting home base that could later be passed down for generations. Patience, trust, the ability to solve design issues long-distance: That’s how this family compound came together. Through a series of late-night phone calls over the next two years, Anthony and his father, vocational high school construction- instructor Tony Milewski, crafted the initial footprint of a cabin that eventually evolved into two separate structures. The first, a 1,500-square-foot main house with loft-like elements, would feature a massive fishing workshop and floors of gray poured concrete. The second, a 1,150-square-foot take on a woodsy guest cabin, would be tucked nearby along a rocky trail to the river. Then, three years ago, the father-son team took their plans from drawing to reality. “They framed and enclosed both houses, which I thought was impressive,” says Melissa. “At that point, I realized we needed help.”
Building and construction by Heith England, owner of Sustain Interiors.