Interior designer Heidi Caillier needed little direction on a new guesthouse project on Fox Island in Washington state. Caillier had already worked with the clients twice before, creating interiors for the young couple’s forever home on the property—a hilly tract with gorgeous views of the Puget Sound—and conceiving a luxe tasting room in Tacoma, Washington, to expand their family’s thriving wine business.
“They have always been wonderful clients,” Caillier says. “But after the first installation, they really began to trust me and give me free rein.” Design guardrails down, Caillier revved up dramatic elements that would have shocked less adventurous owners: A brooding all-black kitchen, mismatched artisan bath tiles, and discordant florals and plaids that somehow blend into balance.
“In this little space, you can go really bold,” one of the homeowners says. “Heidi was trying to find things that we maybe didn’t get to do in the main house where it would have felt like too much. We wanted a showstopper here, and she came through 100%.”
In the digital age, trends oversaturate in a matter of minutes. Eyes quickly become jaded. But Caillier’s work appears remarkably fresh—and timeless too. “We didn’t want anybody to know whether we built the house in 1952 or 2022,” the owner says. “My husband and I both love that moody, a little retro, a little vintage vibe. I chose to work with Heidi because there wasn’t a detail in any of her work that I didn’t fully fall in love with.”
Vintage lighting and furnishings keep Caillier’s aesthetic hard to pin down—or replicate—as does her innate restlessness. “I tend to get bored,” she says. “I love finding new textiles, new makers. I’m always on the hunt.” Caillier constantly scouts rare construction elements to define each project, like the intricately patterned tiles by Neisha Crosland for De Farranti that set the tone for the guesthouse bathrooms. “I am obsessed with the tile,” Caillier says. “The terra-cotta one I thought might be a little too out there for [the client], so I sent it to her and asked, ‘Would you ever go for this?’ She said, ‘Let’s design the bathroom around it.’”
Supply chain issues kept the order stuck in port for months, delaying construction. “I’m pretty sure our builder’s dad had to drive it out here,” the owner says. “Once it was all laid out in the guest room, my husband was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I don’t get it. There are so many colors.’” His skepticism only lasted until the installation. “As soon as he saw it up, he said, ‘This is so cool.’”
Visiting family, friends, and business associates will likely find it all just as pleasing. “Being in the wine business, the owners are constantly hosting events,” Caillier says. “Fox Island is decently remote. It’s not like you’re going to get in your car and drive two hours back to Seattle after having some wine. Now their reps can stay on site.”
Local zoning laws around accessory dwelling units capped the structure at just 1,250 square feet. “It was a challenge, fitting in two bedrooms, living and dining areas, and the kitchen,” says contractor Greg Zetterberg, who drew up the plans for the structure. (His brother’s company, Zetterberg Custom Homes, built it.) Initially, Zetterberg sketched out the guesthouse as a miniature replica of the primary residence. “I had designed more of an open space, like the main house,” he says. “Heidi, to her credit, came in and put arched openings between the rooms and changed the ceiling heights. So you just have a very intimate feel for that space, yet it doesn’t feel compartmentalized.”
The owner couldn’t be more thrilled with the results. “This is the coolest guesthouse I’ve ever seen,” she says. “My husband and I joke, ‘Let’s retire to the guesthouse.’ We’ll give the main house to the kids.”
