WOODINVILLE WINERY TASTING ROOM

Set within The Yard at Harvest - Woodinville's growing cluster of artisan producers and tasting rooms - the project asked how to create a serious wine environment without defaulting to the formality that often accompanies one. The tension between substance and accessibility shaped every decision, from the spatial organization to the material palette to the way natural light moves through the room across seasons.

A 16-foot white oak tasting bar anchors the space, substantial enough to give the room its center of gravity but restrained enough not to overwhelm it. Brass pendant lights overhead and brass-accented shelving behind the bar carry warmth through the interior without tipping into ornament. A glass-enclosed private cellar, visible from the main room, doubles as the project's most expressive design gesture - functional wine storage that gives guests something to look at and something to understand about the operation behind the bottle.

Wood trimmed openings on either side of the bar lead to smaller seating areas, breaking the open plan into zones that feel intimate without feeling enclosed. Steel-framed windows and exterior doors wrap the perimeter, drawing in the light that Woodinville delivers in abundance during the summer tasting season. The result is a room that holds its character across conditions - as legible on a gray November afternoon as on a long July evening when the line between inside and out begins to dissolve.