Part of the problem is that "good design" today is so heavily influenced by MCM. To the baby boomers, that's their parents furniture. They like it about as much as you like Laura Ashley from the 80s.

I'm a retired baby boomer who likes mid-century modern. I would love to live in this beautiful house. Laura Ashley (which I liked for a while in the 80's) is now my idea of hell on earth.

Lets not generalize, please.

Love this - I wouldn't choose orange-red for my own sofa, but the style of the entire place has a very nice feeling and flow.

Actually, I'm a boomer ('57), and I like MCM. My parents' furniture was "Early American". (Think eagles and pineapples). I'd live in this Walker-designed home in a heartbeat.

Forget retirement, I wanna live there NOW! Love this!

Good lord, that is gorgeous.

Beautiful!

I'd be interested in how much that piece of property cost.

As lovely as this place is, I wonder how much he'll like living there in 15 years. It seems to me he's not really elderly yet. My mother, now in her late 80s, lived in her own home until a few years ago. She wanted to move to a retirement home to escape from cooking and cleaning, and enjoys the camaraderie there.

LOVE it - and I agree MidCent Mod was way too cool for their parents ;-) which were my grandparents - they had antique victorian and more traditional furnishings - keep in mind just because it's from the mid century doesn't mean it was "modern" then

How many people are living in homes reflecting today's modern design? Very few, i think. Those who do will try and stick with it, those who do not probably won't start doing it when they retire … My parents had some MCM stuff even though they couldn't afford to go all the way, and my mom, who died 87 years of age, had a light filled, contemporary place until she died. She even managed to take her style with her to the retirement home she spent the last few years in.

I love that cottage and am joining the queue of those who want it :-D

Catrin (author) here.

For those of you interested in cost:

According to Seattle Times, Walker said: "I've been looking at Eastsound," .... "Drew up a plan for four modular units in a condo group. They would be built simply, off-island, brought in in boxes. Each would be 900 square feet or under and between $350,000 and $375,000."

He didn't get any takers,,,, maybe y'all should move there!

I think we all agree that the cottage and views are gorgeous.

The reason that nursing homes are more "parking garage" like is that the elderly (the boomers aren't really there yet) need access to medical care and food/laundry/driving assistance.

Each has a place in our society, but these two ideas are for a very different group of people and serve very different goals.

The house design is great (one level, reasonably small), the problem is the remote location that seems desirable when you're 60 and utterly foolish when you're no longer able to drive. Once you can't drive, it looks like you're stuck in the boonies and dependent on others which is the last thing elderly people want.

Had he proposed his few small (yet overpriced) boxes in a central, walkable location close to groceries, doctors, parks, shopping, library, etc. he might have had some takers.

Love this!

This is the sort of house I want to build as my first home... not my last!!

He's on an island. He can't be far from very much and even so, at 72, I am sure he's considered all of the factors of age and probably either has a support system that he is happy to have assist him if needed. Not all elderly feel the need to be near others and in town. My parents are his age, live in the boonies and love it. It's exactly what they want where they want. I can't think of anywhere nicer to live out the rest of your life than in such a fantastic home in a peaceful, quiet, BEAUTIFUL place.

Thanks for the size and cost. I would prefer a place where I can walk or use public transportation, but this is the right idea for the living area. I love my small home where we have lived for 31 years, but it has a terrible walkscore. But, it's paid for.

Concrete floors? Concrete? A fall on concrete? For an elderly person? Bad idea.

Complaining about elders having no sense of design for their retirement choices is a bit cruel in an economy where many people don't have the money to retire comfortable, let alone in a fabulous $350,000 house.

I bet a lot of them would love prettier, more unique places - if they or their kids could afford them.

I'm a boomer and this cottage is totally my dream of good living. It can be done for less money depending on where you live.

And that $350K is just for the structure, no?

Not all elderly people want to be near others, but at some point, they made need to be. My grandparents-in-law are in their 90s and live in a small cabin about an hour away from their kids. Now that they can't drive, they're incredibly isolated. It's very hard on everyone - they can't do basic repairs to the house, they don't trust calling repair-people and can't take themselves to the doctor or grocery shopping. They don't want to live in a parking garage for old people, but I don't know how long my in-laws - who are closer in age to this architect - can keep up. This is a beautiful place to live, but it isn't really a viable alternative to a senior living facility.
And I'm not familiar with Orcas, but I know some people who vacation there. I don't think it is a self-sustaining island. I'd be surprised if driving weren't a necessity.
Also, I second the comment on the concrete floors.
The design is impeccable, but it isn't really a practical place to live out your last days. Unless you'd rather die somewhere stylish than live a few extra years with accessible care.

Orcas Island is in the San Juans. It is accessible by state ferry or private boat. A person could get on or off the island via light aircraft, I suppose, but I'd think that would be so costly that only those with exceptionally deep pockets or life-threatening emergencies would ever consider it.

Eastsound is a charming little town, with the emphasis on little.

Island living as it's done in the San Juans isn't for everybody, myself among them. But for those who can live as well without decent Chinese food at midnight and spur-of-the-moment nights out on the town, for those who prefer solitude over the hustle and bustle of city life, well, Orcas is a great place. It's kinda hard to get to and kinda hard to get away from, so that keeps the crowds down, especially during the wetter months.

As to babyboomers and MCM ... most of what we now call mid-century modern was just too "wild" (as they put it) to suit most grownups I knew back in the, well, mid-century. My mom was fondest of what she called "early American" furnishings. The irony is that she now lives in a modest but well-designed 1950s structure with expanses of window glass and blond veneers and a Roman brick interior wall with an elevated hearth and all these other features that leave the place just begging for MCM furnishings.

kind of want to move in there now, im in my early 20s. fantastic job.

$350k for something that looks like a glorified trailer house?

Sorry, I grew up in a trailer house and am running as far away as I can.

I agree with those who say that this is not for someone who is not very mobile, but it is lovely. And I get the point of those who say that retirement homes need to be accessible for elderly people--but I think his point is that design is not considered at all (which I think is totally valid) and everything LOOKS like a hospital, although it doesn't HAVE to.

BTW, I don't get this claim that baby boomers don't like MCM.My parents were/are baby boomers and had some stunning examples of danish MCM. They still like the style.

I agree with others who commented that he might think differently in 10-20 years. For example, my grandma at 72 was still a very vibrant woman, very involved with church and comminuty work, going on exotic vacation aroudnt he work with her husband, etc. By 82 she was slightly less active (no more traveling), but still was completely fine in her own condo (across town from her children), drove, got her own groceries, cleaned her place, had grandchildren come spend the night when they were little, etc. Now at almost 92, she had to sell her condo, has moved into an assisted living facility, and is in and out of the hospital (more in than out the last few months). It's only in the last year that things got bad; before that she always said that she'd rather die than ever move into an "old folks home", but now she's happy that it's there so that she can still maintain some quality of life while she's still with us.

Does it count as a cottage if it's several sizes larger than my house?

Anyway, it's absolutely beautiful.

JUST FABULOUS!!

ok. this is frustrating. what are the dimensions? ( i have no idea how to conceptualize '16-foot grid sized to fit on a flatbed truck.') what's the final square footage? i mean, to be able to fit two bathrooms into a house under 900 sq ft is quite a feat. I WANNA SEE A FLOOR PLAN! i also wonder how much it would cost to get him to design something for me. this is pretty much what i'd like my tiny house to be, except it's got to be right around 10x24.
sigh.

It looks to me, loislane, that the steel-framed main structure is 16 feet by 48 feet, in covered area, with another 16 feet by 8 feet of deck on each end. Add to that what looks like a bump-out (cantilevered?) on the side.

It seems, judging from the text in the Seattle Times story, that it has one bedroom.

My pal has a great idea that combines the best of both (I think): each couple or single buys a cottage in a courtyard cottages complex. We have many of them here in Sacramento. All tenants then chip in to have a nurse practitioner come by monthly, a cook biweekly, a housekeeper weekly, etc.

Alas, I fear this is a dream we won't realize.

Buying re-fab is supposed to lower the cost of construction. Had no takers because thats a lot of money for 900 sf.

I suspect you are entirely correct on that account, Stephanie.

Getting older doesn't mean you have to abandon your design and decor sensibilities and head for the nearest pastel-hued retirement community.

I'm glad he can afford to retire so stylishly.