1889 Feb | March 2018

home + design
Andrew Pogue
FROM LEFT Tired of city living, Amy Staupe and Chris Roy bought a piece of land on the Kitsap Peninsula, then decided to put a modern, prefabricated home
on it. The centerpiece of the home is an oversized fireplace in the open-plan living space.
AMY STAUPE AND Chris Roy were tired of city
life. The longtime Los Angeles residents took an
eye-opening trip to New Zealand in 2009. While
there, Staupe said, “We realized there was a
different way to live.” The couple decided to trade
their city’s dense pollution and oppressive heat
for “seasons, trees and air that wasn’t chokingly
horrible.” Staupe also wanted more space for their
future family to roam. “I grew up in Minnesota
until I was 10,” she said. “I always envisioned
being able to provide that kind of childhood for
my children, and I just didn’t feel like that was
something we could do in Los Angeles.” Returning
from New Zealand, the question became: “Where
can we find that without leaving the country?”
In early 2010, the couple took a Valentine’s
getaway to Seattle. This became a scouting trip
when they saw a real estate listing for an available
lot on the Kitsap Peninsula, just a ferry ride away.
“We thought, while we’re up here, let’s just check it
out,” Staupe said. When they did, the nearly 4-acre
property nestled between Olalla and Port Orchard
exceeded their expectations. “It was like a picture
postcard of what we had always envisioned,”
Staupe said. They bought the land. Now it just
needed a house.
In the interim, the couple moved to
Seattle and settled into jobs—Staupe
works in marketing and Roy in user
experience—while they debated prefab
Andrew Pogue
“I grew up in Minnesota until I was 10. I always
envisioned being able to provide that kind of
childhood for my children, and I just didn’t feel like
that was something we could do in Los Angeles.”
—Amy Staupe
FEBRUARY | MARCH 2018 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 27