Page 106 - Southern Oregon Magazine Winter 2018

welcome home | build

The Steele’s worked with Greenhammer, a Portland based design build f irm
specializing in high performance ecodesign, with a branch off ice in Talent.

The Steele’s residence is up the hill from the tasting room
and although built to LBC standards, it is not certified.
However, it does meet the Passive House standard, which
is European and the highest energy efficiency standard
in the world. Bill reiterates it’s again Barb’s vision “with
lots of black and white motif. The aesthetics are similar to
the tasting room, but with a different form and function.”
Down the long main hallway are stunning black walnut
cabinets built by William Olson in Ashland. “He went
to great pains,” says Bill, “as the grain of the wood is
matched from door to door so it flows.”
The house stays 68 degrees 24 hours a day and once the
tasting room is certified Bill can aggregate the meters,
which will take the house off the grid also. It’s a streamlined
design with a breezeway that attaches to a gym and pool.
There’s a small cottage for private guests. Large windows
open and pivot in with views toward both the vineyards
and the mountains. Cabinets allow for everything to be
hidden away because “Bill and Barb were just so tired of
knickknacks.” The space as Bill says, is “wide open and
dog friendly. They each have their own bed to sleep on.”

“The house is like the wines; the wines are softer, rounder,
nuanced wines. There are no elbows to them and that’s the
way the house is. It’s clean, softer, it’s rounder, there are
no elbows. There are no sharp edges.” Bill and Barbara
Stelle’s home

104 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | winter 2018