Above the tall Rumford fireplace hangs a wall sculpture of handmade paper and recycled items - from old piano wire to metal pipes - created by Bill Rockenbeck's father, Dave.

"The design evolved from, and is organized around, the family's many diverse activities — indoors and outdoors," says architect Rex Hohlbein. "There needed to be plenty of space for the extensive book collections, musical instruments, Laurie's quilting and cooking, Bill's gardening and pottery, and a full art room for Emma. Yet, at the same time, this is a real nesting family that required lots of cozy spaces."

One way Hohlbein made the large space seem more intimate was to create a long structure just 21 feet wide, nestled into the bottom of a hill. The result: big views with plenty of small spaces. You can look out the large, multi-paned window in the kitchen onto a thick forest, then turn around to see vibrant flower gardens outside the folding-glass door in the adjoining dining area. The visual interest continues with ceiling heights that vary from under 8 feet in the front entrance to soaring cathedral ceilings in the great room.

This is a home that breathes in the outdoors, and exhales its own strong life force. The kitchen/dining area opens generously onto an expansive patio, complete with a natural rock pond that separates the house from Bill's pottery studio. (He is a programmer at Microsoft by day.) Emma's fully equipped art room, which includes an entire magnetic wall for "refrigerator art," opens onto the family vegetable garden. Laurie's sewing room, in the upstairs "tree house," has windows on three sides with wide views of rolling hills and sheep pastures.

"We fell in love with the property's diverse wildlife habitats, and the house is designed to connect with the environment without being intrusive," says Bill, who spots a hummingbird, purple finch and blue jay while gazing out the mullioned windows in the great room. He encourages wildlife with birdfeeders, nesting blocks (for orchard mason bees that pollinate but don't sting), a salt lick for the resident deer his daughter knows by name and even a bat house in the barn. Rabbits and the occasional mountain beaver raid the garden.

The interior design combines old and new to pay homage to the family's legacy of artistic playfulness and fine craftsmanship. The fir floors and ceiling beams are recycled, as are the 20 radiators throughout the house. The furniture is a combination of Pennsylvania Dutch antiques and solid, hand-carved modern pieces destined to become family heirlooms. Many pieces have a family story, including a pie cupboard that's been in Bill's family for more than 100 years.

Above: The 4,000-square-foot Rockenbeck home is made to seem more intimate by creating a long, narrow structure nestled into the bottom of a hill.
Right: A pocket door separates the kitchen from the dining room. Walnut inlays frame hand-blown glass pieces made by Fremont Glass.

"There's a tradition in our Pennsylvania Dutch family of baking a different kind of pie for each guest, which is what we do at Thanksgiving and store them in the pie cabinet," says Laurie, who has baked as many as 10 different types of pies for the holiday feast. "Carrying on this family tradition gives us a real sense of connecting to the past."

Walk into the master bedroom and your eye is drawn to an antique pier glass with a marble stand handed down from Bill's family, and a wooden cradle crafted by Bill and Laurie's fathers. Open the customized Oregon walnut and ebony wardrobe and discover a hidden walk-in closet reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' classic tale of enchantment, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

A modern bronze statue rests on a Pennsylvania Dutch pie cupboard that's been in Bill's family for more than 100 years.

Emma's room inspires the flights of imagination that are every child's right. Laurie's dad carved the canopy bed frame and Laurie sewed the whimsical flowered covering. The dragonfly appliqués seem to be just waiting for you to turn your back so they can buzz off for an adventure in this fantasy room, which includes wooden toys made by her grandfathers and pastel flower throw rugs on the floor.

It's clear that imagination is a mainstay of entertainment for the Rockenbecks. The main floor houses two libraries off the great room. In one cozy alcove is a set of barrister shelves that Bill's family bought in the early 1900s to house an 1898 encyclopedia set that still rests there, along with antique books on spells and folk remedies and other rare volumes. The larger main library has book cases filled with sections on natural history, biographies, math, religion, science, history and children's books, many of which have been in both Laurie and Bill's families for generations. There are also shelves of poetry and fiction upstairs and fiction books in the basement recreation room.

The house is filled with music, from handmade tribal instruments to Laurie's grand piano that is the centerpiece of the great room. "Some of my favorite family memories involve music: the family gathered around the piano singing Christmas carols or Bill lulling Emma to sleep with the mountain dulcimer," says Laurie. Bill has also been known to crank out Led Zeppelin on his electric guitar, while Laurie prefers strumming folk songs on her acoustic guitar.

Laurie, board chairwoman for Three Cedars Waldorf School, is committed to making her home a reflection of her family's values. "We relegated the television to the basement and we haven't watched any commercial TV since Emma was an infant," she says. "Waldorf education is rooted in growing the whole child — body, mind and spirit — through imaginative play, the arts and lots of interaction with nature. We've tried to design our house so that we can live that philosophy."

Jennifer Haupt is a freelance writer based in Bellevue. Barry Wong is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.