Budget Breakdown: First Came the Gear Loft. Then Came the $1M Washington Home

ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN DWELL ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2026

BY STACEY MCLACHLAN

Second Gear / Photo by Benj Drummond

Leslie Garrard and Heidi Durham partnered with Johnston Architects in 2019 to build a hyperfunctional storage structure for skis and paddleboards, Gear Loft. It then shaped the design for the main residence, Second Gear.

‘"We took a lot of cues for the main house from things we worked out in the gear loft," Mary [Johnston] says. Warm plywood walls, durable enough to hang heavy equipment from hooks and screws, made the transition from cabin to full-time home. "It’s like a real older sibling to that original building," she adds. "A little more refined, a little more mature, but it still has that family resemblance."‘

Read more at about the design process and budget breakdown at Dwell.