Remodel and Refresh Your Way into the Home of Your Dreams
Get inspired with homeowner success stories and expert tips
By Chelsea Lin and Jennifer Pinto January 2, 2019
This article originally appeared in the January 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the January 2019 issue, as part of the Remodel & Refresh cover story. Click here to subscribe.
Anyone who has driven Seattle’s residential streets and noticed how many are now lined with shiny new complexes and contemporary, boxy homes knows that Seattle is building like mad. But it’s not just new buildings going up—we’re also remodeling at an unprecedented rate. Maybe it’s the fact that the median home price, despite the recent flat-line, has risen to a point where it’s no longer tenable to trade up. Maybe it’s our collective love of all things HGTV. But according to the American Housing Survey by the U.S. Census, Seattle area homeowners have doubled the amount of money they’re spending on remodeling—both professional and D.I.Y. projects—in the last couple of years.
Sometimes those jobs are as simple as updating a room with a couple rolls of chic wallpaper; other times, homes are being taken down to the studs. A key word of wisdom from architect Henry Lo—one of the experts we polled for remodeling tips that you’ll find throughout the articles below: “Go in [to any remodeling project] knowing that you do not have enough money to do everything you want to do.”
Take a cue from our experts and homeowners featured in the articles below; we hope they’ll inspire you to turn your current home into your forever home.
This Wallingford Kitchen Remodel Lets the Sun Shine In
A Magnolia Home Refresh Without the Construction Mess
AIA Home of Distinction: Inside a View Ridge Midcentury Makeover
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Master of Transparency
Award-winning architect Eric Cobb’s work seamlessly meshes glass, space and light
Noted architect Eric Cobb is collaborating on a second-home project near The Gorge Amphitheatre with a former junior high school soccer teammate, embodying a classic Seattle story of connection. The new Cliffe Pointe at the Gorge project located within the Cave B Estate grounds features 60 second homes surrounded by vineyards, natural sage, and rolling…
Sandy Sanctuary
Mercer Island couple find bliss with a cabana on the beach
With 8,000 lakes, fifth most in the country, Washington is a happy hunting ground for waterfront lots. Highly popular Lake Chelan, the third-deepest lake in the United States, is not on the top of the list of affordable freshwater options, at least not anywhere near Chelan, where scarce waterfront residential lots start at $2 million….
The Space Arranger
Kyle Gaffney and SkB take a holistic approach to building design
To say that Kyle Gaffney backed into a career in architecture may be a bit exaggerated, but he did get a late start. Gaffney, a cofounder and principal at Seattle architecture firm SkB, suffered a devastating knee injury and lost a soccer scholarship to the University of Puget Sound. Instead of college he went to…
Prairie Townhome Companions
Couple remakes Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired property
Place two architects, a hedgehog, and more than $100,000 under house arrest, and watch the magic unfold. Sandy Wolf founded Seattle’s Office of Ordinary Architecture in the belief that beauty is found in everyday objects. She and her husband — fellow architect Daniel Ash — were not disappointed in that regard in their long search…