This article originally appeared on Houzz.com. Long commutes to Seattle were eating up time that the members of this family of four would have preferred to spend together. So they made a life-changing decision to trade home size for location, moving to a much smaller house in a walkable neighborhood downtown. The downsize meant they…

Local home improvement services platform Porch.com, which enables homeowners to find the right handyman, designer, landscaper, house cleaner etc., for their home-prettifying projects, has partnered with Boston-based online home decor shop Wayfair.com to implement its new Porch Retail Solution service across 15 U.S. markets, including the Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue metro area. The new service…

From lush evergreens to sparkling Puget Sound to, yes, skies that display every possible shade of gray, the Pacific Northwest is a uniquely beautiful environment to live in. These natural surroundings impact the decorative decisions we make within our homes, so we’ve broken down these regional design influences and matched them with our favorite stores…

This article originally appeared on Houzz.com. These Seattle homeowners once lived in a traditional home without a close connection to the outdoors; they dreamed of a house on Lake Washington with a view of Mount Rainier and indoor spaces that flowed outside. And now they have it. Architect John DeForest, project architect Ted Cameron, and…

This article originally appeared on Houzz.com. Your bedroom can be more than just a place to sleep. It can also be your inner sanctum, where you begin and end the day by reading, relaxing or just unwinding. If your bedroom needs more serenity and less drama, try these seven ideas to create the comfortable, restful…

This article originally appeared on Houzz.com. Whether you live in an urban area or a beach cottage on the coast, if your home is sited close to the street, landscaping the front yard can pose quite a challenge. Let these thoughtfully designed petite front yards inspire you to go beyond the typical lawn-plus-foundation-plantings combo, and…

This article originally appeared on Houzz.com. Is your living room functional but not as inviting as you’d like? Don’t fret. There are several simple ways to make it feel more like a room you actually want to hang out in. 1. Don’t make the TV your full-time focal point. Televisions, like smartphones, can deter conversation….

This article originally appeared on Houzz.com. Before Tyler Engle renovated the backyard of this Seattle home, the owners had two ways of reaching their house: climb the 30 or so steps from the street to their front door, or traverse the muddy slope from the back alley to the back door. Engle was hired to…

For years, the lots in the vicinity of Second Avenue and Pike Street have been little more than neglected corners eagerly passed by pedestrians as they make their way between Pike Place Market and Seattle’s downtown retail core. But last summer, Pioneer Square–based real estate firm Urban Visions broke ground on a 39-story, mixed-use apartment…

Those towering evergreens that surround the city sparked the lumber boom of the late 19th century and continue to draw lovers of the great outdoors today. But while the pines, spruces and firs that earned the Emerald City its nickname, the diversity of Seattle’s trees—both native and non-native species—add more than verdancy to the palette…

Strolling past the 1930 Tudor Revival home on North Queen Anne, the property looks much like its neighboring houses built in the same era. According to the home’s owner, Michael Finch, that’s entirely the point. “I wanted to make sure it was a sleeper from the front,” Finch says. “I didn’t want people to see…