When I first lived on Capitol Hill in the ’90s, I loved living within a short stroll of great movie theaters, coffee and any number of dimly lit bars that tended to me and my vintage-clad peers. But I truly fell for the Hill on a dusky fall run. A couple of wrong turns and…

Georgetown is a small neighborhood surrounded by a sea of industry. We’re like that tiny dust ball in Horton Hears a Who, easy to miss, but we are here! We know our neighbors, who become friends and then open a shop in a trailer or a yoga studio above a bar (in this case, the…

Queen Anne is much more than a 2.8-square-mile oasis of stately homes and century-old trees, good food and culture (especially when you count in Lower Queen Anne’s wealth of theaters, opera, ballet and Seattle International Film Festival’s year-round events)—all within walking distance of downtown. It’s a community of highly educated and engaged inhabitants who band…

My husband and I were DINKs when we landed in Phinneywood. We collected gardening tips from neighbors and enjoyed the lively bar and restaurant scene. After we had kids, we discovered preschool co-ops, the old-school metal slides outside the Phinney Neighborhood Center and family-friendly coffee shops. I’ve transformed even further under the downward-dog tutelage of…

I was lured to Burien by the incredible bang for my real estate buck, but what I fell in love with was the community’s no-nonsense, hardy attitude; the beautiful, secret stretches of Puget Sound waterfront; and a charming downtown strip that makes you feel like Marty McFly stepping out of his DeLorean into a Rockwellian…

Just as interior designer Leah Steen was winding up her job of freshening up Amanda Carr’s downtown condo, she got a call. “I said, ‘What’s up?’” Steen recalls. “And Amanda said: ‘Well, I have a new project for you: a nursery.’ She told me she was pregnant. It was all very surprising.” The tricky part…

In this issue of Northwest Home, we turn our focus to storage-smart furnishings—including a hiding-something coffee table—that will help put houses of any size into stylish order. Plus, our Home of the Month (tour it, 3/17), an elegant update of a mid-century mod waterfront home in West Seattle, boasts some inspiration-worthy custom casework. Finally, columnist…

Spring is nearly here. And just before the bulbs begin to pop from their flowerbeds outside, why not jump-start the season by inviting some eye-catching, timeless garden décor inside? An ideal place for inspiration is the heavenly, historic setting of Volunteer Park Conservatory (Capitol Hill, 1400 E Galer St.; 206.684.4743; volunteerparkconservatory.org). Its magnificent Victorian glasshouse, completed in 1912,…

It’s no surprise that Michael Marian, owner and lead builder at Marian Built (Ballard, 5410 28th Ave. NW; 206.328.2102; marianbuilt.com), became a found-things furniture designer. He demonstrated building skills even as a toddler and after getting a welder on his 16th birthday, his purposeful path was set. “My grandparents instilled in me a sense of not wasting things…

The latest issue of Northwest Home (found inside the January issue of Seattle magazine) showcases a bevy of hot kitchen islands (including cool custom works and in-store options.) Columnist John Stevens shows us how to create a swank speakeasy-style cocktail lounge at home. Plus, our Home of the Month, which stars an island stand-out wearing…

Cheryl Hughes, of HUGHES STUDIO ARCHITECTS (South Lake Union, 820 John St.; 206.264.1301; hughes-studio.com), is known for her user-friendly kitchen designs. And in her 17-plus years of residential practice, she has seen the kitchen island evolve from an oft uninspiring second thought to an aesthetically inviting workhorse that is the communal hub of a home. “The island…