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…

It seems counterintuitive, but restriction is often an architect’s ally.   While, surprisingly, bottomless budgets and acreage frequently lead to design flops, tight budgets and spaces, or other apparent limitations, often are the sparks for aesthetic inspiration. Such was the case for Leah Martin, owner of Seattle’s Verge Architecture & Design, when, in 2008, she…

There’s something deliciously secretive and sexy about speakeasies—those Prohibition-era liquor establishments that illegally catered to the 1920s and ’30s up-market, underground cocktailing crowd. Step into Seattle’s Canon Whiskey & Bitters Emporium (First Hill, 928 12th Ave.; 206.552.9755; canonseattle.com) and you’ll feel magically transported to a gloriously Gatsby-esque, swank urban saloon. Named “Canon” in reference to…

Finally, for longtime catalog and online fans, and those waiting for the “under construction” plywood to fall at University Village, Room & Board (University Village; 206.336.4676; roomandboard.com) has opened its doors here. It’s the first Pacific Northwest location for the Minnesota-based purveyor of classic contemporary furnishings, and it waited to take over a big spot…

When the couple first arrived from San Francisco in 1995 and moved into the 1910 Craftsman house set on a sizable corner of a quiet Greenwood street, they were renters with just one infant babe, Olivia. Flash forward a decade or so, and not only did Mindy Lehrman Cameron and Max Cameron now own that…

Decades ago, our parents and grandparents slept on mattresses stuffed with natural materials, such as feathers, natural latex from rubber trees, straw and wool. While modern polyurethane foam may add a certain bounce to our beds, it comes with trade-offs. Specifically, the chemicals used to improve foam performance or to make it flame retardant. Jackie…

After 20-plus years of revamping homes for clients, architect and former Seattleite Heather Johnston of Place Architects (West Vancouver, B.C.; 778.279.7274; placearchitects.com), decided to remake her own. The gem of a mid-century modern house that she shares with her husband, a software design engineer, in West Vancouver came with a great open floor plan, charming…

Persistence and timing finally landed Steven Hensel his dream dwelling on a lake. For years, the noted local interior designer and his partner of 23 years, Patrick Jennings, had been scouting Seattle’s shores for the perfect houseboat. “Whenever there was a flyer, or one for sale, we stopped,” says Hensel. “[But] you could spend a…

Never underestimate the value of a good friend, especially, when he’s your realtor.  Just ask Scott Erickson and Rodger Benson. On the hunt to move up from a Leschi townhouse to a full-size residence, they were continually being pitched one listing—a mid-century modern dwelling in Madison Park. “Our real estate agent, who’s a good friend…

Echoing the glitzy sleekness of the neighborhood itself is SLU’s hub of mod home décor shops, ranging from the locally owned Inform Interiors (now located in a larger location at Dexter Avenue N and Thomas Street), with its wide array of funky chairs, stools and metal tables, to the much ballyhooed West Elm, beckoning with…

Every corner of Eric Swenson and Holly Weese’s North Seattle yard harbors a carefully orchestrated surprise. There’s an iron chandelier hanging 60 feet up in a towering fir tree, and a small bog of carnivorous plants flanking a front walk. (Swenson, an avid gardener and the sole designer and chief laborer in the yard, likes…