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…

When I moved into my house in leafy Ravenna back in 2008, I knew I would have my work cut out for me, literally. The backyard was large and woodsy, and would have been beautiful if it wasn’t overrun by two of Seattle’s most infamous invasives: Himalayan blackberry and English ivy. These plants, introduced here…

Summertime is high season for Seattle’s booming cruise business. Welcoming nearly 900,000 travelers each year, the city’s cruise terminals are the gateway for ocean adventures to Alaska and all Northwest waterways. Marvel at a majestic vessel from a vantage point at Smith Cove Park, and you’ll dream of hitting the high seas. Want to bring…

YOLO Colorhouse, Portland’s purveyors of pretty, nonpolluting paint, has created a new line of soft and snuggly organic fabrics just for life’s newcomers. The Sprout Collection ($36 per yard) features 100 percent organic cotton fabric boasting a 230-thread count that’s made in the U.S.A. using nontoxic, water-based inks. Even better, YOLO teamed up with craftsperson…