April 2021
Sorrento Hotel Gets a Huge Makeover
Local designers burnish the klondike–era Sorrento Hotel
More than 100 years after Seattle’s oldest continuously running hotel opened its doors, the Sorrento has a new look. Original guests—from Gold Rush millionaires and Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition attendees—treated the Italian Renaissance–inspired building on First Hill like their second residence. And the hotel-wide renovation embraces that spirit of a luxury home with a modern aesthetic, especially…
Orchid Studio: A Tiny Backyard Getaway
A Crown Hill couple plants a little dream house in their backyard
Fred Huntsman and Barb Roberts’ love for mid-century modern design had them considering leaving their 1929 Crown Hill house for a new place that would embody the clean simplicity and indoor/outdoor integration of the 1960s. “We were starting to get serious about it,” says Huntsman, an outpatient staffing supervisor at Harborview Medical Center. “We had…
Earthquake Panic, Parking Drama & More News
The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today
The Big One: Seen this New Yorker article posted on Facebook yet? Are you convinced you and everything you love will be reduced to rubble by The Earthquake to End All Earthquakes? Well, you’re not alone (Seriously, take a scroll through Twitter. Everyone’s terrified). Luckily, this Reddit AMA with Northwest seismology experts puts to rest…
What’s Wrong With This House: Light-filled Magnolia Abode
This hillside home in Magnolia has been on the market for 193 days. Why?
Each month, we crawl through real estate listings on various websites searching for homes–in all sorts of price points and locations–that for some reason, just haven’t found the right person or family to call their own. Sad. But why haven’t these seemingly lovely dwellings sold? A few months ago we featured this one (which shockingly…
Shen Zen Tea Syrups are a Summer Must
The syrups come in delicious flavors like vanilla mint cola and African ginger ale
I’m a soda seeker always on the lookout for crafty artisanal sodas with pure flavors. So imagine my surprise when I found carbonated nirvana at a tea stand inside the Fremont Sunday Market. My guru, James Chang of Shen Zen Tea, crafts tea syrups that, when blended with cold, sparkling water, make bubbly, highly quaffable…
Can Seattle Return to its Former Bike-Friendly Glory?
Making Seattle more bicycle-friendly is tougher than you might think
Anyone who negotiates Seattle on a regular basis asks at some point: Why can’t we just get around? It’s easy to blame geography—squeezed as Seattle is on a narrow, hilly hourglass isthmus surrounded by water—for our city’s transportation woes. But it’s much more complicated than that. By complicated I mean that some basic, and not…
Preppy and Proud: Tommy Bahama’s Bradley O’Brien
Tommy Bahama executive Bradley O’Brien talks East Coast convention out West
Bradley O’Brien held top roles at Sperry Top-Sider, Ralph Lauren, Lands’ End and Old Navy before joining the Tommy Bahama design and product development team last year as its executive vice president, but her fashion history started long before her impressive résumé. “My grandfather worked for Macy’s, and my dad worked at Joseph Magnin and…
Your Essential Sun-Safe Beauty Products
These locally available products will keep you sitting pretty in the summer sun
From pebbly beaches to sandy shores, it doesn’t matter where you throw down your towel—these products have you covered. Romarin French market basket ($40) from French Girl Organics (by appointment only), Georgetown, 5701 Third Ave. S; 206.948.6495; frenchcuisineandwinetours.com Linum Home Textiles herringbone striped Turkish pestemal towel ($34), only at Nordstrom, downtown, 500 Pine St.; 206.628.2111;…
Sci-Fi in Seattle: New Local Media Venture
Scout cofounder Berit Anderson answers a few questions about her new journalism venture
Berit Anderson stretched the frontiers of community-based journalism during her four-year tenure as managing editor of online journal Crosscut. With her new media company, she blows them into outer space. The member-supported website called Scout aims to provide a nuanced and constructive exploration of world-shaping tech developments—genetic augmentation, workplace automation, private space exploration and more—with…
Seattle Magazine’s Top Doctors 2015
The 459 best physicians in the Puget Sound region as chosen by their peers
Stories by Sally James, Amelia Apfel, Sheila Cain, Elsy Pawelak Niki StojnicFor 15 years, we have asked Seattle-area doctors this question: To whom would you send a loved one for medical care? And every year, more than 1,000 doctors have taken time out of their busy schedules to nominate the peers they trust and admire—initially…
Theo Chocolate launches tour for kiddos 4 to 7
Tour includes story time, learning and chocolate samples
In our house, chocolate is a food group. No, I’m serious. I have a 4-year-old who is The Most Picky Eater in the World. He currently lives on Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lara Bars, Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter sandwiches and Pediasure chocolate shakes. Being a good farm-to-table locavore mom (ok, except for the Pediasure), I…
8 Drop-In Sports to Play This Summer
13 Seattle-area gyms, rinks, and fields offer adult drop-in sports on the cheap
Do you fondly remember the days of aces and stuff blocks on your intramural college volleyball team? Did you once single-handedly vanquish your opponents in eighth grade P.E. pickleball? Maybe you’re curious to see if you can still hit a free throw or manage to put a little back spin on a ping pong serve….