For golfers, a short walk to the first tee is motivation enough to live on or near a golf course. But even those who don’t know the difference between a wedge and a driver happily pay a premium for the park-like view (without the crowds, noise and parking issues associated with the real thing), acres…

Summer is officially in full swing, which means it’s high time for barbecues, s’mores near the firepit, breezy gatherings on the terrace and daytime picnics that transition into nighttime fireworks-watching parties. These nine to-die-for homes in and around Seattle (corralled courtesy of Seattle-based Porch.com), have their entertaining space designs down to a rarefied art. And…

Tackling a bathroom renovation? Want to see what your neighbor did with hers—and what she paid? Sign up for the Eastlake-based home improvement site Porch.com, the brainchild of CEO Matt Ehrlichman, to search a database of more than 1.5 million professionals—plumbers, carpenters, interior decorators—to find the right person to take on your task. In grand…

When designer Beth Dotolo, co-owner of Ballard firm Pulp Design Studios, known for its richly layered and sophisticated style, proposed that most of the walls—and some ceilings, too—inside Geoff and Audrey Kozu’s stately Queen Anne abode be festooned with patterned wall coverings, the couple didn’t bat an eye. “They were fearless—a designer’s dream,” Dotolo says….

Spruce up the living room with the sturdy Fuller tree stump table made of Douglas Fir ($925–$1,050) from Seattle furniture maker Meyer Wells. This reclaimed wonder sports a top that’s been scorched using the Japanese charring technique shou sugi ban, which creates a rot-resistant charcoal barrier and intensifies the grain details on the stump’s surface,…

If you see yourself living in elevated environs, mingling with the wrens and swinging with the sparrows, a tree house might just be your bag. Pete Nelson, tree house designer, builder, owner of Fall City-based Nelson Treehouse and Supply and host of Animal Planet’s television show Treehouse Masters, has penned his sixth book on the…

!–paging_filter–pYou know that you’re in prime waterfront country when otter invasion is a common event.brbr“Living on the water is something that you really can’t plan for or know what to expect,” says the homeowner Leslie with a laugh. “At high tide, we have an otter that’s coming up and ruining our landscaping.” Along with some…

!–paging_filter–pA friend recently raved about how installing shelves in her living room totally revolutionized her whole house. With a place for all her book, knick-knacks and other small pieces of décor, her home was suddenly clutter-free, serene and totally organized./ppIf cabinetry would do wonders for you like it did for my friend, swing by a…