!–paging_filter–pEven interior designers can be surprised when it comes to home design. For instance, I continue to be amazed by how often the very basic element of flooring is routinely overlooked. Maybe it’s because people are so focused on what’s in front of them, rather than what’s underfoot, or because of the fear of a…

!–paging_filter–pFrom formal solariums in grand homes to small atrium add-ons, sunrooms are Seattle’s answer to the Southern-style screened-in porch. Set aside for everything from sleeping and dining to reading and playing, these many-windowed spaces bring the outside in and shed welcome light on the cold, damp days of January.nbsp; brbra href=”http://www.redfin.com/WA/Bainbridge-Island/10132-NE-Kitsap-St-98110/home…” target=”_blank”strongFort Ward, Bainbridge Island/strong/a…

Drama QueenFor the bold-minded, Ikea’s ornate oval Ung Drill mirror (above), $39.99, features a black, upscale antique-inspired style without the upscale antique price tag. We say, swap the basic over-the-sink mirror and make a statement with this in your master bath. 601 SW 41st St., Renton; 888.888.4532; ikea.com Flower, Flower on the WallWhere to place…

!–paging_filter–p”It was horrible.”brAlmost every time I would cook, I would say out loud: ‘I hate this kitchen. I hate this kitchen,’” recalls Lisa Richmond. “It was really closed off and tiny and chopped up and sad.” brbrThe situation was especially distressing considering that Richmond and husband Steve Burke are both avid home cooks, and Richmond…

!–paging_filter–pOpenness has its limits, or should have. It’s as true for strangers conducting cell phone chats on the street as for architects designing a kitchen.brbrSo when the owners of a 1905 house in Leschi decided to start fresh with a new home, they called Thomas Schaer of SHED Architecture Design. Employing downright forensic exactitude, he…

!–paging_filter–pAnyone who has admired a richly painted room in a design magazine has likely come across the name Farrow Ball. Established in Dorset, England, in 1946, this esteemed line of 132 high-quality and lushly pigmented paint colors is now available at Bellevue’s Table Top and Home, much to the delight of local décor addicts. “Farrow…

!–paging_filter–pGeorgetown-based Shannon Koszyk, best known for her eponymous line of religious iconographic jewelry beloved by rock stars and starlets alike (Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s Rooney Mara are fans), is about to see (or make) her name in lights. This October, the jeweler debuted a lighting collaboration with Atlanta-based home…

Most people wouldn’t call Seattle a prime location for growing plants native to South America. But try telling that to the leafy tamarillo tree (sometimes called a “tree tomato”) reaching up toward the glass roof of Carrie Rhodes’ pretty blue-and-green backyard greenhouse in Sand Point. The plant, with its egg-shaped red fruit, reminds Rhodes of…

!–paging_filter–pItching for some new home décor, but wary of your budget? Head to Bellevue on Saturday, January 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and perfect the art of haggling with a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/haystack-antiques“Haystack Antiques/a vendors, who will be ready to do business with all who dare to deal./p  

!–paging_filter–pTucked into a tree-lined block on Seattle’s First Hill, the English Tudor Stimson-Green Mansion (First Hill, 1204 Minor Ave.; 206.624.0474;a href=”http://www.stimsongreen.com” target=”_blank” stimsongreen.com/a) graces its neighborhood with a decidedly Downton Abbey-like style. Designed by noted Spokane architect Kirtland Cutter and completed in 1901, the mansion is one of the city’s few remaining grand urban residential…