Skip to content

Home

Read More ›

Queer Eye Star Bobby Berk Showcases His Style in Newcastle

New residential development features Berk’s signature touches

Interior designer and Queer Eye host Bobby Berk took inspiration from the Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty when designing these new homes in Newcastle.
Interior designer and Queer Eye host Bobby Berk took inspiration from the Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty when designing these new homes in Newcastle.
Photo by Casey Broadwater / Tri Pointe Homes

The pandemic is still very much on Bobby Berk’s mind — and it’s changed how he thinks about home design.

You know him from the popular Netflix show Queer Eye, where he’s spent the last eight years transforming homes — and lives. Fans of the show know his expertise is in interior design. His sharp eye helped create the interior for Alterra, a new 62-home community in Newcastle, as part of his decade-long partnership with Tri Pointe Homes. 

A modern two-story house in Newcastle with a wood and stone exterior, large windows, a double garage, and a well-maintained lawn. Reminiscent of Bobby Berk’s designs on Queer Eye, it's nestled in a suburban area with trees in the background.
New luxury home at Alterra in Newcastle
All photos by ImageArts Productions / Tri Pointe Homes

 

“These homes are about more than just living — they’re designed to help you thrive,” Berk says. 

His goal is simple: create spaces that work for how families live today, especially after the pandemic. If your guest room doubling as an office isn’t cutting it anymore, Berk gets it. “So many people in Seattle work in tech, and hybrid work models are becoming the norm. You need an actual dedicated workspace, not just a guest room that doubles as an office,” says Berk, who won an Emmy during his time on Queer Eye. One of the most compelling features? A glass-enclosed office right off the living room. “You need to be able to see your kids, but you don’t want to hear them while you’re working.”

Modern hallway with a small round table holding a potted plant and books on the left, and a glass-fronted office space designed by Bobby Berk of Queer Eye on the right. Doorway leads to another room at the back.
The sleek, glass-walled offices designed by Berk let you get work done while keeping an eye on the action.

A modern residential interior designed by Bobby Berk, featuring a staircase with a black railing, a small office with a glass partition, and wooden flooring throughout the space. This Newcastle home embodies the sleek sophistication seen on Queer Eye.

Berk’s designs focus on mental health, using natural light and outdoor spaces. And forget the oversized, awkward great rooms from older dwellings. 

“There’s no need for these massive family rooms anymore. Instead, we focused on functional spaces like home offices and gyms,” he says. “We designed multiple outdoor areas in the homes, giving people options for shade or sun at different times of day.”

A man dressed in black sits casually on an outdoor patio chair, smiling. The patio, reminiscent of a Queer Eye makeover by Bobby Berk, features a coffee table with decorative lanterns and lush greenery surrounding the seating area.
The outdoor spaces were designed to catch light at different times of day.
Photo by Casey Broadwater / Tri Pointe Homes

Patio area with a small table and two chairs, adjacent to a sliding glass door. Extra seating reminiscent of Bobby Berk's designs features a set of chairs and a coffee table in a covered outdoor space. Grass yard in the foreground. Ideal for fans of Queer Eye-style makeovers right here in Newcastle!

A modern patio with black wicker furniture and beige cushions surrounds a rectangular cement coffee table. The patio, designed in true Bobby Berk style, features sliding glass doors, small bushes, and offers a partial view of the interior—perfect for your next Queer Eye-inspired makeover.

 

The homes range up to 4,200 square feet, with five to six bedrooms, and three to five baths. They start at $2 million, and buyers can customize just about everything. Berk even created a quiz to help them figure out their style before choosing from nearly a dozen of his curated collections, with options for finishes and furnishings. 

“We did the quiz because if you’re not in the design industry, it’s not something you’ve thought much about,” he says. “The things that make you happy outside your home are often the things that will make you happy inside your home.”

 

A modern, sunlit living room designed by Bobby Berk features two sofas facing a round wooden coffee table, a large TV above a fireplace, and a sliding door leading to an outdoor deck. This Newcastle-inspired space brings the charm of "Queer Eye" sophistication to your home.
The airy rooms bring in lots of natural light and use the colors and textures of the Pacific Northwest.

A modern kitchen and dining area, reminiscent of a Bobby Berk design from Queer Eye, features light wood cabinets, a large island with seating, stainless steel appliances, and a chandelier over a wooden table with six chairs.

A modern bedroom with a large bed, a wooden accent wall, and a round mirror. Styled by Bobby Berk from Queer Eye, it features a chandelier, carpet, bench, drawers, plants, and a sliding door leading to an adjacent room. Perfect for creating your own Newcastle-inspired sanctuary.

A modern bathroom inspired by Bobby Berk of Queer Eye features a freestanding bathtub, large windows, black and white checkered flooring, a glass-enclosed shower, and a small wooden side table. The space is well-lit with natural light.
The modern bathrooms are charming and bright.

Berk and Ken Krivanec, president of Tri Pointe Homes Washington, have been working together on this project for three years. Berk has been working with Tri Pointe — a Nevada-based homebuilder that operates in 11 states and the District of Columbia — for a decade. “Bobby’s influence is felt everywhere,” Krivanec says.

This is Berk’s third project with Tri Pointe Homes in the Puget Sound area, following collaborations in Kirkland and the Tehaleh neighborhood in Bonney Lake. Right now, two model homes are ready for viewing at Alterra, with four more under construction. Public tours of the model homes begin Sept. 21. More than 600 people are on the interest list.

Berk runs his own brand, including his lifestyle site. He also just released his first book, Right at Home: How Good Design Is Good for the Mind.

Article Brings Its Modern Furniture to the Bellevue Collection
Sponsored

Article Brings Its Modern Furniture to the Bellevue Collection

Images courtesy of Article. For over a decade, shopping at Article was completely online, and you could furnish your home without leaving the living room. The direct-to-consumer modern furniture brand built a loyal customer base in the Pacific Northwest by letting shoppers browse, order, and have products delivered to their doors without ever setting foot…

A San Juan Island Home for All Seasons

A San Juan Island Home for All Seasons

With an eye toward the future, Prentiss + Balance + Wickline helped two Seattle professionals design a house perfect for weekend getaways now—and permanent living during their post-retirement years.

It was early 2017 when a Seattle-based empty-nester couple started searching for a property in the San Juan Islands. They still had jobs in the city, but were nearing retirement and wanted a home they could use on weekends, and eventually settle in after they left the workforce. Initially, the two weren’t planning on a…

Can Alaska Kelp Help Washington Crops Beat the Heat?

Can Alaska Kelp Help Washington Crops Beat the Heat?

A Ketchikan company is working with WSU researchers to see whether its kelp-based biostimulant can help grapes and berries withstand environmental stress.

From the floatplane, reddish-brown kelp traces the edges of the small islands between Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island like brushstrokes on the surface of the water. Up close, on a rare 70-degree July day in Alaska, the kelp is glossy and beautiful, though the wind coming off the water makes it nearly impossible to…

PlantCon Is Coming for Seattle’s Windowsills

PlantCon Is Coming for Seattle’s Windowsills

The nation’s largest gathering for houseplant lovers makes its Pacific Northwest debut this August with 200 booths, hands-on workshops, and a DJ.

My house is full of plants, enough that I’ve lost count. Houseplants have the same suspicious math as tattoos: One is rarely the final number. I propagate cuttings in jars of water, regularly rearrange corners of the house in pursuit of better light, and like to imagine the entire collection is improving the air. That…