Skip to content

Home Design Secrets: Top Tips from Seattle’s Experts

Seattle’s top designers on how to get the home you love

By By Jennifer McCullum with Sheila Cain, Brigitte Long and Lauren Mang October 17, 2016

Dynamic Decor Dramatic contrasts in color and pattern infuse this Bellevue living room by Brio Design with a bright energy that supplements the natural light in the space

This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.

Whether you’re a longtime homeowner or just signed the lease to your first apartment, transforming any space from an address to a personal abode can be daunting. In many areas of the Pacific Northwest, there are also the particular challenges of light, space and yes—gray— that interior designers must contend with. To help, we reached out to the city’s experts for advice on everything from maximizing daylight to making your space more eco-friendly.

They shared their secrets for turning any house, on any budget, into a dream home.

LIGHTING

Illuminating Ideas for Interior Design

The Right Shade of White for Every Room

The ABCs of LEDs

Seven Lamps We Love Right Now

KITCHENS

Tips and Tricks to Brighten Your Northwest Kitchen

Four Great Kitchen Style Ideas

GREEN DESIGN

The Styles of Green Building

ROOFTOP DESIGN

The Call for a Practical Rooftop Living Space

HOME ORGANIZATION

Melissa Michaels on Simplifying and Organizing

Nine Principles of Feng Shui That Bring Balance to Your Home

Rebecca West on How Happy Starts at Home

Rebecca West’s Essentials for Containing Clutter

DIGITAL DESIGN

Two Local Design Sites With Great Redecorating Ideas

 

Follow Us

Coasting Into Calm

Coasting Into Calm

After purchasing a weather-worn, ant-infested cabin on an Oregon beach, a Seattle couple hires a regional team to transform it into a stylish weekend retreat.

When architect Andrew Montgomery first pulled up to his clients’ house in Arch Cape, Oregon, there were logs in the driveway, courtesy of the sizable swells that come with the coast’s king tides. At just 28 feet above sea level and as close as you can get to the water without being on the beach,…

Blueprints for Building Community

Blueprints for Building Community

After tragedy struck a local restaurateur family, one of their daughters stepped in to complete the design for her brother’s unfinished home.

Although he was just 35 when a heart attack took his life, Khoa Pham’s imprint on Seattle’s international district was such that the city quickly designated April 21 as a memorial day in his honor. With his rescue pitbull, Pinky, by his side, Pham cut a colorful figure through Little Saigon and became well known…

Tuft Stuff

Tuft Stuff

Tuft Ruft turns fiber art into a social, hands-on experience in Pioneer Square.

It all started with a bout of pandemic boredom. Like many, when COVID-19 hit, recent graduate Carrie Xiao found herself stuck at home, with extra time on her hands. One day, while scrolling social media, she discovered tufting: a textile manufacturing technique that creates a garment or rug with a “pile,” or raised surface. After…

Collaborating Cultures

Collaborating Cultures

Looking to build a home to welcome family and friends, one Kirkland couple turns to a sister to design a modern house with influences from the wife’s Thai heritage.

For many years, when homeowners planned to build or remodel, architects and designers advised them to think first and foremost about resale value. From the number of bedrooms to the materials, appliances, and finishes in the kitchens and bathrooms, homes were often treated solely as an investment, with an eye to future sales. In recent…