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Kippen House Chicken Coops Make Backyard Baryards Modern
A Seattle architect has invented a chic coop perfect for urban backyards.
This article originally appeared in the June 2011 issue of Seattle magazine.
The shabby chicken coops of Old McDonald’s farm might look out of place in the city, but thanks to architect Traci Fontyn, owner and founder of Bothell’s Kippen House chicken coops (kippenhouse.com), urban dwellers can still enjoy fresh, organic eggs from their own small lots. These cool coops combine chicken housing with human gardening for a fully sustainable system that not only looks sleek (we love the modern, Scandinavian design), but is simple to maintain. Standard coops ($875 fully installed) are 3 feet by 6 feet 7 inches by 4 feet, and made from outdoor-tough cedar, local fir and pine. (Custom-designed coops are also available.) Each includes space for a garden (on the roof of the coop or as a vertical garden down the side), wall panels made from your choice of material (wood or wire), and a locked nesting box to keep those eggs safe. The best part? The self-sustaining mini ecosystem created by the design: The garden feeds the chickens, the chicken manure helps the garden grow and—provided you feed and water them like a good farmer should—both the garden and the chickens will feed you, too.
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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
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…
Noir Lux Lights Up Fourth Avenue
The Seattle candle brand’s new two-level pop-up brings workshops and community gatherings downtown through September.
It’s often said that good things come in threes, and for Colina Bruce, founder of the lifestyle and home fragrance brand Noir Lux, that’s certainly proving true. With a flagship shop in Belltown and an outpost in Ballard, Bruce is rounding out a Noir Lux trio with the opening of the Noir Lux Collective on…
Better Together: This Take on Co-Housing Emphasizes Quality and Community
The Seattle project presents an out-of-the-box model, where investors are also residents, and the design focuses on longevity and tenant retention—not profit.
Growing up in rural Detroit, Chad Dale spent many after-school and weekend hours playing with neighborhood kids in an open lot near his house. It’s an experience he always hoped his children would have someday, but by the time he became a father in Seattle, land was at a premium: either already developed or prohibitively…