July 2015
The Debate over a Pretty Lake on Snoqualmie Pass. Who’s Right?
With drought comes tough choices, and the argument over Lake Kachess hints at future battles
On this side of the mountains, we don’t think too much about water. Even with a dry winter and Governor Jay Inslee declaring this a drought year for the state, Seattle’s reservoirs are mostly full. Turn the tap and get all the water you want. But take Interstate 90 across the Cascades, and it’s a…
Tamara Codor’s Art Meets Home Decor
The Pioneer Square-based painter takes classical training to home decor
The spirit of the Renaissance hangs like gossamer on Tamara Codor’s art and furnishings, the legacy of time spent studying classical painting in the Loire Valley in her late teens. With business partner and furniture maker Sterling Voss, Codor creates decorative works, such as mirrors that reimagine 17th-century antiques (as seen in Bar Sajor) and…
Free Outdoor Music Events
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy at gratis outdoor music shows
Given the number of free outdoor music options in and around the city this month, it would be wise to keep a “go bag” at the ready—stocked with a picnic blanket, sunglasses, nonperishable snacks and a thermos full of refreshment—so you can run off to soak up sun and songs at the drop of a…
Kraken Congee: Your New Pioneer Square Pit Stop
Pioneer Square’s new lunch stop bowls us over with congee and pork buns
After securing funding on Restaurant Startup, a CNBC reality show, chefs Garrett Doherty and Shane Robinson were able to create a permanent home for their 2-year-old pop-up concept, Kraken Congee, in early spring. The chefs took over a basement space in Pioneer Square from the owners of Little Uncle, and the hidden place has “best-kept…
Floating in Luxury on Portage Bay
This contemporary Portage Bay houseboat features top-notch design and killer views
Peter Erickson knows houseboats. Founder of Northwest property development firm The Urban Fund, he has been a part of Lake Union’s historic houseboat community for more than 40 years, living with his wife and raising their two kids on a 1,400-square-foot property in Eastlake, as well as designing nine other Lake Union houseboats. In 2013,…
An Urban Oasis in Phinney Ridge
Seattle landscaper Scot Eckley creates a unique outdoor living space for a Phinney Ridge couple
After Jay and Katharine Petersen, an electrical engineer and a marketing consultant, respectively, finished building their contemporary-modern home on Phinney Ridge in 2013, they wanted to tackle the surrounding mismatched patches of yard—including a sloping, lumpy lawn. The couple brought in Seattle-based landscape designer Scot Eckley to help transform the hodgepodge into a reason to…
Queen Anne’s Pottery Princess
Mandy Shoger of Foxtail Pottery creates gorgeous clay dinnerware in Queen Anne
For potter Mandy Shoger, home is where the hollowware is. “Incorporating something handmade into your daily routine is so special,” says Shoger, who uses stoneware clay from Washington and Oregon and hand-throws custom dinnerware in her Queen Anne studio. “I think we’ve lost that in America: using products at home created by your own community.”…
The Coolest Handcrafted Furniture on Capitol Hill
Furniture company Brackish makes their items out of salvaged materials
Designers Andy Whitcomb and Forest Eckley are redefining the term “homemade” with their handcrafted furniture company, Brackish. Their made-to-order line, from bar carts to bookshelves, features wood and some metal salvaged from buildings that have been torn down blocks from their Capitol Hill studio. “It’s bittersweet because we hate seeing older buildings go, but love…
The Best Sushi Restaurants in Seattle
The raw truth about Seattle’s best sushi bars
BALLARDBilly Beach Sushi & Bar Happy hour reigns supreme at the “Beach,” off Market Street. Here a discounted menu runs until 8 p.m. in the bar and 7 p.m. in the restaurant every day, and Sundays boast an all-day happy hour, with rolls in the $5–$6 range and nigiri samplers from $7 to $14. These…
This Architectural Beauty Is Not Your Ordinary Vacation Home
Cascade Mountain home mixes green design with scenic backdrop
When Bill Broadhead and Julie McCoy found a piece of land just an hour and a half east of the city on Lake Cle Elum, they weren’t in the market for a mountain retreat. Broadhead was looking for a spot to build a snowmobile storage shed. But the site, in the Cascade Mountains near Roslyn,…
Chavez Brings Flavor to Capitol Hill
The new mexican restaurant on the Capitol Hill scene delivers an element of surprise
Maybe a street-level space in a boxy, newly constructed micro-apartment building isn’t the first place you’d think to go for some of the best tacos on Capitol Hill. But think again. Chávez, headed by chef Gabriel Chávez (late of Cantinetta), exceeds expectations on every level. The interior is glowing, lamplit and buzzy, with hand-painted Mexican…
Bicycles Galore: Three New Seattle Bike Outlets
From high end racing bikers to casual cyclists, Seattle bikers have something to celebrate
Cycling enthusiasts of all abilities can ride this month’s Tour de France mania at three new Seattle bike outlets. From high-end racing bikes to kitschy accoutrements, serious cyclists and casual bikers alike will find something to celebrate. Bonne chance, cyclistes! Hit Miir for bikes and bottles Photo Credit: Meredith Hunter Commuters with a conscience Seattle-based…