March 2016

A Look at Seattle's New 'Modern Home'

A Look at Seattle’s New ‘Modern Home’

Popping up as quickly as Craftsman knockoffs in the 2000s, contemporary homes are having a moment

Over the past decade, Seattle’s idea of the new home has shifted. Homeowners are trading in spacious front porches and ample front yards for rooftop decks and zero lot lines. Ornate cornices and elaborate trim work have given way to clean lines and simple details. In short, the ubiquitous Craftsman—even the supersize replicas that were…

How Four-Plexes Can be Good for the Neighborhood

How Four-Plexes Can be Good for the Neighborhood

The softer side of the new multiplex residences that dot Ballard

When Karen Lawson and Sebastian Wright were looking for a place to call home two years ago, the boxy four-plex a half-mile south of Ballard High School wasn’t even on their radar. “We had driven past it multiple times in the six months we were looking and didn’t once think of coming in,” says Lawson,…

What's it Like to Live in Microhousing?

What’s it Like to Live in Microhousing?

When it comes to living in a small space, it’s all about perspective

Roger valdez lives on the top floor of a multistory tower, with extensive views of the Olympics and the Seattle skyline, and located just blocks away from practically everything the city has to offer. One of the few things that sets this Capitol Hill resident’s space apart from the high-end condos surrounding it? It’s a…

9 Seattle Neighborhoods that are Hot Right Now

9 Seattle Neighborhoods that are Hot Right Now

Despite reports of the demise of Seattle-area neighborhoods, we found several that are thriving

Despite reports of the demise of Seattle neighborhoods, we found several in and around the city that are thriving. While some are in the thick of a major growth spurt, others are suddenly sleeper hits, in that sweet spot where expansion is imminent but a prime parking space can still be nabbed on the first…

Are We Losing our Religion? Searching for Spirituality in Seattle

Are We Losing our Religion? Searching for Spirituality in Seattle

We explore how yoga has become the new church, the legacy of Mark Driscoll and more

On Sunday morning, it’s time for yoga church. At 8 Limbs Yoga Center in West Seattle, 35–55 students attend a class called bhakti yoga, described by owner and studio director Anne Phyfe Palmer as having a “devotional, heart-centered” approach. At the studio’s flagship location on Capitol Hill, 25–40 people attend a similar class. Attendance numbers…

A Modern Renovation Retains this Tudor's Original Charm

A Modern Renovation Retains this Tudor’s Original Charm

A Queen Anne family’s home proves not everything is as it seems

Strolling past the 1930 Tudor Revival home on North Queen Anne, the property looks much like its neighboring houses built in the same era. According to the home’s owner, Michael Finch, that’s entirely the point. “I wanted to make sure it was a sleeper from the front,” Finch says. “I didn’t want people to see…

Seattle-based Market Fresh Fruit Will Deliver Fruit to Your Office

Seattle-based Market Fresh Fruit Will Deliver Fruit to Your Office

A new service brings healthy snacks to the (conference) table

It’s never going to be easy to turn down one of those brownies your coworker brought to the office or to resist a sweet treat from the vending machine down the hall, but your odds improve if there’s a healthy alternative close at hand. Market Fresh Fruit, a Seattle-based service, delivers 100 percent organic, locally…

A New Cheese Bar Opens on Capitol Hill

A New Cheese Bar Opens on Capitol Hill

Cheesemonger Sheri LaVigne unveils her Capitol Hill bar, where curds are king

When I told my friends about the new Culture Club Cheese Bar on Capitol Hill, their eyelids grew heavy and deep moans ensued. There is such ecstasy associated with cheese, really good stinky cheese, that it makes chocolate look like child’s play. Culture Club Cheese Bar owner Sheri LaVigne knows this. After nearly six years…

Where to Find Japanese Comfort Food and other Asian Delectables

Where to Find Japanese Comfort Food and other Asian Delectables

Yoshoku translates to delicious comfort-food dishes beyond noodles and sushi rolls

Sometimes when people talk about Americanized food from ethnic cultures—the chimichanga, General Tso’s chicken, etc.—there’s a kind of derogatory subtext that implies these dishes can’t possibly be tasty because they aren’t authentic (so not true). But Seattle’s current wave of yoshoku (a Japanese word referring to Asian-style interpretations of Western comfort food) restaurants turns this…

Cloudburst Brewing Pours Creative Beers in its Downtown Taproom

Cloudburst Brewing Pours Creative Beers in its Downtown Taproom

An Elysian alum’s new brewery is raining inspired, market-fresh beers

When the story broke in January 2015 that Anheuser-Busch had acquired the Elysian Brewing Company, one of Seattle’s oldest and best-loved craft breweries, beer lovers reacted like it was a death in the family. The sense of shock was even more pronounced among Elysian Brewing’s employees, who were unaware that getting gobbled up by the…

Fiddler Brings Traditional Irish Music to the Pacific Northwest

Fiddler Brings Traditional Irish Music to the Pacific Northwest

Fiddler Randal Bays has the luck—and talent—of the Irish

Fiddling for more than three decades, but with a musical career that spans over 50 years, Randal Bays has made a name for himself playing traditional Irish music in the Pacific Northwest and around the globe. “My fiddling extends into the misty past,” he says, laughing as he describes how he stumbled upon the genre…

Pigeon Toe Ceramics Partners Up With Midnight Collective Scents

Pigeon Toe Ceramics Partners Up With Midnight Collective Scents

Candles that smell good and can be repourposed

“I’m an eternal dabbler,” says Lisa Jones, creator of Portland ceramic studio Pigeon Toe Ceramics. “I’m always willing to take on a process I don’t know.” Jones dabbled in a new medium this past year with the launch of the studio’s first candle line. Porcelain clay bowls house soy wax candles with scents by Oregon-based…