March/April 2025
Backpage: Sonic Gloom
Excitement about the SST fades over environmental, noise worries
The much-ballyhooed supersonic transport (SST) never got off the ground, and back in March 1968 Seattle magazine weighed in on common concerns that the plane would create a “sonic boom” that would harm the earth’s ozone layer. Boeing had won the federal government contract over Lockheed to develop the plane, which the magazine noted could…
Discovering the Hidden Treasures of Languedoc
For expert guidance to this magical corner of France, begin the journey at a wine shop in South Park
Last fall we attended a wine party in Quarante, a charming hamlet in the Languedoc region of southern France. The village was tiny. The house was anything but, with three stories, six bedrooms, a pool, and an old barn. A centuries-old olive tree observed the revelry from the interior courtyard, the wine flowed like water…
Where Function Meets Finesse
Without the use of a single brick, Little House turns the tables on the Big Bad Wolf.
Texas residents John and Julie Connor had spent many summers visiting family near Seabeck, an unincorporated waterfront village and former mill town in Kitsap County. They loved the wildness of the southern Hood Canal and imagined a small retreat here of their own, so they purchased a large lot with lush second-growth trees on a…
Ageless in Seattle: Trailblazing Through Time
Aging is a virtue. Here’s how to do it well.
What if everything you’ve been told about aging isn’t true? What if age isn’t something to endure or fear but a secret superpower waiting to be unlocked? Imagine a world where every birthday isn’t a reminder of limitations but a celebration of wisdom, vitality, and untapped potential. Welcome to Ageless in Seattle, a column, community,…
Clarity: Back to Where it All Began
Seattle is different than it once was. That doesn’t mean it’s worse.
I like to tell people that sports brought me to Seattle. This is technically correct: My first trip to the city was to watch a college basketball game. This was back in 1987, and I was 12 years old. The truth is that generosity is what got me here, though. My family lived in Southern…
Master of Transparency
Award-winning architect Eric Cobb’s work seamlessly meshes glass, space and light
Noted architect Eric Cobb is collaborating on a second-home project near The Gorge Amphitheatre with a former junior high school soccer teammate, embodying a classic Seattle story of connection. The new Cliffe Pointe at the Gorge project located within the Cave B Estate grounds features 60 second homes surrounded by vineyards, natural sage, and rolling…
Sandy Sanctuary
Mercer Island couple find bliss with a cabana on the beach
With 8,000 lakes, fifth most in the country, Washington is a happy hunting ground for waterfront lots. Highly popular Lake Chelan, the third-deepest lake in the United States, is not on the top of the list of affordable freshwater options, at least not anywhere near Chelan, where scarce waterfront residential lots start at $2 million….
The Space Arranger
Kyle Gaffney and SkB take a holistic approach to building design
To say that Kyle Gaffney backed into a career in architecture may be a bit exaggerated, but he did get a late start. Gaffney, a cofounder and principal at Seattle architecture firm SkB, suffered a devastating knee injury and lost a soccer scholarship to the University of Puget Sound. Instead of college he went to…
Nature Rx
Rediscover your health through these increasingly popular outdoor wellness hacks
It could have been the fact that I was lounging in a comfy recliner, staring out of the open-air room at the Four Seasons Resort Maui, in Hawaii, listening to birds chirping, surrounded by exotic plants and palm trees. Perhaps it was the calming outrigger canoe ride I had taken from the shores of Wailea…
Prairie Townhome Companions
Couple remakes Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired property
Place two architects, a hedgehog, and more than $100,000 under house arrest, and watch the magic unfold. Sandy Wolf founded Seattle’s Office of Ordinary Architecture in the belief that beauty is found in everyday objects. She and her husband — fellow architect Daniel Ash — were not disappointed in that regard in their long search…
Tide and True
How Dilip Wagle and Darshana Shanbhag found their dream second home on Bainbridge Island
By May 2022, Dilip Wagle and Darshana Shanbhag’s dream of retiring on the beach was dead in the water. The Bellevue couple had spent years searching the west-facing waterfront corridor from Bellingham to Oregon, but always found themselves a step behind the pandemic-induced buying frenzy. They were about to give up when they noticed a…
Grand Openings, Great Eats
New restaurants brings the flavor
While it’s true that Seattle’s restaurant-scape is still sleepily waking up from its long pandemic nap, exciting things are happening in the city’s culinary scene. These days, we’re seeing new tantalizing restaurant openings and food events pretty much every week. Here’s a heads-up on seven restaurant openings to load up your dining calendar. Ringo Curry…