Skip to content

Seattle Culture

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

Prairie Townhome Companions

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

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…

Gables Queen Anne

Gables Queen Anne

Images courtesy of Gables Queen Anne Awaiting you in the heart of Queen Anne is the inspired lifestyle of Gables Queen Anne with unparalleled views and most importantly, a community created for you. Imagine yourself living in this upscale space with all the conveniences you need within walking distance. Our community provides well-designed high-end finishes…

Publisher's Note: The Beauty Of A Second Home

Publisher’s Note: The Beauty Of A Second Home

A place to relax, refresh, and a solid investment

Nobel prize Literature Laureate Paul Thomas Mann had the right idea about a change in scenery when he said: “We know full well that the insertion of new habits or the changing of old ones is the only way to preserve life, to renew our sense of time, to rejuvenate, intensify, and retard our experience…