Seattle Culture
These Homes Offer the Best PNW Views
For $3 million-plus, these Bellevue, Laurelhurst and West Seattle homes deliver on the views
By Shannon O'Leary July 17, 2019
This article originally appeared in the July 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the July 2019 issue. Click here to subscribe.
Water. Mountains. City. Take your pick, or take ’em all. Because, while we may have our urban issues (traffic), we are forever blessed with dwellings boasting some of the country’s very best views. This enviable situation is rightly hyped by condo marketers. But it would be hard to outdo (or out-view) the outlooks offered by these single-family homes for $3 million-plus.
Rudy Lopez
West Seattle
4721 51st Place SW
The Overview: This new five-bedroom, four-bath, Built Green 4-Star home has those fabled West Seattle views. Plus, it’s a walkable half-mile to The Junction and its vibrant mosh of great nosh (Husky Deli, a family-legacy business; Bakery Nouveau; Raccolto; and Ma‘ono) and shop spots (Click! Design that Fits, Easy Street Records, Pegasus Book Exchange). And, on Sundays, there’s all of the above and the West Seattle Farmers’ Market.
Inside and Out: Talk about a stop-and-stare street statement: Cubist forms of brilliant white architectural metal panels contrast with black HardiePanels, bronze window trim and a bold red 9-foot-tall front door. Inside, it’s all crisp and clean, beachy minimalism, with a wide-open main floor featuring sandy-hued wide-plank oak floors and a built-for-gathering kitchen, which includes Thermador refrigerator, double wall oven with warming drawer, two dishwashers and large walk-in pantry. Nothing rivals nature’s handiwork, however. The home’s water-facing side is all windows, with a Kebony wood deck and an adjoining backyard—all the better to take in the 270-degree, 24-hour, live-action slideshows of ferries gliding between Fauntleroy and Vashon Island, and spectacular sunsets over the Olympics. The master suite, accessed by a catwalk above the great room, provides astonishing views from its elevated soaking tub and star turns by Mount Rainier from its oversize tile shower. The solar-panel-ready rooftop, built for outdoor fun, is a guaranteed jaw-dropper with its unobstructed vistas of everything worth seeing.
The Details: $3.4 million • Built in 2018 • 4,227 square feet • $803.17 per square foot • 5 beds, 4 baths • Lot size .23 acre
Builder: ReModerned Homes
Listing Agent: Larissa Wilson, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate; 206.409.5962; larissawilson.com
Trees filter the views from this Bellevue home. Photo by Paul M. Gjording
Bellevue
9418 SE Fifth St.
The Overview: This four-bedroom and four-bath home comes with dreamy views of Lake Washington’s Meydenbauer Bay and downtown Bellevue. Less than a mile away lies Old Bellevue and its elegant spread of boutique shops and eateries (Bis on Main, Cantinetta), along with easy access to the newly opened Meydenbauer Bay Park, Bellevue Downtown Park and downtown Bellevue’s other amenities.
Inside and Out: Designed by renowned Pacific Northwest modernist architect Eric Cobb, this warmly mod composition in western red cedar, glass and concrete is set off by a waterfall entry, reflecting pool and lush forest canopy. The inside is woodsy, too: a modern open floor plan is brightly united by maple hardwoods and anigre wood veneer custom cabinetry. Sleek touches include a dramatic black steel fireplace surround and a kitchen dressed in black honed granite and professional-grade appliances (Wolf range, Bosch dishwasher). Views are maximized via window walls, decks right off the main floor (in Brazilian black slate) and master bedroom, and an eye-catching main staircase/floating sculpture. Extra-cool points: a commercial-grade auto shop/showroom with thoughtfully heated floors; and a “secret” room (accessed downstairs behind a sliding bookcase or from the kitchen via a nifty spiral staircase), pre-wired for a generator, that would make a fine wine cellar.
The Details: $3 million • Built in 2004 • 4,004 square feet • $749.25 per square foot • 4 beds, 4 baths • Lot size .37 acre
Architect: Eric Cobb, E. Cobb Architects
Listing Agents: Karl Lindor (206.890.8227), John Kritsonis (206.498.0288); kritsonislindor.com
Built in the 1940s, this Laurelhurst home sits along Lake Washington (Clarity Northwest)
Laurelhurst
3151 W Laurelhurst Drive NE
The Overview: This four-story, four-bedroom, three-bath house exemplifies that old-school, low-key Seattle waterfront-living aesthetic. It’s part of the Laurelhurst Beach Club development founded in 1923, nestled on the farther reaches of Webster Point. And if boating and taking in glowing displays of Lake Washington and the Olympics get old, the Union Bay Natural Area, University Village and Sand Point Grill are nearby.
Inside and Out: Built in 1940 by an architect as his own residence, this brick-and-clapboard home hasn’t been on the market since 1965 and has never been remodeled. Thus, the “build your dream home!” listing line is the tip-off that it might not be every buyer’s as-is dream. Still, its main level features a cozy cream and caramel palette, original hardwoods and a fireplace with a charming recessed mantel nook. It’s also lined with windows revealing knockout views and features a beckoning covered deck. (Another floor is devoted to a large art studio and kiln.) Outside, a grassy knoll gently unfurls to 40 feet of covetable low-bank private waterfront and a protective U-shaped dock—pretty priceless.
The Details: $3.5 million • Built in 1940 • 3,090 square feet • $1,133 per square foot • 4 beds, 3 baths • Lot size .36 acre
Architect: Unknown
Listing Agent: Kim O. Dales, Windermere Real Estate Company; 206.524.1100; kimodales.com
Editor’s Note: Homes shown may have been sold.