Seattle Culture
Vintage Glass Gardens’ Reimagined Silver Service is for the Birds
One-of-a-kind birdhouses serve a repurpose.
By Nia Martin July 27, 2017
This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
Not everyone can look at a vintage silver teapot and see the potential for something new. But Lake Forest Park–based Suzanne Quirk can—and did. The owner of Vintage Glass Gardens (pieces available at garden shows or by appointment) has put pieces from silver services and birdhouses together like peanut butter and jelly. Her one-of-a-kind birdhouses range from small to large ($75–$125), from sugar bowls to coffee urns, with teapots in the middle. Meant for smaller birds, such as chickadees and wrens, the birdhouses are designed by Quirk’s mother, Neoma Hoefle, and built and assembled by Quirk’s father, Dave. All the houses are cleaned, given drainage holes and sealed spouts so rain cannot enter—keeping our feathered friends comfortable and dry year-round.
Follow Us
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…
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…