PORTRAIT
Seattle | Portland

Ideally situated, the home overlooks Highland Drive, Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle. However, the homeowners realized that they weren’t using their backyard as much as they had hoped. “The lots in this neighborhood are pretty small, so we wanted to maximize every square foot of our property,” the wife says.

They began working on plans for the backyard, which included adding a retaining wall, increasing the size of the yard and adding a pool. The couple also decided to replace an existing outdoor patio on the main floor of the home with a larger version that would overlook a new swim spa and fire pit seating area. Once those plans started to materialize, however, the couple decided that they also wanted to renovate the interior.

“We always thought we would do an interior remodel and we realized if we waited much longer, our teenaged daughters would be off in college and wouldn’t get to enjoy it,” the husband says.

The couple turned to interior designer Allison Lind to discuss design ideas. “It started small with a refresh, but as we talked more about their goals and what they wanted, it expanded to full scope and really personalizing every inch of the home,” she says.

In turn, Lind brought in Allie Merrill as an assistant and Joey Fentress of Proform Builds as the contractor. “I still use this project as a top example of how things should go, not only for homeowners, but also for interior designers and contractors working together,” Lind says. “Joey had a project manager who was on site constantly, and we would have weekly or biweekly meetings so that nothing was overlooked. From start to finish, this project was about customization and getting everything perfect for the clients.”

The team began working on the first phase of the project: to modernize the interiors. Previously, the home had a traditional Mediterranean feel with ornate cabinetry and a 90s color palette of yellows and browns. It also had a few problematic areas that limited the homeowners’ use of space and therefore required a bit of remodeling.

For example, a small room off the kitchen was previously used as a TV room and den. However, it was cramped and oddly located within the footprint of the main floor. Meanwhile, a standalone fireplace that was previously between the living room and dining room visually interrupted the space and was never used.

“We had this really good-sized floor, and we spent all our time in the kitchen, the dining room and this little TV room,” the husband says. “All the rest of the space was wasted.”

To solve these issues, Lind removed the standalone fireplace and reoriented the living room. She also used crisp paint throughout the day room that now showcases a plaster fireplace, comfy chairs and an area rug with soft blues and greens. The black lighting fixture gives the space structure and contrast.

Lind also took down a wall, thereby enlarging the kitchen, and turned the small den into a scullery that also now doubles as a mud room. “Small tweaks made such a difference in how we use our home,” the husband says. “We’re definitely optimizing the entire footprint of the main floor.”

When redesigning the kitchen, Lind decided to take a multilayered approach. “The homeowners are fun, engaging and welcoming,” she says. “At one point we looked at doing a big slab wall, but it’s not as interesting or warm. I wanted to do something in the kitchen that pulls you in and makes you want to sit on a stool and chat with them.”

To that aim, Lind chose “Chantilly Lace” and “Glacier White” from Benjamin Moore as a backdrop for Calacatta Gold marble countertops, the same material that she used for a shelf above the range and as a backsplash. “Finding the marble in the kitchen directed the overall palette,” she says.

Lind added further interest by adding a terracotta backsplash above the marble shelf. Meanwhile, white oak cabinetry and oversized light fixtures add a layer of warmth. Lind also shied away from anything too heavy or overdone by using glass fronts on the cabinetry and scullery door as a way to further pull occupants into the space. “The pantry door was vintage reclaimed, and the Proform team meticulously repaired it and brought it back to life,” she says.

The library, also located on the main floor, is a space that the designer calls extra special. “The doors were original to the house and were incredible,” she says. “So we played off of those and opted to keep the dark woods as a contrast to the rest of the house, which became so much brighter. We wanted to keep that cozy, whiskey room vibe.”

Upstairs, in the primary bath, Lind chose mosaic marble for the floor and paired it with matching herringbone tile in the shower. She also surrounded the shower with zellige tile. “The marble is elegant and timeless, and the tile brings in organic softness,” she says.

While the majority of the home is creamy and soft, filled with calm neutrals and moments of contrast, Lind decided to up the ante in the powder bath. “It has—in my opinion, in a good way—material overload,” she says. “It has a wall of Ann Sacks mosaic tile, and the rest of the walls are in this three-dimensional textured and fringed wallpaper. The clients are multifaceted people, and the home needed that special moment. The intensity is so fun.”

Once the interiors were completed, the team once again turned to the backyard, the space that started the whole project, for the second phase of work. Derek Reeves, with Sculpted Sites, was brought in as the Landscape Architect. The homeowners, who had moved out during the interior renovations, moved back in during this time.

The exterior of the stucco home received all new paint, new light fixtures, and a new second floor patio overlooking a swim spa, fire pit and extended lawn. “There was a patio, but it was very small,” Fentress says. “It had a spiral staircase, so it wasn’t very practical. We made the patio much larger, so the footprint is a bit larger than the bottom porcelain tiled patio, and we moved the stairs to the other side. We reconfigured how the stairs function and how they access the backyard.”

The patio now overlooks a custom swim spa (with a swim lane for the husband) from KrisCo Pools & Spas, surrounded by concrete pavers. The new seating area features an OVA slim fire feature by Lumacast, surrounded by comfy chairs and sofa for a relaxed setting.

Overall, the project took about one-and-a-half years to complete. “Our team was incredible, but none of that would have been as effective if we didn’t have the clients’ trust,” Lind says.

“I always had a vision of what I wanted the home to look like,” the wife says. “Our house has a Mediterranean feel, but the design was late 90s. It was very pretty, but it wasn’t our style. I had imagined something more modern—like something you would see in Santa Barbara or Montecito. Clearly the vision came together really well.”

PROJECT SOURCES

INTERIOR DESIGN & HOME DESIGN
Allison Lind Interiors
allisonlind.com

CONTRACTOR
Proform Builds
proformbuilds.com

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Sculpted Sites
sculptedsites.com

Cabinetry
Beech Tree Woodworks
beechtreecustomcabinets.com