Seattle Culture

These Homes Are Thoroughly Modern for $1.5 Million

A classic midcentury-modern in Magnolia, and 21st-century mods in Madison Park and Kirkland

By Shannon O'Leary May 8, 2019

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This article originally appeared in the May 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.

This article appears in print in the May 2019 issue. Click here to subscribe.

Remember when $1 million was considered a lot for a house in our region? Or for that matter, just two decades ago, when $100,000 could buy, say, a slightly worn rambler in northeast Ballard with a detached garage? Today, of course, house hunters would be thrilled to snag that dwelling at 10 times the price. Or, perhaps one of these mod lookers for $1 million and a lot of change.

This new Magnolia home has three stacked floors topped by a rooftop deck

Magnolia
2823 Patten Place W
The overview: Lots of natural light is a given in this spacious new four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom triple-decker home. It’s set on a quiet dead-end street in southeast Magnolia, close to Interbay, northeast Queen Anne and Fremont.

Inside and out: Design bells and whistles include a wide-open great room, dressed in rich cherry hardwoods, that loosely unites the living room (graced with a sleek in-wall fireplace), dining room and gourmet kitchen. The top-floor master suite is luxuriously appointed with a five-piece spa-style master bathroom that features heated floors and a private deck. There’s a media room downstairs and a wet bar upstairs. Outdoor amenities include a fully fenced backyard and a whopper of a rooftop deck that offers plenty of space for entertaining and some diverting city views.
The details: $1.5 million • Built in 2019 • 3,191 SQF • $486 per SQF • 4 beds, 3.5 baths
Architect, builder: Array & Array Build, MRN Homes
Listing agent: Ingrid D. Aleong, Real Property Associates; 206.523.0300; rentseattle.com
GATHERING SPACE: The quartz-topped island in this Kirkland kitchen is perfect for parties and family meals. Photo by Clarity NW

Kirkland
11225 132nd Ave. NE
The overview: This newly built modern two-story, wrapped in warm wood and eco-conscious HardiePanels, is capped by a butterfly roof. With four bedrooms and four bathrooms, the home enjoys an urban aesthetic, but resides in a new development in North Rose Hill, close to downtown Kirkland, Totem Lake, 60 Acres Park and Costco.
Inside and out: Openness (there are 10-foot-high ceilings) and fine finishes and fixtures reign, from the chandelier in the entry and tiled fireplace in the living room to the quartz island and countertops and the Bertazzoni pro series stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. On the top floor, convenient to the master suite, is a laundry room, with an extra-large-capacity LG washer, and a linen closet. (Also handy is the main floor’s under-stair storage.) It’s a smart house, too, with a Ring pro video doorbell, Nest smart thermostat, an ultraquiet smart/keyless garage-door opener and a smart landscape-irrigation system. And like any suburban dwelling worthy of the modifier, it comes with a fenced backyard and gas-grill-ready patio.
The details: $1.5 million • Built in 2018 • 3,228 SQF • $480 per SQF • 4 beds, 4 baths
Architect, builder, developer: Medici Architects, Hughes Homes, Isola Homes
Listing agent: Ian Porter, Windermere Real Estate/Capitol Hill; 206.324.8900; windermere.com

PERIOD PIECE: A remodeled 1940s-era home in Madison Park retains its midcentury modern aesthetic, inside and out. Photos by Kathy Oman

Madison Park
2019 McGilvra Blvd. E
The overview: This ‘40s era three-bedroom, two-bathroom brick house in Madison Park—mere blocks from Madison Park Beach, a Starbucks and the popular Cactus restaurant—boasts midcentury-mod styling.
Inside and out: A top-to-bottom rehab (from new roof to refinished basement) was completed in February. A light and bright palette, courtesy of Seattle Staged to Sell & Design, weaves from the living room, which is warmed by oak hardwoods and a gas-insert fireplace, into the fully updated kitchen, with its white cabinetry, quartz countertops and a cozy new breakfast nook. Big alfresco boosts include a new sidewalk, driveway, fencing and landscaping; plus, a raised patio that extends entertaining deep into the sizable backyard. Realtor Ken Graff sums it up: “This [remodel], done by my client for himself and his wife, was several hundred thousand dollars.”
The details: $1.5 million • Built in 1947 • 2,160 SQF • $694 per SQF • 3 beds, 2 baths
Architect: Unknown; remodel by owner; staged by Seattle Staged to Sell & Design
Listing agent: Ken Graff, Coldwell Banker Bain; 206.498.7818; kengraffhomes.com

Editor’s note: Homes shown may have been sold.

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