Seattle Mag
Restful Retreat: A Solar Powered, Petite Potting Shed
A Whidbey Island space that's open to the outdoors and surrounded by lavender fields
A decade after building a cabin on Whidbey Island, a couple dreamed up an appealing addition to create their ideal getaway. They called on BUILD LLC(University District, 5611 University Way NE, Suite 100B; 206.382.0401; buildllc.com; blog.buildllc.com), architects of the original cabin, to fashion the 199-square-foot potting shed cum reflecting room. Entirely detached from the main cabin 450 feet…
Summer Road Trips: 14 Small-Town Getaways
Leave the city behind for a weekend (or longer) and explore one of these tiny Northwest towns.
For many of us, it’s not a tough trade: swapping a reliable cell signal and ubiquitous WiFi for a sweet slice of small town heaven. Tucked away in all corners of the Northwest are tiny backwater hamlets, perched seaside, on idyllic bays or in mountain clefts, brimming with character, friendly locals and a peaceful main…
UPDATED: Tom Douglas Opening a Falafel Joint? Indeed!
On Saturday’s Seattle Kitchen radio show, Tom Douglas dropped a bomb: He’s “getting pretty close” to opening a falafel joint right here in Seattle. Say wha? Tom said he ate the best falafel of his life at L’as du Fallafel in Paris (the New York Times seems quite smitten, too!), during his recent month spent…
Architect Milan Heger Creates a Luxe Loft in Belltown
This petite penthouse is space smart and art rich
If Match.com existed for hooking up architects and clients, it would surely have matched Dr. Paul Zievers and Milan Heger. (They actually found each other the old-fashioned way: Zievers fell in love with a friend’s house that Heger designed.) Both are artistically inclined. Zievers, an anesthesiologist at Swedish Hospital, is an ardent collector; Heger is…
Statement Pieces Perfect for Springtime Entertaining
How to bring classic spring touches to your outdoor oasis
Here comes the sun! Kick off the spring entertaining season with a fresh take on elegant outdoor style. A neutral palette of black, white and gray comes alive with pops of soft, sunny yellow. Want to add some panache to your patio? Start with the beautiful basics, like Summer Classics’ Plaza loveseat and chair, featuring…
Inside Chihuly’s New House of Glass
The new Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit - opening Monday, May 21 - showcases the work of the world’
In 1961, while studying interior design at the University of Washington, an arty kid from Tacoma experimented with melting and fusing glass. Today that kid is a world-renowned glass artist of tremendous influence—and as of this month, Dale Chihuly can boast an entire museum devoted to his career. (Tacoma’s Museum of Glass features his work…
How Seattle Became the Epicenter of Glass Art
While local glass art has Chihuly at its core, for certain, Dale himself would be the first to say t
The first thing most seattleites think about upon hearing the phrase “glass art” is Dale Chihuly. And with good reason; the history of Northwest glass has Chihuly’s name woven throughout, from its earliest beginnings to right now, as the museum honoring his work is poised to open at Seattle Center. But Chihuly would likely be…
Artists Mark World’s Fair 50th Anniversary with New Installations around Seattle Center
This weekend, kicking off as early as 7:30am for some (and 10am for the rest of us), Seattle Center shall spilleth over with installations, exhibits, performances, and food trucks – all assembled to celebrate the much-anticipated 50th Anniversary of Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair (you may have heard of it). More than a chance to gawk…
Take a Power Trip to Wild Horse Wind Farm
The Wild Horse wind farm near Ellensburg turns a small-town road trip into an eco-educational advent
From the moment they come into view as you climb the rolling hills just east of Ellensburg, what strikes you first about the turbines of the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility is their scale. Structures that looked like tiny black pinwheels on toothpicks stuck into the dry earth from just a few short miles…
Mt. Townsend’s Seastack Cheese
Made of local cow’s milk in small batches in Port Townsend, Seastack is like two cheeses in one.
In my house, Mt. Townsend’s Seastack Cheese is a mainstay. It’s not an everyday cheese—a bit too pricey at $12 for an 8-ounce wheel—but when the occasion allows for a small splurge, a few crackers, a pot of fig jam and we’re in business. Made of local cow’s milk in small batches in Port Townsend,…
Kouign Amann Pastries
The sweet and salty darling of the pastry set.
What is the bronzed, round, impossible-to-pronounce pastry that’s lately popping up in the finer artisanal bakeries? Kouign amann (pronounced queen-ya-mahn) is a Breton pastry that has it all: tons of butter, sweet caramelization and a good bit of salt, like a salted caramel in pastry form. Honoré, in Ballard, makes a sensational version, with a…
Butter Me Up: Seattle’s Best Croissants
Food editor Allison Austin Scheff goes in search of the Seattle bakery with the best croissant.
There are people whose jobs require them to wake before dawn, pound cold butter and fold it into chilled dough, and then fold it, roll it, chill it, fold it, roll it, and chill it again and again until the butter is but a whisper-thin memory between weightless layers of pastry. The perfectly “laminated dough”…