A Kid-Friendly Home Embraces High Style With Comfort

Designed to “take a beating,” the modern interiors of this Seattle home have been crafted to withstand the wear-and-tear of young children—all without compromising style.

Text by

Lucy Wang

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With soaring ceilings and a tremendous amount of open space to work with, the striking Seattle home that interior designer Sarah Atwood Black of Blackwood was brought on to furnish was a challenging blank slate.

Full-height glazing throughout fills the interiors with natural light and views of the outdoors.

"My client was worried that without careful attention to the finishes and detailing, the home would feel too cold," says Sarah of the 3,982-square-foot Sand Point Residence. To assuage those concerns, Sarah tapped into warm, cozy textures and elements that take cues from the client’s love for France and industrial-chic style.

The Costance Guisset pendant adds a whimsical touch to the dining area, which has been furnished with a farmhouse-style table and West Elm dining chairs.

At the same time, she was careful to complement the contemporary architecture, designed by local firm Ryan Rhodes Design, while also accommodating the energetic lifestyles of the couple’s two small boys.

The bulk of the kitchen island is covered in Caesarstone (4003 Sleek Concrete), while the kids' island is topped with a John Boos Edge Grain butcher-block in American Black Walnut.

An example of chic, child-friendly design can be seen in the kitchen where part of the Caesarstone island drops down to a lower height. This lower surface is topped with a walnut butcher-block so that the boys can comfortably help out in the kitchen.

One wall of the kitchen is entirely clad in Heath Ceramics tile with a highly irregular glaze.

Walnut’s rich and warm tones made the material a natural choice for other built-in furnishings and surfaces, including the kitchen hood casing and the fireplace ledge.

The fireplace is clad in dark, textured limestone (Pietra D’Avola) sourced from Stone Source, which contrasts nicely against the white walls.

That sense of coziness is also achieved with light oak flooring, timber window framing, a farmhouse-style table, as well as furnishings upholstered in inviting materials like leather and soft fabrics.

Sarah combined high-end pieces with cost-effective furnishings, as seen with the pair of Bensen chairs next to the CB2 coffee table.

Industrial touches and dark metal elements sprinkled throughout balance the homey feel. The massive door-pull, for instance, was designed by Tom Kundig and built of welded steel with a blackened finish, while the oversized Caravaggio pendants in the kitchen evoke industrial Paris.

The Bongnormous Steel Door Pull is from 12th Avenue Iron's Tom Kundig Collection.

Sarah handled the full scope of the interiors, from finishes and lighting to furnishings and key artworks, making Sand Point Residence her first major residential project.

All four bedrooms feature 100 percent wool carpet floors from Unique Carpets Bolero II.

All bathroom counters are Pental Quartz (in color BQ200P Super White) and are complemented with walls painted in Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117.

"I struck a balance between special materials and furnishings for key areas—such as the stone on the fireplace and living room Bensen chairs—and cost-effective solutions elsewhere, like the West Elm dining chairs and basic subway tile in the kids' bathroom," says Sarah. "The home not only needed to be functional and look beautiful, but provide ease and comfort."