Modern Houses That Embrace the Seattle Landscape

A patio spins off the northern end of the house’s main level. It fronts “Main Street,” which unwinds from the heart of downtown Seattle into a pedestrian foot path bordered by a woodland. “We went with a low and robust barrier instead of a tall wood fence to preserve views to the park,” Schaer says. The table and benches are by Crate & Barrel.

“BLK_LAB uses a series of thoughtfully placed windows to achieve a combination of passive solar design and an advanced thermal envelope,” says architect Christopher Patano, founder of Seattle firm Patano Studio Architecture. The home is insulated with cellulose, a material made from 85 percent post-consumer recycled content, which is densely packed into each stud cavity.

The studio occupies the corner of a backyard filled with carefully-tended plants. They positioned the studio at the yard’s far corner, diagonal from the main house’s back door, to create a path through the garden that would engage visitors in landscape.

“We used extensive glazing in the kitchen, dining, and bedroom areas to capture views of Lake Washington and downtown Bellevue across the water,” Weber said. The chrome chandelier above the dining table is by Artcraft Lighting.