When Cara and Patrick Ryan bought their 0.3-acre waterfront property in Southworth in 2000, they fell in love with the relaxing atmosphere. Living in Seattle and using the home as a weekend cabin, the couple knew that eventually they’d want to retire there. “It’s peaceful here; we love it,” Patrick Ryan says. “One hour of […]
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Posted inAt Home, Blog
How to Incorporate Your Books into Your Home Decor
If you have bookcases on each side of your fireplace and the shelves are deeper than the normal 10 to 12 inches, don’t push the books all the way back against the wall. In fact, you should do exactly the opposite. Line up all of the books with the front edge of the shelves. Leave […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
Jim Valley — A Life Lived in Color
Much by his own design, Jim Valley inhabits a color-filled world. During summers on his property in the Cromwell area of Gig Harbor, for instance, he has only to look out the windows of his house to behold the rich, evolving tapestry of his gardens, including the multihued zinnias that were his first foray into […]
Posted inAround West Sound, Blog
Gig Harbor Opens Brand New Visitor Center in Historic Waterfront Home
In 2002, following the death of Gig Harbor pioneers Antone and Vincent Skansie, the city of Gig Harbor acquired the historic waterfront Skansie Brothers home and property located in the heart of downtown. For 12 years, the park surrounding the house was improved but the house sat empty. Last month, following extensive renovation to bring […]
Posted inFeatured, Home
Purple
Like trying to capture wind to put in a mason jar or finding that the cake baked and rose higher than expected — that’s purple. “Go, Huskies!” the man shouted while wearing a bright-purple sweatshirt and an equally vibrant UW monogrammed baseball cap. Sports easily accepts this go-getter, out-there hue. The Minnesota Vikings won’t be […]
Posted inAt Home, Blog
How to Use Space Creatively in Your Home
Whether you need more space in your existing home or you have an odd space that is unused, look at some creative options for using space in your home. Have kids? If you have a stairwell, turn that useless under-stairwell closet (you know, the nightmare that has to be fully unloaded to find anything) into […]
Posted inAt Home, Blog
Look Up and Take Advantage of Unused Spaces for Home Décor
Don’t forget to look up. There are spaces that we never knew existed. There are ledges and ceiling corners that call our names and are saddened to be unnoticed voids. In this day and age, interior living space is at a premium for a lot of reasons, but primarily a matter of practical economics and […]
Posted inFeatured, Home
The Chair
Chair or stool: a seat with legs, for one person. A chair can be like a friend, there when needed. Or a chair may be like a familiar song that evokes a memory. But too often those oddball chairs and stools are discarded or basement-bound. I have done a lot of color studies, usually starting […]
Posted inFeatured, Home
Secondary Color
Not the second stage of the color wheel, but that backseat color you pay less mind to; the color that happened to be there, a whim decision, the jovial hue of gathered gadgets or the color one did not chose. Not to say that you do not like that color, it just happened. Most find […]