Rarely do the words 'million' and 'tiny' describe a house for sale, but there's a property by Lake Tapps that gives you the opportunity to spend $1,050,000 on a 480 square foot house. At $2,188/sq ft, you might expect a rather high level of luxury.
Waterfront houses skew numbers. The house is a 1 bedroom, 0.75 bath, tiny house built in 1988 - back before tinies were trendy. What it has that amplifies the price is two lots on Lake Tapps with 140 feet of shoreline, a dock, manicured landscaping, with a glancing view of Mt. Rainier. It also has a plan for a three bedroom septic, so can expand if you're more interested in the land than the house.
The house isn't grandiose or ridiculously simple. In many ways it is classically minimalist. Some of the design choices are very predictable: lots of windows pointed at the lake, a wood-paneled ceiling that flows up to the roof ridge, a wood stove for ambiance and backup heating and cooking, and an enormous deck for when the weather's right and you want to feel expansive.
There are some concessions. Evidently, the dishes live beside the bathroom, but that's probably a trick of trying to take the picture. The breaker box is over the bed, which detracts a bit from the decor. The dock looks original, or at least isn't as fancy as the neighbors' moorage. That may be moot, because so few of the docks have boats attached.
Others will spend a million to buy an urban lifestyle, or expensive toys, or the look of prestige. For someone though, sitting in the gazebo by the water with little to worry about might be worth just as much.
· 1603 Tacoma Point Dr E, Lake Tapps [Windermere]