Spanish Revival estate offers variety of Lake Washington vistas

This hillside estate in Laurelhurst looks Spanish Revival from a distance, but up close has some distinctly modern touches.

The home speaks to many different eras for a reason: It’s had a lot of different lives.

According to historical documentation compiled by the listing agent, it was first built in the 1920s by Leroy Backus, who used to own two whole blocks of Laurelhurst, as a carriage house.

Despite owning all that property, Backus lived here, in the same structure as the horses. Rumor has it Backus lost horses to a fire as a child, and built the structure to be as fireproof as possible. Regardless, if you look closely, you can still see the outline of the old, rounded carriage entrance in some places.

After being bought by the Latimer family—the home is on Latimer Place, to give some idea—it was converted to a more traditional home in the 1930s.

But the biggest remodels came in the 1970s, with the addition of the solarium, which was formerly an office; the sprawling, Mediterranean-style deck structure; and the grand, covered front entrance.

The remodel was featured in a 1972 issue of Sunset Magazine under the header “built in the ‘20s, now ready for the ‘70s”—but with views from five different levels, we doubt any era would have a problem being associated with this house.

With the combined efforts of all three builders, this home ended up with five bedrooms and three and a quarter bathrooms in 3,800 square feet of space. Inside, it’s been meticulously maintained, and looks brand-new in some rooms.

With western exposure like this, most rooms have sweeping views—even the bathrooms.

Ushering this house through its next era will run you $3.2 million.

• Laurelhurst-area residential [Windermere]
• 5155 NE Latimer Pl [Estately]