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Make an escape to this dreamy Magnolia ‘beach house’

A little Palm Springs in Seattle

Steve Hanson

So often when someone does a total overhaul of a period house, it comes out looking drab. The opposite is the case with this bright, 1930s home in Magnolia, renovated into a dreamy escape.

With all the carefully-curated outdoor space, you don’t even have to go inside to fall in love. A shallow reflecting pool with stepping stones greets visitors at the ornate, white metal gate. Before reaching the front door, visitors pass an enclosed porch with sea-green tile and exposed-stone walls through French doors, also in patterned white metal.

Around the back, an appropriately-billed “outdoor living room” with an enamel roof and breezy white curtains makes an ordinary lazy Sunday morning feel like glamping. A catwalk, stairs, and a wooden path connect to the wraparound stone patio, with spots for soaking up the sun at every point in the day.

Of course, with this much luxe outdoor space, it only makes sense that the largest part of the patio surrounds a fire pit overlooking Elliott Bay.

For actual beachgoing from this beach house, the water isn’t too far—just one block to Magnolia Park and the Magnolia Boat Launch.

This house stands out thanks to its unique outdoor spaces, but it’s just as lovely indoors. The interior has been decorated with the same bright motif as outside, but preserving period details, like the ornate stone fireplace that anchors the living area. The home’s gates could have been inspired by the design on the grate.

The arched fireplace design complements recessed shelves and archways that connect the common areas.

Like many homes in the 30s, this home has both an eating nook off the kitchen and a formal dining area. Currently, a choice to forgo the nook for a smaller table creates a small den just inside from the terrace.

Out of the home’s four bedrooms, two are in a finished basement, served by its own den with a recessed fireplace and an entrance to the backyard. Two others on the main floor let in a little more light—including one with a direct entrance to the terrace, currently an office.

Next to the house, the converted garage creates airy space with high, vaulted ceilings currently gives a home to an art studio.

There’s an Instagram-worthy spot for everything in this home, inside and out. It’s listed for $1.68 million.