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Whimsical modern home with rooftop sauna asks $1.3 million in Wallingford

A shipwright and designer made this boxy home into a colorful palace

By Sarah Anne Lloyd
An outdoor lounge area with a couch facing a standalone retro fireplace. A barrel sauna is in the corner. Beyond the area’s railing are treetops.
The rooftop deck has been transformed into its own kind of great room—with bonus sauna and hot tub.
Courtesy of 360 Modern

Whimsy and modern don’t often go hand-in-hand in the last couple of decades of construction in Seattle, which tends to favor clean lines, efficient floorplans, and finishes that blend in. This home was built in 2002 with a boxy design that’s become standard, but since then, it’s grown into anything but.

But it’s what happened to the home since then that helps it stand out. A shipwright and designer couple moved in and really made the place their own, with colorful finishes and accents, thoughtful renovations, and a few showier features. A small mother-in-law studio with its own kitchen and sleeping nook was carved out of the lower level in addition to the three bedrooms the home already had. The garage has also been transformed—it’s now a kind of flex space that’s served as a den and an art studio, although it’s still functional as a garage if need be.

One of the biggest standouts, though, is the outdoor party palace on the rooftop, complete with a barrel sauna, large hot tub, dining area, and fireplace.

To be fair, the home already had a leg up over similarly designed houses, with a design by Graham Baba Architects that creates plenty of open, flexible space with skylights to keep it nice and airy.

4606 Whitman Ave N is on the market for $1.3 million through 360 Modern.

An open dining area and kitchen with a green accent wall to the left, plus a small dining table with a modern chandelier above. Behind it, a kitchen with turquoise island, and a closet to the left with black paint.
The great room, including a large, open kitchen, makes a mark with a bright kitchen island, colorful fixtures, and a chalkboard-painted walk-in pantry.
A living room has green accent walls on the far and right wall, with wood built-ins along the bottom part of the right wall. Some exposed ceiling beams are in a recessed box above.
The spacious living area uses the home’s sleek lines as a canvas for bright color, adding bright greens to existing natural wood tones.
A white room with hardwood floors. A bed with gray bedspread has an hourglass-shaped design behind it with concentric half-circles. A hallway leads back to the right.
The master bedroom is understated, but still playful, with a mural doubling as a headboard.
In a gray room, a couch with colorful pillows is in front of neon green barn doors, with a white room and white bed behind them.
The mother-in-law studio has just enough room for a small kitchen and living area, plus a sleeping nook behind barn doors.
A room with concrete floors, off-white walls, and a wood-grain garage door to the left. There’s a oval table to the right, and a turquoise sectional to the back left.
The garage could still be a really fancy-looking garage, but a remodel of the space makes it flexible.
A top-down view of a house’s rooftop deck. There’s a peaked skylight in the middle. Above the skylight, a round sauna, a couch, a rug, and a yellow fireplace. Below, a wood picnic table.
The roof deck has been carefully laid out, with a fireside lounge, large hot tub, and a picnic area opposite a central skylight.

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