Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1496538
With so many unique and storied residential neighborhoods, Seattle and its surrounding communities are jam-packed with classic single-family houses, representing over a century of West Coast design trends. Seattle Style A Field Guide to Classic Seattle Single-Family Homes G iven the vast inventory of timeless homes, it's tempting to wonder if there is a single, unifying "Seattle style," an element or two that brings it all together. To find out, let's take a brief tour of the classics to see what's in their shared DNA. First Homes There have been unique homes in the Puget Sound region for thousands of years. When the first Europeans arrived, the indigenous coastal peoples of the Salish Sea built longhouses— large structures constructed with log frames and split log planks (usually cedar) and gambrel roofs—as communal living spaces for large families. As more non-native Americans arrived from the East to work in the lumber and shipbuilding industries, they built shacks, cabins, and shanties— threadbare structures fit mostly for survival—using many of the same local materials found in longhouses. After the Klondike Gold Rush started in 1896, growth and prosperity brought more permanent housing and a burgeoning homebuilding industry. The classical age of the Seattle home had begun. BY JAMES SLONE CONTENT STRATEGIST MBAKS PHOTO: SCOTT D. SULLIVAN 40 master BUILDER | SPRING 2023 FEATURE STORY