Thursday, August 1, 2019

August means home

August means home

For me, August is *home month*. Fifty years ago this August, our family moved into my childhood home (just after my younger brother was born - so again, happy 50th!). For nearly half a century that place was the center of family life - holidays, gatherings, and all the usual day-to-day stuff.

For 10 years growing up, August was also when I’d return home from two months away at summer camp. Of course camp offered the freedom and experiences that helped shape me; yet there was always something comforting and reassuring about going home. Like a special bookmark holding the spot between one chapter and the next.

And yes, August also marks when homes begin to get into that “back-to-school” mode. Young kids heading off for the first time, older students reconnecting with old friends and greeting new ones. Teachers & coaches gearing up for the sacred task of guiding the next generation as parents wax nostalgic, both celebrating and lamenting the passage of time.

As we enjoy the onset of this August, I hope you are each feeling AT HOME as well. And if it’s time to buy, rent, or sell - please know I’d be honored to make August your *home month* as well.

Temps are high, rates are low. Let’s make it a great month. Welcome home! 

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Finding Frank in my back yard

I have long been a HUGE fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and his influence on American architecture. I’ve had the privilege of visiting and exploring a number of Wright sites - from Oak Park to the Guggenheim, Robbie House to Taliesin West. Along the way, we’ve collected a wide array of memorabilia: books and puzzles; notecards, legos & my favorite bookmark; even the mission style furniture that they sit upon in this picture.

Now, living here on Seattle’s “east side” for five years, I’ve learned that there are not one but two (2!) FLW “Usonian” homes in the area near my neighborhood: one built by Wright in 1952, the other, literally around the corner from the first, built by protégé Martin Stricker in 1965. Neither of these are found on the standard maps of “Wright sites.”

YOU NEVER KNOW THE TREASURES YOU MIGHT FIND IN YOUR OWN BACK YARD!

Well, I’m finding this to be a way cool discovery.

What are the hidden gems you’ve found – even by accident – in your neck of the woods?