Houzz Tour: This 70s Style Home Has Warmth & a Sunburned Colour Palette
A Southern California family brings sunny vibes to a woodsy 1969 architectural gem in Washington
Before making the move, the family had just one weekend to tour homes and make a decision. After viewing four houses, it was starting to get discouraged. “The second we walked through the door of the fifth house,” Michelle says, “it screamed out to us, ‘This is it!’ ”
Karim, left, Hamilton, Davis and Michelle are pictured here in their formal living room, where they spend the most time. “It was interesting to see that in our new house we still all hang out in the same room at the same time every day as we did in our California home. Creatures of habit I guess,” Michelle says. “It’s where I can lounge, work, chat when guests come over, fold laundry, play games with the kids and just ‘be’ when I get those free moments of quiet.”
Karim, left, Hamilton, Davis and Michelle are pictured here in their formal living room, where they spend the most time. “It was interesting to see that in our new house we still all hang out in the same room at the same time every day as we did in our California home. Creatures of habit I guess,” Michelle says. “It’s where I can lounge, work, chat when guests come over, fold laundry, play games with the kids and just ‘be’ when I get those free moments of quiet.”
The entryway showcases the home’s subtle Asian design influences. “It was perfect,” Michelle says. “There was an immediate East-meets-West Zen feeling that brought an instant calm.”
Love Asian design influences? Here’s how to have a traditional Japanese home
Love Asian design influences? Here’s how to have a traditional Japanese home
Michelle credits her Southern California upbringing for her signature aesthetic, which often features a sunburned colour palette. “My love of sun makes me gravitate toward pops of yellows and oranges,” she says. The hues also pair perfectly with a 1970s-inspired look. “I love mid-century and I love the ’70s, so I like to marry the two,” Michelle says.
This mix of styles is seen in the downstairs living area. “You’ll see a handsome tapered-leg teak coffee table paired with a wicker room divider,” Michelle says.
Michelle found this pair of mid-century armchairs and the woven side table. “We were on a very tight decorating budget, but luckily my love for vintage and deal hunting pays off,” she says.
Houseplants decorate nearly every corner of the house. In Michelle’s words, there are “plants galore.” The lower level has wide-open views of the large, wooded backyard. “As an outdoorsy family, having the yard wrapped around the home full of the great evergreens is the boys’ perfect playground for exploring and adventures,” Michelle says.
You just can’t kill these houseplants
You just can’t kill these houseplants
“My love of the sun makes me gravitate toward circles,” Michelle says. Circular shapes are seen in a number of decor items in the home. Here, a mirror with a quarter-circle pattern forms rainbow-like imagery behind a vintage floor lamp.
The open kitchen is in between two upstairs living areas, where plentiful windows look out to downtown Bellevue and Lake Washington.
The living room opens onto a deck with an outdoor dining area. “We get to dine alfresco while watching the perfect view of the sunset, hearing nothing but birds chirping. It’s magical,” Michelle says.
The home’s Pacific Northwest influence can also be seen in its unique round columns that run through the upper-level communal spaces. They’re reminiscent of totem poles, a symbol adopted by Seattle as a symbol of the city during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s.
The family room connects to a patio on one side and a deck that overlooks Lake Washington on the other. The house is larger in square footage than the family’s Southern California home, and this bonus living space gave Michelle room for her blush-coloured velvet Adrian Pearsall sofa, which she calls her “biggest splurge of all time.”
Check out these relaxing family rooms and lounges
Check out these relaxing family rooms and lounges
Circles and half circles repeat in the wall art and accessories in the guest bedroom. “I tend to always lean toward natural elements, wood textures and all the plants I can get my hands on,” Michelle says.
This room comes in handy when family comes to visit from California.
This room comes in handy when family comes to visit from California.
A large, wraparound bed frame Michelle found on Etsy and a scalloped mirror from her shop, 6th and Detroit, are focal points in the master bedroom.
“This home encourages play and discovery because it feels like it’s nestled deep within a forest,” Michelle says. That vibe is evident in the boys’ bedroom, where picture windows put the lush surroundings at their fingertips.
When spring arrives, it changes how the family uses the home. “We finally get to use the outdoor spaces and fulfil our yearning for indoor-outdoor living that we are so used to,” Michelle says. A bench on the front porch creates a staging area for the family’s outdoor gear – everything from rain boots to coolers to fishing poles for weekend fishing trips with the boys.
Read more:
My Houzz: Mumbai Architect Couple Convert a Clubhouse Into a Cosy Flat
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in the Comments below.
Read more:
My Houzz: Mumbai Architect Couple Convert a Clubhouse Into a Cosy Flat
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in the Comments below.
Who lives here: Michelle and Karim Qazi; sons Hamilton, 8, and Davis, 5; and Labrador Ozzie
Location: Eastgate neighbourhood of Bellevue, Washington, United States
Size: 3,000 square feet (279 square metres); 3 bedrooms; 1¾ baths
Year built: 1969
Michelle and Karim Qazi and their two sons are native Californians. The family recently relocated from Long Beach, California, to Seattle, leaving behind ever-present sunshine. “We moved in during the thick of winter and, boy, were we in for a surprise,” Michelle says with a laugh. “It snowed 6 inches that weekend and here we were a bunch of Californians getting off the plane in flip-flops.”
With the move, the family left behind its Cliff May-designed ranch home. Michelle, who owns home decor and vintage store 6th and Detroit, sought a house that was equally architectural and one where she could easily express her late-’70s California-inspired style, this time in a Pacific Northwest setting.
The 1969 home, designed by Seattle architect Omer Mithun, has everything they were looking for: “Floor-to-ceiling windows, mid-century architecture and an insane view of the horizon that made you feel like you were in the heavens,” Michelle says.