My Houzz: Light and Airy 1920s Seattle Apartment

Betsy Greenman said goodbye to her must-have list the moment she laid eyes on a gorgeous Craftsman-style apartment in Seattle's coveted Capitol Hill neighborhood. "I wanted a garage, a security building, an outside deck, in-unit laundry and something light and airy," she says. "Everything except light and airy fell off the list."

While the expansive ceilings, exquisite natural light, hand-crafted wood details and charming 1920s architecture are pluses, Greenman is constantly battling the building's old fixtures and quirks. "It's a funky old building with circuitous hallways and plumbing labyrinths," she says. "Another owner once commented that these homes aren't so much apartments as they are an adventure. Make your must-have list — and be ready to be surprised."

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Betsy Greenman
Location: Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle
Size: 1,000 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bath

Greenman's corner unit consists of two stories with a living room, den, bathroom and kitchen on the first floor, and a loft bedroom, adjoining office and closet on the top floor. The main living room has a small footprint, but makes up for it in overhead space. "I love when people enter the space from the hall and are awestruck by the living room windows and ceiling height," she says.

The furniture is mostly handed down from previous generations. A beloved cedar chest once belonged to her grandmother and the armchair was pulled out of her parents' Vermont barn and reupholstered. "I guess my decorating style could be called 'eclectic ancestor,'" she says.


The most commanding feature of the apartment is an enormous skylight in the living room. "I replaced an old flat skylight with the domed opening one," she says. "It was a huge expense, but well worth it."

Greenman interviewed a number of glass companies who were unable to install the skylight due to its size and weight. "The company I went with specially crafted the window to fit the space," she says. "The size of the glass was smaller than the opening so an additional box frame was fashioned to accommodate the measurements."

Due to the wide temperature ranges in her home, Greenman was unable to keep a traditional piano. "I also felt worried about playing because sound carries in the building," she says. Greenman invested in a Yamaha GranTouch GT1. It does not need to be tuned or protected against temperature fluctuations. "It's great because I have headphones that plug into the piano so the only person who hears me play is me," she says.

Piano: Sherman-Clay; sofa bed: JC Penney; nesting tables: Dania





"Everyone calls my home 'The tree house' for obvious reasons," Greenman says. "It's really wonderful to be surrounded by all this greenery."

The building, built in 1923 as an apartment hotel, fell into disrepair by the late '70s. It was then rehabilitated and transformed into 14 apartments.


The living room opens to a small dining space and galley kitchen. Greenman painted a green accent wall to delineate the space and draw the eye upward. "No matter the weather, it is amazing to sit in the space," she says.

Paint: Benjamin Moore Regal


An intimate den with beamed ceilings lies just off of the central living room and provides Greenman with a cozy place for reading, watching TV or entertaining her grandchildren. To preserve space, Greenman uses a leather ottoman instead of the traditional coffee table.

The apartment layout is completely open and without doors. Greenman hung a teal brocade curtain in the den's entry to create a little more privacy.

Paint trim: Eggplant, Benjamin Moore; Book cases: Dania; lamp: Lamps Plus


Warm tones of natural wood encase the small galley kitchen. The most perplexing design dilemma Greenman encountered was getting her furniture into the apartment. Her home is a three-floor walkup with lots of twists and turns along the way.

"When I had to replace the refrigerator I thought measuring the space would be enough," she says. "When the new refrigerator arrived we could not get it into the building. I went back to Sears with a tape measure and downsized."


The red glass pieces are from Blenko Glass in West Virginia, where Greenman lived before moving to Seattle in the early '80s. The blue pieces were gifts from her son and daughter-in-law. She loves having them out where they catch sunlight.


Antique furnishings and family heirlooms — such as the quilt on the bed, which was a 25th wedding anniversary gift for her grandparents — fill the bright loft bedroom. The secretary was inherited from a great aunt and the marble top dresser came from the Vermont estate of a family friend. The green chest of drawers was originally purchased by Greenman's parents for her childhood nursery, and it's been with her ever since.

The wooden captain's bed was assembled in the unit by the former owner. Greenman purchased it for $1 in the apartment sale contract. "It will probably never leave," she says.


Greenman says, "I love this bedroom. It's like sleeping in the clouds. But the biggest challenge is the four-floor climb with laundry on the ground floor in a shared laundry facility." The quilt on the wall was created by her paternal grandmother.

When Greenman moved into her home in 1996, she could see Mount Rainier from her south-facing bedroom window. The trees have since grown and now obstruct her mountain view. "In the winter, when the leaves have fallen from the trees, I can sometimes catch a glimpse of the mountain," she says.


Both the bedroom and office open to the living room below and enjoy natural light from the south-facing windows.


Greenman, who recently retired but works from home as a consultant, turned a corner of her office into a guest space. A framed photo of Glacier National Park, taken on one of Greenman's trips, hangs above the daybed. Two CD towers turned on their side serve as low-lying bookshelves at the base of the slanted ceiling.

Paint: Benjamin Moore; area rug: Carpet Liquidators


Greenman sits in her favorite room near a window filled with green tree limbs.

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