My Houzz: Thoughtful, Eclectic Style for a Sunny Seattle Apartment

In a notoriously drizzly city like Seattle, a home that is flooded with natural light, even during the gray winter months, is hard to come by. So Kathleen Tarrant and Christopher Harrell felt like they hit the jackpot with their ever-sunny apartment on the south side of Queen Anne Hill, just steps away from Seattle’s most famous vista point, Kerry Park.

In building their first home together, Tarrant, a brand strategist and writer, and Harrell, a creative director and an artist, have been carefully navigating the process of merging their respective styles. “It was already a beautiful space,” Tarrant says. “So it was really a question of how to combine our things while avoiding clutter and still be able to represent each of our tastes.” She adds, “It’s still a work in progress, but we already feel good about all of our pieces.”

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kathleen Tarrant and Christopher Harrell; their cat, Stevie; and their schnauzer-poodle-mix puppy, Jones
Location: Queen Anne Hill neighborhood of Seattle
Size: 1,100 square feet (102 square meters); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Year built: 1926

Harrell and Tarrant both love to combine classic midcentury design with bright modern fabrics. “I love a mix of clean lines and homey touches,” Tarrant says. “And Christopher is really attracted to the midcentury look. We wanted to keep our joint living spaces as open as possible with pieces we both love.”

Their glass-top coffee table is a Goodwill find. “It gives us a huge surface for our large living room without making the space feel smaller,” she says. “It keeps our space from getting too weighed down with dark wood.”

The blue couch is from one of their favorite furniture shops in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Area 51.

Side table: Homestead Seattle


The couple keeps the walls as blank as possible, displaying just a few select pieces throughout the home. “The rare sunshine we get is as much decoration as we need,” Tarrant says.


Jones, their “schnoodle,” naps on top of a cozy knit rug. It’s a prized Craigslist find that helps anchor the space.


Tarrant, seen here, used to work as a music writer, so establishing a suitable space for a large record collection and turntable was important.

In the corner is one of the couple’s favorite letterpress pieces that Harrell made. The quote is from the film I Walked With a Zombie and reads, “Everything good dies here, even the stars.”

Letterpress poster: Brotherfire


Harrell’s desk, another find from Area 51, sits next to the bookcase that houses their records. The pendant light is a gift from Tarrant’s good friend, maker Lee Runyan.


The dining room includes a few investment pieces, including the table and chairs, an anniversary gift found at local shop Homestead Seattle and a painting done as a collaboration between artists Kelly Rozich and Damien Jurado.

Tarrant requested that the landlord keep the large chalkboard walls the last tenants had created, such as the one in the kitchen. It currently features a chalk drawing by Harrell of the cover of Tarrant’s favorite book on food, Consider the Oyster, by M.F.K Fisher.


Also left behind by the previous tenants were these metal pipe bookshelves, perfect for displaying some of the couple’s favorite books.


The couple recently added these wall shelves from West Elm to display their favorite spirits and stemware.


Tarrant, an avid cook, enjoys spending time in the bright kitchen making elaborate meals.


The focal point of the bedroom is another already existing chalkboard wall. “I wanted [this] there because Christopher is a really talented artist,” she says. “It’s fun to be able to dream up different things to put on those walls and for Christopher to put on his headphones and change how a whole room feels with just chalk.”

Brass wall lamp: Homestead Seattle


The entryway sets the tone for the rest of the home with greenery that greets all their guests. “Having plants in each room helps me feel happy during the gray winter months in Seattle,” Tarrant says.


Every corner of the home is filled with light, especially in the late afternoon.

Tarrant bought the small screen-printed lunar calendar seen here as a gift for Harrell while on vacation in San Francisco in the fall.

Calendar: A Little Lark


The couch is a favorite spot for Harrell and Tarrant, seen here. “I’m really attached to the best feature of the apartment: the view,” Tarrant says. The two count themselves lucky to start each day with coffee on their patio, with its sweeping view of Puget Sound. “That feeling of looking out over the city is what we wanted our home to be: beautiful and peaceful,” she says.

My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.

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