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A glass and steel lakefront home near Seattle asks $3.4M

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Once billed as a teardown, this 1963 home has been renovated with a fresh take on midcentury style

By Megan Barber
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An exterior view of a boxy glass house at dusk. The lights are on inside the house so you can seethe living room and a kitchen. Photos by Erik Sven Knudsen

Located on the banks of Lake Sammamish about 20 minutes east of downtown Seattle, Washington, this boxy house offers unobstructed water views and a fresh take on midcentury style. But the 1963 home wasn’t always a glimmering lakefront retreat made of steel and glass. When designer Sally Julien and her partner, Peter Loforte, bought the home in 2011, it was marked as a teardown.

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Rotting support posts resulted in a complete overhaul of the four-bedroom, three-bath house, with Julien paying careful attention to the home’s original elements. The C-shape footprint remains, accompanied by new beams, a double-height living room, and a snazzy bright orange fireplace that became the home’s main accent color. The front door—one of the only things salvaged from the remodel—matches the fireplace, along with a stained-glass window with pops of lime green and yellow.

One of the biggest changes came in the kitchen, when the dark, tight space was transformed with white quartz countertops, streamlined cabinets, and a new window that faces the water. Upstairs in the master bedroom, walls of glass provide more water views, and bamboo pressed floors in a light black stain contrast with a lighter wood ceiling.

The restored 3,008-square-foot home is hardly a midcentury time capsule. But it’s an example of how the design sensibility of the 1960s can be reinvented and refreshed for today’s living. Love what you see? 18184 SE 41st Place is on the market now for $3,380,000.

An exterior view of a glass and steel house with a courtyard. The home’s lights are on so you can see inside.
From the water, the home looks like a rectangle, but it actually has a larger C-shaped footprint.
The entrance to a glass and steel home has a bright orange red door with stained glass next to it.
A small courtyard invites guests to the home’s original door, repainted to match the living room’s statement fireplace.
A double height living room with a bright orange fireplace, beige couch, and day bed.
Huge glass windows and a double-height ceiling in the living room make for a bright and airy space.
A dining room has a geometric red and blue rug, blue chairs, and a wooden table.
The dining room is located just off of the living room and kitchen, benefitting from the home’s new, more open layout.
A kitchen with a long island and bar stools, white countertops, wooden cabinets.
The home’s original kitchen was dark and closed off, so the couple removed a wall, added a side window, and used white quartz countertops to brighten up the space.
A sleek bedroom with a privacy screen, large white chair, cowhide rug, and white bed.
The Shoji screen—saved from the original house—provides privacy in the master bedroom.
A master bathroom has two sinks, walnut cabinets, gray counters, gray walls, and a glass shower.
Unlike the other rooms in the home that are mostly white, the master bath features a medium-bodied gray tile and walnut cabinets.

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