Bellevue: Inner Beauty

It’s difficult not to be drawn like a magnet to the Lake Sammamish area of East Bellevue, once you’ve seen the views.

This home is on West Lake Sammamish Parkway, a picturesque drive lined with waterfront homes on the east side, and a mix of houses, steep lots, and a park on the west side. There were two things I wondered when I pulled into the driveway: would noise be a factor, given the house’s location right off the street, and how nice could the inside be, given that the exterior was neatly kept but plain and boxy.

Both concerns evaporated once I stepped inside. No street noise at all, and truly one of the most impressively original and intriguing interiors I have ever seen. It’s no surprise that the house makes a priority of appreciating the views from most rooms. Light is another feature here. For example, there’s a 2-story set of windows in the kitchen. Two sets of staircases on either side of the house take you up to the open loft and bedrooms. A wide hallway on the first floor can be a beautiful sitting room or another dining room and there’s a sunken living room with a cool retro fireplace and windows galore. The first floor powder room deserves special mention for it’s ultra private, sweet placement at the end of a hall, with an alcove shelf (for flowers?) right outside the door.

There are garden areas in front and back (front is smaller than the back), but that concrete deck in the back seems like it could be a launching pad for a whole variety of uses (I could see one of those vanishing edge pools there).

See it for yourself when it’s open on February 4th from 1:00 to 4:00PM.

STATS:
Price: $879,000.
Location: 2612 West Lake Sammamish Parkway SE, Bellevue, WA 98008
Last sale price: $347,000. (in 1997)
Square footage: 2680 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 3 Baths: 2.5
http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=349513