Wallingford: Idling In Neutral

The brightest things in this house are the owner’s collection of Hawaiian shirts and the reef-fish bedspread. The rest of the place is neutral, neutral, neutral. White walls, oak floors, white trim, beige tile, white appliances.

Neutral is how I feel about it, too. Nothing spectacularly right that would make me excited, but nothing hideously wrong that would make me flee.

The exterior design is pleasant, obviously contemporary, but admitting to a passing acquaintance with the bungalow architecture most common to the area.

The interior layout is contemporary too, with the first floor containing a great-room combo kitchen/dining room/living room – very desirable for a casual lifestyle.

There’s a true master suite upstairs, with a bedroom large enough for a real sitting area and a deck that provides a view of the Aurora Bridge. The rest of the upstairs – two bedrooms, hall bath, and laundry area – are, um, OK. Again, I’m hard-pressed to find a more passionate description.

As I took a second look around, though, I began to wonder if the white walls were a deliberate choice, designed to overcome what I consider a defect: too few windows and only three facing south. I’m a nut for natural light, so when evaluating a house I try to imagine how a room would feel at 4:30 pm on an overcast February day. In that scenario, I think I’d prefer a light – or neutral – paint color for this place.

I’m kind of sorry the owner didn’t translate the tropical colors in the bedspread into a vibrant palette for the house. But the nice thing about neutral is that it’s a blank canvas awaiting the next owner.

STATS:
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Asking: $619,000
Address: 3816 Ashworth Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103
Square footage: 1730 (KCR). Lot size: 3000 sq. ft. (KCR)
Bedrooms: 3 Baths: 2.5
Last sale price: $229,950 (Mar. 1996)
MLS#: 26196873
Click here for detailed listing.