How to Get Started Remodeling Your House on Mercer Island

July 15, 2022

by Sarah Anne Lloyd, My Mercer Island

Dreaming of how to fix your house is easy, whether you want to build a functional home office, update your kitchen to match your culinary ambitions, or simply to breathe new life into an old Mercer Island house. The hard part comes in figuring out what it will actually cost, how long it will take, and how to even get started.

“It’s a process,” says Suzanne Zahr, who has been working on spaces on Mercer Island for her eponymous firm, Suzanne Zahr, Inc., for seven years. “It’s one that can be very enjoyable, very exciting, because you’re transforming an aspect of your world,” she says, but she also notes it can be stressful.

Preparation, planning, and a good team can help make the remodeling process easier, and Mercer Island has a number of experts on every aspect of remodeling, which leads to Zahr’s biggest piece of advice for people considering a remodel on their home: “Find a team you can trust, the rest will fall into place.”

Soulful. [King Residence]

March 31, 2021

There is synergy to beauty. It resonates on multiple emotional and aesthetic levels. It makes your life richer and meaningful…

What does it mean to make a home soulful? In the case of the King residence, it was about creating an environment that enhanced and amplified the art featured in the space. The Kings had a wish - they wanted to see the art no matter where they sat or stood. This was a great opportunity to design for the art rather than to buy art that fits the design.

Jennifer’s parents were both artists. Much of the work is by them or is work that they cherished, and Jennifer grew up with. The large painting in the living room/ dining room was painted shortly after the house was built, so it feels right at home there.

Transformative. [Glamour Rambler]

March 31, 2021

When I first purchased this house in West Seattle, I did so not because of what was there, but because of what the property could support, and what the existing structure could help create. In other words, for its transformative potential.

When I think in terms of the transformative potential of an existing structure and its land, I’m primarily occupied with the idea of a shift in lifestyle. It’s not an exercise in what I can get away with, but rather, how the occupants want to live in their new environment. In other words, what’s the best way to achieve their new lifestyle with the resources at hand. How can a well-designed home transform you?

Authentic. [Leschi Residence]

March 31, 2021

The idea of an authentic home, to me, has everything to do with the powerful intersection of artistry, lifestyle and sustainability. How do you maximize the elements of a space while also bringing out its creative potential?

Authenticity is when design and intention harmonize, as with this Addition / Remodel in Leschi. There’s an honesty to how this home was tailored to fit their lifestyle, in a practical sense. Every square inch of space is used, including a loft space that features a climbing wall along the sloped ceiling. The structure (exposed beams) and hand crafted finishes, like the Heath tile backsplash and Formology shelving, offer warmth and genuine self-expression.

This house was designed for authentic living, and the outcome was stunning.