First Friday: Red. White. Blue. - Debra Van Tuinen

June 24, 2021

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
— E.E. Cummings

It’s with great pleasure & delight that we re-launch our First Friday tradition! Please join us this First Friday, July 2nd (and Second Friday, July 9, along with Clarke + Clarke, Barrels and other local Mercer Island businesses), as we welcome back celebrated PNW artist, Debra Van Tuinen.

Kick off your 4th of July festivities with a cocktail, fine arts and an outdoor plaza gathering at the SZ Gallery. We miss you & can’t wait to see you, in person!

FIRST FRIDAY RE-LAUNCH: July 2nd, 5 - 7PM
Mercer Island ART WALK: Friday, July 9th, 5 - 7PM
MEET THE ARTIST: Friday, August 6th, 5 - 7PM

ARTWORK

To view Debra Van Tuinen’s website, click here.

We're Hiring!

June 24, 2021

SZ Design | Build continues to take a symbiotic approach to designing and building creative environments. Suzanne empowers her team to bring creativity and ingenuity to life in close collaboration with residential, corporate and retail clientele. Explore current job openings (including Summer Intern) on our website. Think you’d be a good candidate? We’d love to hear from you, or forward your to talented friends!

JOB OPENINGS

Modern Nostalgia Homes

March 31, 2021

Five years ago today (March 31st, 2016), I proudly swung open my Design | Build doors on Mercer Island, with an idea towards changing the way I both approached and regarded my profession. My talented team and I ventured down the creative path with a diverse array of residential clients, and while each home was as unique as their owner, commonalities emerged. Slowly but surely, a new design and lifestyle approach began to take shape in my mind – one that, despite its name, is actually very forward-thinking. I call it ‘Modern Nostalgia.’

Though the pandemic helped to accelerate my outlook, it occurred to me that the fast-paced, ever-changing demands of modern living can be tempered by our collective longing for simpler times through thoughtful design. Think about all the things you ask of your home - especially these days. Does it nurture you, or sap your energy? Do you move through your daily routine with ease (even when the outside world is turbulent and stressful)? Or is your home hectic instead of restorative?

The brave new world of post-pandemic America will demand our time and attention in unprecedented ways. Lines will continue to blur between our personal and professional lives. As an Architect and Builder, I feel the urgency to create authentic spaces that allow us to heal, regroup and emerge stronger and more grounded.

Home is as much a state of mind as a physical space. In shifting our design focus towards the intangible, ephemeral, soulful qualities of our built environment, we make room for the transformative impact our homes could have on the quality of our lives.

In celebration and honor of our Five-Year Anniversary, here are five recent works that each exemplify the Five Tenets of ‘Modern Nostalgia’ Homes.

Grounded | Soulful | Transformative | Authentic | Sexy but Practical

Grounded. [Smoke Tree Ranch]

March 31, 2021

No less an American icon than Walt Disney himself was drawn to Smoke Tree Ranch, a ranch-style housing community in Palm Springs. He loved it so much he built not one but two homes there, several cabins, and a community recreation center. In fact, every statue of Walt and Mickey Mouse holding hands (this statue is called “Friends,” and it’s in every Disney park) features Walt wearing a necktie with the Smoke Tree Ranch logo on it.

Smoke Tree Ranch had been long established as the winter home of some of America’s most prominent families, and some feared that Disney’s admittance to the laid-back, cowboy and girl way of life there would change it forever – that Walt would bring too much Hollywood glitz to the area. But he quickly proved himself to be a perfect fit to the grounded, western lifestyle, and found genuine solace, healing and harmony in the community.

When it came time for me to design a modern ranch within Smoke Tree, I was intent on integrating the architecture with its natural surroundings - creating a space where your shoulder’s instantly drop when you enter. This single-story rambler grows out of the ground, anchored by thick stone walls and a heated concrete floor. It opens towards the Southern light and views, with enough shade to make it comfortable year-round. This environmentally sustainable home more than respects Mother Nature, it tries to emulate her.