I was born in Seattle and have lived within the city limits for almost my entire life. So by Websters standard definitions of "urban" (1. of, pertaining to, or designating a city or town. 2. living in a city. 3. characteristic of or accustomed to cities; citified), I could call myself that. But as the metropolitan area loosely described by the name Seattle (or "greater Seattle") has grown, both geographically and in population, our definition of what it means to live an urban lifestyle has changed too.
Sure, I walked to my local grade school, but we didn’t walk many other places. (Of course, gas was cheaper then too.) Now, living urban generally means walking to shops, grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters and more. As new, bigger, better and more interesting condo projects crop up in the region’s urban centers, the opportunities for living this new definition of a city lifestyle are increasing daily.
In the pages of this urban living-themed issue of Seattle Homes & Lifestyles, we share four homes—in downtown, the Lake Union area and Capitol Hill—that live large in relatively small spaces and share tips from real estate agents on finding a condo property that will retain its value.
We also congratulate the 2008 Design Achievement Award honorees presented by SH&L and Seattle Design Center, share ideas for circular obsessions and creative trimmings and visit a trio of Oregon wineries.
This month, SH&L welcomes new Assistant Editor Angela Chang, who wrote this issue’s In Good Taste article on new Northwest cookbooks. In her new position, Angela is thrilled that she is able to combine her love of writing with her interest in design. She has written about diverse subjects such as home design, computer technology and novel-writing, and is excited to immerse herself in Seattle’s fine design community. Contact Angela by e-mail at achang@SeattleHomesMag.com.
Giselle Smith, Editor
gisellesmith@seattlehomesmag.com