An Enlightened Approach

I ADMIRED the labradoodles poking their heads out before I noticed the expanse of copper cladding and grid of yellow windows gracing the exterior of the new building on West Galer Street. Many mornings when I walk up Queen Anne Hill for a cappuccino, two furry faces, one black, one white, pop out the lower windows to check out my dog. These curly-haired beauties are named Pride and Joy, and belong to interior designer Monty Collins and Jerry Dark, who rent the loft apartment in the new part of the building. It took me awhile to realize that the very old building that houses Café Fiore, my coffee destination, is attached to the coppery contemporary building where the dogs keep watch over the street.

I'm not the only cafe visitor who peeks into the adjacent courtyard. With stepping stones leading to the door of Prentiss Architects and daffodils springing up through the gravel, it all feels warmly welcoming. Which is what Geoff Prentiss had in mind when he decided to preserve the building that's stood on the spot for nearly a century. He needed new office space, but was concerned about altering the Galer streetscape too much. So instead he enhanced it.

Rather than maximizing potential space by pushing the new building out, Prentiss made the altruistic decision to build smaller. He attached his new building directly to the old, setting it back far enough to form the streetside courtyard. The flat-faced old building has a rectangular outline as uncomplicated as if a 5-year-old had used a chocolate-colored crayon to sketch it against the sky. The new building is equally straightforward — modern, with practical concrete block as well as wooden windows and doors.

"This is our favorite place we've ever lived," says Collins of the 1,400-square-foot loft apartment over the office. He and Dark moved to Queen Anne from a grander home in Broadmoor, and they're reveling in efficient living. "We love having this one big room where everyone hangs out," Collins says in his Alabama-honeyed drawl. "For someone who isn't a native Seattleite — I really needed this window wall."

Light pours through the two-story grid of windows that reaches 20 feet from bamboo floor to recycled-wood ceiling. This airy living space serves as kitchen, dining and living room on the main floor. There are two bedrooms, an open office at the top of the stairs and two bathrooms.

The small kitchen is functional, with plenty of storage. Laminate cabinets are painted indigo blue for heft. Prentiss kept the cost down by mixing more economical materials, such as the acrylic-and-steel stairway railings, with pricier bamboo flooring and walnut cabinetry throughout.

Even though Collins and Dark spend a good deal of time at their home in Palm Springs, they're lured back to the apartment. "We love the funk factor on Queen Anne," says Collins. "And every day when I walk the dogs, I meet someone new." Of course he does. Adirondack chairs line the street outside the next-door coffee shop, filled with people just waiting for Pride and Joy.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.