Remodeling in Shoreline

Building in Shoreline

Shoreline was built largely in the 1940s and 1950s, and its brick ramblers and postwar cottages in Ridgecrest, Meridian Park, and Richmond Beach have a modest charm that hides real limitations: small kitchens, one bathroom serving the whole house, and electrical panels never meant for modern loads. These homes remodel gratifyingly well. Their simple rectangular footprints and accessible attics and basements make it straightforward to open plans, add a second bath, and rewire while the walls are open.

Two light rail stations have made Shoreline one of the region's most active areas for adding housing, and the city has leaned in with some of the most ADU-friendly policies around, including pre-reviewed plans and encouragement of both attached and detached units. Basement apartments and backyard cottages are a large share of our Shoreline work. Permitting goes through the City of Shoreline, which is notably organized on ADU pathways, and we help owners weigh a basement conversion against a detached unit based on their lot and goals.

Shoreline's 1940s-50s brick ramblers and cottages have small kitchens, one bathroom, and undersized panels, but their simple footprints and accessible attics and basements make them easy to open up. The opportunity is second baths, open plans, and ADUs.

THOSE SOLID 1950S SHORELINE BRICK RAMBLERS HIDE SHALLOW BUT USABLE BASEMENTS, AND GETTING EGRESS AND HEADROOM RIGHT DOWN THERE IS USUALLY THE KEY THAT UNLOCKS THE WHOLE HOUSE PLAN.