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1 month ago | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton |Kayla Winarsky McKenzie
It’s not that many jobs where interior designer Julanda Shannon and a client will decide they have met their quota on fringe. “We were looking at picture frames for the artwork that had fringe at the bottom, and the client and I were like, ‘Wait, that could be fun,’” remembers Shannon.
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1 month ago | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton |Anton Benedikt
“I definitely like clean minimalism, but not at the cost of being sterile,” says homeowner Sophia Chung. Design-wise, this can be a tricky balance as going too far in one direction, the space feels cluttered. Take too much away, and rooms feel sparse. For Chung’s custom Clyde Hill, Washington home, shared with husband Eddie and their two children, the happy medium was found in a few key words that guided them throughout the process: Modern Mediterranean.
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2 months ago | 
csis.org | Melissa G. Dalton
The Trump administration has fundamentally changed the U.S. approach to homeland defense through these early actions. It should assess the merits and trade-offs in its interim strategic guidance and the 2026 National Defense Strategy, with appropriate oversight by Congress.
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2 months ago | 
csis.org | Mark Cancian |Melissa G. Dalton
In February, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the military services and defense agencies to identify 8 percent, or about $50 billion, in annual cuts that could be reinvested in higher-priority activities. Who would be the winners and losers? CSIS experts Mark Cancian and Melissa Dalton took distinctly different approaches to this task in an exercise organized by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in partnership with CSIS.
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Mar 22, 2025 | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton |Andrew Giammarco
In the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, you’ll find everything from new condos in chic modern industrial buildings, to historic mansions on tree-lined streets. Classic Seattle “boxes” sidle up beside bungalows, Victorians, Tudors, and vintage apartments behind brick fronts. So it is, that this neoclassical house fits right in amongst its neighbors in East Capitol Hill, where so many stately historic homes have been maintained, rather than replaced with more modern abodes.
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Feb 17, 2025 | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton |Benjamin Benschneider
No matter the season, the first thing that Ray Bowen does in the morning at his Shoreline, Washington home is bring a cup of coffee out to the back terrace, settle in a chair, and take in the incredible view. “If the wind’s not blowing, you can even sit out there in the winter,” says Ray, noting how the covered trellis protects him from the sun in the summer, while heaters cleverly tucked between the beams deliver warmth when temperatures drop.
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton |Rafael Soldi
Sometimes finding the right house is less about careful preparation, and more a matter of embracing happy accidents. Such was the case for Paul Midgen and Kirsten Adams, after they moved with their daughter, Lark, back to Seattle from Amsterdam in 2018. “We had a Goldilocks problem,” says Paul. “First we bought a house and it was too big. Then we bought a second house and it was too small.” The couple looked into remodeling the latter, but the Covid-19 pandemic brought plans to a halt.
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton |Andrew Giammarco
Tom and Sally had been living in their downtown Seattle condominium for several years when a high-rise went in nearby, effectively blocking the couple’s view of the Space Needle. Shortly thereafter, they learned about another new building, not too far away, called the Rainier Square Tower.
Completed in 2020, Rainier Square Tower rises 58 stories and occupies a prominent position in Seattle’s skyline, with street level commercial, office space, and luxury apartments.
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Sep 10, 2024 | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton
AWARD: First Place, Powder Room
Doorway to Heaven
Designer: Richard Landon, CMKBDspaceplanner.com
By relocating the kitchen, Richard Landon, CMKBD made room for so much more in this house: an entry hallway, coat closet, and this stunning powder room. The vaulted ceilings and walls are swathed in venetian plaster, providing a dramatic backdrop for the vanity, composed of a bronze-mirrored cabinet that reflects the walnut floor.
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Aug 11, 2024 | 
portraitmagazine.com | Melissa G. Dalton |Miranda Estes
When Paul and Leslie Santarelli were looking for a home in Seattle in 2018, they were seeing too many houses that were just a little too new. “It was a lot of modern farmhouses,” recalls Paul. “There was nothing very old.” Then the couple walked into a 1912 Craftsman in the Mt. Baker neighborhood. They were amazed by the home’s historic detail, from the coffered ceiling and decorative stair railing, to the original tile around the fireplace and stained-glass windows glinting in several rooms.
