A stately Capitol Hill mansion, built in 1906 and widely known for decades as the Seattle White House, is listed for $5.975 million. Compass broker Sam Cunningham has the listing.
The 7,500 square-foot home, with eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, is owned by business and community leader Roger Nyhus , founder of Nyhus Communications, who recently sold his 30-year-old business , Nyhus Communications, to a Spokane firm.
Some 15 years ago Nyhus jumped at the chance to buy the manse from Peter Biddle , who was at that time a top executive at Microsoft.
“As a college student I used to drive by this house with friends, admiring it on the way to nearby Volunteer Park. I never imagined I’d live in it or own it some day, but the opportunity arose and it needed some love. I was willing to put the work in,” Nyhus says.
That work amounted to more than $2 million in fixes and improvements, resulting in a stunning manse which has been extensively updated for contemporary living.
“Physically I love that on the outside it’s very grand and classic with its columns, and on the inside it’s incredibly warm and livable. That surprises a lot of people. This is an extremely livable home with very nice spaces which are human scale and even lovable,” he says.
The complete top-to-bottom renovation, which honors the mansion’s historic details while creating generous warm modern interiors, was done under the stewardship of JAS Design Build and recently interior designer Brian Paquette .
Nyhus feels pride when he thinks of all the entertaining and events he held here. “This Seattle White House is iconic and I’ve simply been the lucky steward. What I love most is all the good the house has done in the world. It’s not only a home, but a convening space that helped launch Washington’s successful marriage equality campaign, as well as numerous political candidates and countless nonprofit fundraisers.”
A room dubbed “the parlor,” painted Farrow & Ball’s Hague blue, is his favorite space. “With its shimmering ceiling and Norwegian fireplace, it gives you a hug when you walk in,” Nyhus says.
He loves the enormous kitchen with its seven-foot AGA range and other exceptional accoutrements.
He points to the views, on every level, of Puget Sound, the Space Needle, downtown, and the lush garden that encircles the light-filled home, a manse with ample gallery walls and spaces for other art.
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