Beachy Tranquility and Togetherness on Puget Sound

Easygoing style and a peaceful palette create a welcoming waterfront home for a family

Sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful thing. Michele Thornquist, development director at a Seattle-area private school, and her husband, John, a business owner in aeronautical engineering, fell in love with a Kitsap Peninsula beach, put an offer on a midcentury modern home there and hoped for the best. But when that home proved to have many unexpected issues, they rescinded their offer. This turned out to be a blessing, as a better house two doors away came up for sale a short time later.

“We heard the owners were considering selling this house,” says Michele. “It took some negotiating, but here we are, on the beach that we liked so much.”