Hello kind humans! This here is a list of our Seattle favorites for commercial design. But first, a brief preface:

Anna and I talk often about that feeling you get when you enter a bar or restaurant and you sit down at a table or bar stool and know instantly if where you’ve landed is right. Most people can relate to being in a new city, or even your home city, and doing countless walk-bys or yelp scrolls before settling on an establishment. We do it and we see you do it (you being the strangers seen poking your head in windows to evaluate the situation). We have a confession. We’re both guilty of being fully seated at a restaurant, turning to our dining companion and saying “nah this isn’t it we have to leave”, and abandoning our water glasses (not proud).

We have a term that we use to describe design - our short hand to explain if a place is ‘hitting the spot’ or not. Our shorthand is “flat” or “round” design. Flat design may be pretty on the surface but you quickly feel a lack of depth or originality, kind of like a tract house or a WeWork (no offense). More often, flat design is no design at all and is just flat-out bleak. Round design on the other hand, gives you that gut feeling we’re talking about. For us it’s a feeling of inspiration, ease and belonging. The physical environment feels alive. It comes through in the variation, colors, textures, sounds, smells, light. It’s layered. There is meaning and thought behind all the design details of the experience. Round design is cinematic. So the following list is our ode to the places in Seattle that inspire our love for commercial design. The places that have, in our opinion, nailed “round design”. Without further ado…

Our Seattle Favorites:

*Photo credit to each establishment