From the outside, this midcentury modern home is entirely incognito, just a squat black box set behind a short, wide driveway and a touch of low-maintenance landscaping. But it's deceiving you. What looks like the front door actually leads to a serene courtyard with a tiny pond and a graceful modern sculpture. Across the courtyard is the real front door.

Architect James Chiarelli designed this home. Well-respected in his field, he worked with some big local names, practicing with Andrew Willatsen and John Graham earlier in his career. For six years in the 1940s, he even had a partnership with midcentury home legend Paul Kirk. Chiarelli's most recognizable building is probably the Seattle Opera House, which he designed with fellow architect Marcus Priteca in 1962. His own personal home in North Seattle, which he also designed, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Just inside of this home, a foyer with a stone floor has an open staircase to the lower level. Straight ahead—through a wide open door made of sliding caned panels—the expansive living room brings in natural light and a grand scale that doesn’t seem possible from the front door, thanks to a raised ceiling with clerestory windows. Shoji screens stand in for curtains  on the windows and the sliding glass door to the massive back balcony. Vertical tongue-and-groove walls (and part of the ceiling!) bring an iconic Northwest midcentury finish.

A pocket door leads to a large eat-in kitchen with what appears to be original hardware, with handsome wood cabinetry to match the wood paneling in the next room. The appliances are certainly newer than the home, but fit into the period layout beautifully.

Two of the four bedrooms are upstairs; the other two are below, off a large den with a recessed brick fireplace. Set into a slope, the rear level opens right up to a small patio and the backyard.

The house is located in the Windermere neighborhood just below Sand Point, and is just a few blocks south of Magnuson Park, with a boat launch, around three miles of trails, and one of the city’s most popular dog parks. This also puts it a stone’s throw from the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital.