Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Former Starbucks CEO Laurelhurst Home For Sale




A Laurelhurst Blog reader sent us this post:


Former Starbucks CEO Jim Donald is selling his Seattle mansion.
 
The stately home at 4315 N.E. 33rd St. in the Laurelhurst neighborhood was built in 1909, and just went on the market for $3.7 million.

Jim Donald became president and CEO of Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) in 2005 until Howard Schultz took over the top job in 2008. Donald was also CEO of Haggen Food & Pharmacy and Extended Stay Hotels. He was named one of the top CEOs in the world by The Best Practice Institute, a think tank for Fortune 500 executives.
 
The couple has lived in this impeccably renovated 6,342 square-foot home for 13 years.
 

Laura said their oldest son settled right into what she called “the penthouse,” which combines a bedroom with another space that looks out over the lake. “One of the best rooms in the house,” she says.
 
Their younger child got a little smaller room with a loft bed and a deck.
 
Both loved their rooms. Both are grown now. And so the Donalds are moving to a smaller, turn-key property – a Tom Kundig design (Olson Kundig Architects) on Leschi. And they have a large property on Orcas Island that they love as well.
 
It won’t be easy leaving this home they have loved all these years.

Windermere Broker Jeri P. Smith sent the MLS wording describing the listing which has just been on the market a few days, with its five bedrooms, 4.25 baths, tile roof and four fireplaces: “Period carved columns, ceiling beams and inlaid wood floors are lightened with a subdued palette adding contemporary aesthetic. Leaded windows and French doors open to expansive private gardens. Wisteria draped pergola and deck garden overlook Lake Washington. Terrazzo floored rec/family room, built-in office nook, art studio and separate, graciously appointed apartment are special features of this rare home.”
 
Laura Donald says the home originally had a carriage house and a separate lane behind it for the carriages, and encompassed all the property all the way down to the water.
“It still retains an easement that goes down to Lake Washington,” she says.
 
She loves the pergola. “It’s planted with wisteria and grapes. In the spring it is laden with wisteria blooms and later in the season, loaded with grapes. We dine out there a lot. You don’t feel like you are in Seattle, but rather like you are in Italy. It’s amazing. We added the lighting and the lanterns. It has a wonderful atmosphere and it is a beautiful place to have dinner.”
 
She also pointed to the second story deck as a favorite place in the house.
 
“We built in a deck garden, a big one which stretches the length of the second story. The house sits on a half acre. The gardens are amazing and very, very private and large for standards in city living,” she says.
 
Check out the slide show by Matt Edington to get a feel for this gracious and stately home.
 
 

Here are two other related articles:
Former Starbucks CEO Lists Laurelhurst Mansion For $3.7M

Jim Donald Net Worth: Former Starbucks CEO Lists Seattle Mansion


(photo courtesy of Seattle Curbed)


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