Rob Paylor is the new face in town here at Seabrook and also the newest addition to the Mill 109 Restaurant and Pub!  Joining us here at the beach as the Mill 109’s General Manager, Rob has already begun making a real impact at Seabrook. Chances are, the next time you walk into the restaurant, Rob’s smiling face will be there to greet you!

As the epitome of a “people person,” Rob is the kind of guy who will know your usual order before you realize that you’ve become a regular!  He has a talent for relationship-building a long and well-honed career managing local favorites such as Galway Bay in Ocean Shores and The 8^th Street Ale House in Hoquiam. Rob understands that there is always an element of celebration that goes along with dining out and is not only excited to be a part of those celebrations, but creates unique personal touches for his customers to really make it a night to remember!

This Grays Harbor native studied at the Western Culinary Institute (now Le Cordon Bleu College) in Portland. While he had the opportunity to live anywhere, he and his wife Sara (and two children Robbie and Audrey) decided to make their home in Aloha, WA where Rob’s great grandfather worked as a “shingle weaver” back in 1915.  In fact, he’ll joke with you that in four generations and in 96 years, the Paylor family has only made it about one mile from where they started!

Nonetheless, because of Rob’s local community connections and the relationships he’s created in Grays Harbor County, the Mill 109 will be enjoying  many more events and musical talents on a regular basis!  He’s getting the word about what’s happening through the Mill 109 Restaurant & Pub’s Website, as well Mill 109’s Facebook page. Look out for many creative ideas and events at Seabrook’s favorite restaurant and pub.

Rob is already working hard on a brand new fall menu and rumor has it that by October you’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor!  In the meantime, try the Mill 109 Beach Burger or Fish Tacos with one of Alameda Brewing’s craft beers (likely one of the Mill 109’s best kept secrets) which are on tap right now!

Rob has watched Seabrook grow quite a bit over the past eight years and is excited to be a part of its future.  Stop by the Mill 109 Restaurant and Pub and meet the newest addition to the team!

Have you ever dreamed of owning a spectacular beach home that was also environmentally sustainable? That is exactly what the Hassler family was looking for when they created Windswept, a beautiful oceanfront home nestled into Seabrook’s Northwest Glen Neighborhood.

This stunning property was carefully planned to not only be an incredible beach retreat, but was also designed to be energy efficient, use less water than a traditional home, provide a healthy indoor environment, and protect the outdoor environment both during the construction process and for the life of the home. With all this in mind, Windswept was recently awarded LEED Certification at the Silver level – becoming the second home at Seabrook with LEED certification!

LEED is an acronym that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance “green” buildings. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides homeowners and contractors with three different levels of concise framework used to identify and implement practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance solutions.

Here in Washington, there are less than 150 homes that have attained either the Silver, Gold, or Platinum level LEED Certification. Until recently, only one of these LEED Certified homes was located on the Olympic Peninsula; Seabrook’s very own, Evergreen Cabin. Now, Windswept has joined the Evergreen Cabin to become the second home at Seabrook and the first oceanfront home to attain LEED Certification!

Windswept is a relaxing and sophisticated beach home that is committed to environmental stewardship and social responsibility. It is also a vacation rental property available to rent for your next beach vacation!

Visit Windswept’s Cottage Rentals website to find out more information on the home amenities, pictures, availability, and more!

As many beach lovers from across the nation have flocked to Seabrook to visit the 2010 Coastal Living Magazine Ultimate Beach House, we’ve had a chance to meet some very successful and inspiring people from all industries.

One such person has been Florida based interior designer Michelle Jennings Wiebe. Visiting relatives in Washington state, she had heard of the great 4th of July tradition established at Seabrook and decided to bring her own family here for the holiday.

We had the great pleasure of meeting her and her family as they walked in our office after a tour of the Ultimate Beach House. Eager to learn more about our waterfront real estate neighborhood, we spent good couple hours chatting about our beach town and discussing Seaside, Florida and other similar communities that, like Seabrook, were founded on the basis of new urbanism.

Here are 10 questions Michelle was kind enough to answer for the readers of our blog. She is an incredible person and a unique interior designer; hope you enjoy her interview and pictures of some of her work.

1. Was becoming an interior designer your dream since you were a kid?

Amazingly, yes!  I grew up in a historic home built in the 1800s in a small town in Ohio.  My grandparents owned it before my parents did, and I was quite enthralled when my grandfather let my grandmother hire a “decorator from the big city!”  I loved seeing the transformation of this house from tired to beautiful!  I also spent a lot of my time as a child drawing floor plans and elevations, decorating my Barbie houses, and spending time in multiple art classes.  My love increased during high school with more art and drafting classes.  Upon graduation, I knew I wanted to study Interior Design.  I chose Florida State University and graduated, loving every minute of it!

2. What is your favorite part of the house to design?

Actually I don’t have a favorite room.  I love any space that I get to design with incredible fabrics.  I have a deep passion for unusual, exquisite, colorful fabrics.

3. What is the most common decorating mistake you notice?

Perhaps incorrect scale or proportion used.  All the pieces of the room must fit together.  As an interior designer, I am constantly thinking about how each piece will affect other pieces, and how the final outcome will look.  I never make a singular decision without thinking through the entire scheme or plan!

4. What do you strive for in your career (goal/milestone)?

Throughout my career, my primary objective has been to provide my clients with BOTH excellent interior design and superior client service.  There is nothing better to have the same clients come back year after year, whether they are purchasing a new property or referring us to a friend!

Recently, I have set some new industrious career goals for both our firm and me individually.  First, our firm is very enthusiastic about doing more interior design work outside of Florida; it is our intent to branch out into more national projects, and even international ones!  Second, we would like to design and license our own line of designer home items.  We have some great ideas for bedding, area rugs, and furnishings; we are still looking at which avenue to pursue.  Third, I’d like to write a design book and get published; this has been a dream since childhood.  I’ve actually began the initial process on this.  Lastly, we are developing ideas for pitches with television networks to launch a design TV show.  So needless to say, these are exciting times at Studio M!  We are thankful for every client past and present, and look forward to creating these new chapters (literally!)

5. What is your biggest inspiration in life?

My family is my biggest inspiration!  I have a wonderful husband Tom, who left a decade long corporate career in the finance industry to join Studio M several years ago!  He is also a great dad to our three children.   They all inspire me each and every day!

6. Where do you draw inspiration from in your work?

Inspiration comes from many sources, but travel provides new creativity and refreshment.  I must tell you that during our week long stay at Seabrook this summer, I found a lot of design inspiration from the ocean, the rugged cliffs and trees, and the charming architecture of the community!!  The tranquil setting also was perfect for complete renewal and recharging.

I also meticulously study design books and design magazines for inspiration—you should see my bedside table!  Over the past year, I have also become a design blog junkie on-line.  I am amazed out all the information out there!

7. Favorite place to relax?

The beach….the beach…..the beach.  My soul considers it truly heaven on earth!

8. Most uniquely and interestingly decorated movie scene that you remember?

It is funny you should ask that because I also admire and study movie and television sets.  Sometime it does not even matter what the show is about, if there is an interesting design to the set, I’m entertained by that!

Hands down, my favorite production designer is Jon Hutman, who along with set decorator Beth Rubino crafted the sets of both “It’s Complicated” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”  Jon Hutman also designed “The Holiday”.  These are my favorite recent movie sets.

Of course, my all time favorite which must be mentioned is the incredible “Gone with the Wind”!

9. What was your favorite part about Seabrook?

Our family enjoyed Seabrook so very much, and it was everything we thought it would be, plus more!   We have stayed at and been fascinated with the developments of the neo-traditional communities of Seaside, Florida and Rosemary Beach, Florida.  We come often to visit relatives in the Seattle, Washington area, so we were drawn to check out the Pacific Northwest’s enchanting version of this type of community.

It is difficult to pick out just one favorite part.  Our family enjoyed every minute, and we made lots of treasured memories.  We enjoyed our family bike rides, horseback rides on the beach, decorating our front porch for the 4^th of July, visiting Lil’s Pantry (everyday!), hiking the trail to the beach, and just the fun family time we had!

We sincerely enjoyed our stay!  Thank you for your Washington hospitality.  We look forward to coming back soon!

To find out more about Studio M Interior Design, visit:

Studio M Interior Design Website

Studio M Interior Blog

Studio M Interiors on Facebook

Studio M Interiors on Twitter

Love the ocean? Love reading beautifully designed magazines displaying the most magnificent coastlines and beaches around the world? Then you’re gonna love this!

Ocean Home Magazine, one of the most respected print magazines on living by the ocean, has featured Seabrook’s attractive oceanfront real estate in their latest September/October issue!

The magazine is a highly exclusive publication only available at select locations. Oceanhome Magazine’s subscribers comprise a group of carefully selected families interested in purchasing oceanfront real estate as their second, third, or fourth home.

Seabrook is very proud to be a part of Oceanhome Magazine. Their 6 page spread highlights Seabrook’s beachfront views as well as the town’s sustainable plan and all of its amenities we often highlight here on the Seabrook Blog.

If you don’t have a chance to check out a printed copy of the magazine, you can click and view the whole Seabrook article online!

And this is just the beginning of Seabrook’s press for the fall! The Seattle Times real estate section is coming out with an extensive article on Seabrook’s home sales success in next week’s weekend paper. By the end of September, Coastal Living Magazine’s 30-page spread on Seabrook and the Ultimate Beach House should hit the stands as well!

So be on the lookout for more lovely features of Seabrook!

The Evergreen Cabin, proud member of our recently completed Beach Camp Neighborhood, has recently become the first LEED© Platinum certified home at Seabrook!

The Evergreen Cabin is now one of only 125 LEED© certified homes in Washington State, and the only one in Seabrook, the city of Pacific Beach, and Grays Harbor County.

LEED© Certification is an internationally accepted standard that measures the sustainability of a building. There are two types of LEED© certification – residential and commercial. For each type of LEED© certification, there are multiple levels that a building can achieve: silver, gold, and the highest one – platinum. The Evergreen Cabin has reached the highest sustainability level for a residential home, which is quite outstanding!

As Seabrook’s most energy-efficient beach house, the Evergreen Cabin is a prime example of Seabrook’s commitment towards sustainable real estate development in the Pacific Northwest. Our homeowners are passionate about preserving the nature and truly believe in real-estate sustainability – which is what Seabrook has been about since its beginning.

For all the information on how the Evergreen Cabin achieved their Platinum LEED© Certification, read the press release featured in the rest of this article.