Roland Terry’s Vision for Northwest Living Is Still Remarkably Modern.

What makes a Roland Terry home different? Not just the architecture... It’s the way the house teaches you to look at the landscape.

Some architect-designed homes make a dramatic first impression.

This one takes a little longer.

From the street, it’s quiet. Low to the ground. Almost understated. Then you step inside, and you realize the house was never meant to compete with its surroundings. It was designed to frame them.

That’s one of the things I appreciate most about Roland Terry’s work.

Completed in 1953 and now offered for $2,750,000, this home sits within Bellevue’s Hilltop neighborhood—one of the Pacific Northwest’s most important modernist communities. For anyone interested in Northwest architecture, Hilltop was an experiment in a different way of living, where architecture and landscape were intended to work together rather than one dominating the other.

This house remains one of the clearest expressions of that idea.

Why Hilltop still matters

Hilltop began in 1947 when developer John Morse assembled 63 wooded acres overlooking Lake Washington.

Instead of treating the land as something to reshape, the architects asked a different question: What if the houses adapted to the landscape instead?

The community attracted an extraordinary group of University of Washington architects, including Fred Bassetti, Perry Johanson, Wendell Lovett, and Roland Terry. Together, they helped define what we now recognize as Northwest Modernism.

Walk through Hilltop today, and you’ll notice something unusual. The homes don’t compete with one another. The trees remain the dominant feature. Houses seem to emerge from the landscape rather than sit on top of it. Even seventy years later, the neighborhood feels remarkably cohesive because everyone was working from the same philosophy.

Three details I’d pay attention to

If we were touring this house together, these are the details I’d keep coming back to.

1. The proportions. At 1,660 square feet, this isn’t a large house by today’s standards. Terry didn’t rely on square footage to create a sense of generosity. He relied on proportion, light, and carefully placed views.

2. The glass. Floor-to-ceiling windows aren’t here simply to admit more daylight. They’re positioned to keep your attention moving outward, toward the trees, the lake, the skyline, and the Olympic Mountains beyond. The landscape becomes part of every room.

3. The restraint. There’s very little in this house that’s trying to impress you. That’s exactly what makes it compelling. Terry understood that when the setting is extraordinary, architecture doesn’t have to shout.

A renovation that understood the assignment

Updating an architect-designed home is always a balancing act. Modern systems make a house easier to live in, but it’s surprisingly easy to erase the qualities that made it special in the first place.

The 2015 renovation feels thoughtful in that regard. Behind the walls, the plumbing, electrical systems, and glazing were modernized. In the kitchen, Calacatta marble and quartz introduce contemporary materials without overwhelming the original timber structure. Nothing feels like it’s competing with the architecture.

That's harder to achieve than it sounds.

Why Roland Terry homes remain so desirable

There aren’t many opportunities to buy a Roland Terry home. There are even fewer that remain largely true to the architect’s original intent while offering the comforts buyers expect today.

What I find most interesting is that Terry’s work doesn’t really feel nostalgic. Spend a few minutes inside one of his houses, and it becomes clear that many of the ideas we associate with contemporary design—open planning, indoor-outdoor living, generous natural light, visual simplicity—were already here decades ago.

That’s one reason these homes continue to resonate with collectors and design-minded buyers alike. They’re still important because the ideas still work.

Property Details

Architect: Roland Terry

Community: Hilltop, Bellevue Address: 5337 146th Ave SE, Bellevue

Year Built: 1953

Offered at: $2,750,000

If this home caught your attention, it's probably because certain houses have a way of feeling timeless. That’s what continues to draw me to architect-designed homes. They reward careful observation, and they often become more interesting the longer you spend with them.

MLS #2488588 | Photos courtesy NWMLS

Listed by Terri Agee Smith, Windermere Real Estate Co.

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Shawn Williams is a Washington real estate broker, design strategist, and founder of House of Grā. She helps buyers and sellers recognize the value in thoughtfully designed homes—from overlooked midcentury originals to architect-designed Northwest icons—by combining market expertise with an eye for architecture, design, and the stories that make a home worth remembering.

Shawn Williams, House of Grā | Keller Williams Eastside

Call or Text 206.436.9099 | email: shawn-williams@kw.com