SEQUIM — Jeri and Fran Sanford have created a rooftop paradise above the hum and clatter of traffic wheeling through Sequim’s busiest downtown intersection.
Leaving behind a home and garden acre in the country, they live above their 16-year-old home and garden business, Over the Fence, at East Washington Street and North Sequim Avenue.
It’s a rarity for business owners in the city’s commercial core to live over their establishments, but the Sanfords embrace their relatively new 1,200-square-foot living space with enthusiasm.
The home has a living area that stokes an ambience of warmth with rich, whimsical design.
“I never saw myself living downtown, no,” said Fran Sanford, who used to work outdoors a lot when he owned Stanford Irrigation in Sequim, building garden watering systems, fountains and ponds.
“But it was pretty much a snap to get used to.”
The home overlooks East Washington Street and North Sequim Avenue, but on clear days, the view stretches far beyond, Jeri said.
“We get to see Hurricane Ridge, everything,” she said. “A second-story view can lead to something special.”
Inside is a spacious living room and kitchen area with a plank vaulted ceiling and bar with stools.
The home includes a bedroom, bathroom and laundry space, storage and pantry space with shelves stacked to the ceiling and a loft large enough for a double mattress for the grandchildren to sleep on.
A cork floor and extra wall insulation help mute outside noise if the windows are closed.
The front door opens to 2,500 square feet of actual finished flat rooftop with a small office unit tucked off in one corner.
The “yard” below is actually in the ground-floor’s courtyard, shared with Over the Fence’s large plant pot display area.
While Jeri designed the home’s interior, the Sanford’s son-in-law, Scott Underwood, built it out of what was unused “empty dead space” above the home and garden store.
The Sanfords moved to their special, smaller downtown digs on a trial basis at first, choosing to rent their Kendall Road home and an acre garden so they could move downtown.
They found the large garden to be after-work therapy at first.
“Then it got to not be therapy,” she said with a chuckle, remembering how much work the garden became.
Now, Jeri said she can walk upstairs in 10 seconds to brew a cup of tea instead of driving 10 minutes to take a work break.
Fran compliments his wife of 39 years for taking on the project almost two years ago.
“She has a gift for space and color,” he said. “I just went with it.”
Because the rooftop outdoors protects their business investment downstairs, garden decor is limited and mostly vertical, with attractive outdoor furniture concentrated near the home.
Jeri uses Woolly Pockets filled with dirt lining one wall to grow vegetables, such as carrots.
She said people often ask them about the issue of privacy.
“When you are actually on the main corner of town, actually, the feeling of privacy is better than our other home,” she said.
“We’re like an island here.”
The rooftop in warm weather is a romantic place for a party, where the Sanfords celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary and hosted a bridal shower.
She said it gives her a bird’s-eye view of the streets below, making the Sanfords a crime watch team with a vantage point.
One night, she looked off to the building’s north public parking area to see a pair of “taggers” about to spray-paint their mark on a wall.
“I said, ‘Do you really have to do that?’” she recalled.
They left.
The Sanfords highly encourage others downtown business owners to consider living above their businesses, something the city of Sequim’s planners have long been promoting along with higher-density apartment complexes, up to four stories.
“I just see incredible opportunities here,” she said. “It’s such an affordable way to live, and it’s totally charming.
“We don’t use our car the way we used to,” she added.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.