Updated House on Acres of Peaceful Forest w/ Views

The entire interior was recently updated to be cheery, cozy, & stylish. We host friends and family here so it’s more than just a rental property to us Soak in acres of quiet grass and forest. Enjoy visits by deer or the bald eagle family that nests nearby. Drive 3min to a beautiful, driftwood-covered beach & boat launch Explore Deception Pass State Park, buy flowers or eggs right from a farm, then dine in Coupeville’s world-class restaurants Perfect for two couples or a family of four The space Every room in the house has been completely updated, complete with new floors, furniture, hardware, amenities, and appliances. ••• Primary bedroom ••• This room has a walk-in closet and a new Casper king-sized bed. It has windows on three walls, all of which have blackout shades. One door leads to the hallway and rest of the house, the other door leads directly to the raised deck. ••• Secondary bedroom ••• This room has windows on two walls, which also have blackout shades. By default this room has two twin XL-sized Casper beds, but if you request ahead of time we can use a converter kit to change it into a single king-sized bed. For more details on family essentials, see the Families with Young Children section below. ••• Main Area ••• This 1040 square foot house has an open plan, with no walls between the kitchen area, dining area, and couch area. ••• Couch area ••• The TV has an Amazon Firestick that is signed into Netflix, Amazon, and Fubo (for sports), watchable from a gorgeous leather couch that we’re actually a little jealous of for our own homes. It’s easy to play surprisingly high-quality audio with a simple “Hey, play the Beatles” or similar. We upgraded from DSL to Verizon 5G home Internet in 2025 and it is fast enough to have several people video conference or watch HDTV at the same time---we live and work there for big chunks of the summer, so internet speed is very important to us. ••• Eating area ••• A simple table against the wall easily seats four adults, and we have a high-chair converter for any tiny humans you may bring along. Pull the table away from the wall or add the extra table leaf to seat up to 8 adults (extra chairs in the garage). ••• Kitchen ••• Our guests often eat at the kitchen island, which has plenty of space for meal prep and eating. The kitchen is equipped with a new countertop, new refrigerator, new dishwasher, new coffee maker, new coffee grinder, new Ninja blender, and similar appliances. It also comes stocked with cooking basics like oils, seasonings, cookware, sharp knives, colanders, cutting boards, aluminum foil, and the like. ••• Deck ••• The deck features a couple adirondack chairs, a gas grill, and lovely views. It’s accessible from the primary bedroom as well as the main area. ••• Bathroom ••• The bathroom has a new counter and a new sink, and the step-in shower has a new showerhead. Note there is no bathtub, though for the kiddos we offer a collapsible one that fits in the shower. ••• Laundry ••• A closet off of the entrance contains a washer and dryer (with detergent) that you can feel free to use. ••• Garage ••• The garage has space for one car and a bit of storage. Guest access If you drive up from Seattle, you can take the ferry from Mukilteo. But, particularly on busy weekends, one often has to wait in line for 30 minutes or an hour to get on a ferry. One of the key advantages of the north half of Whidbey Island is that it’s easy and predictable to get to--generally about a two-hour drive from Seattle. The last hour of the drive is really lovely; it includes some gorgeous lakes, a drive over Deception Pass, and some fun winding roads with cows, sheep, and horses on small local farms. Generally speaking you do need to have your own transportation. There are very few Lyfts or Ubers. Though there are several restaurants that deliver, and you can order Safeway through Instacart. Other things to note •••••••••••• Exploring Whidbey Island •••••••••••• ••• Deception Pass State Park (20min drive) ••• is rated by travelers to be one of the top 5 in all of Washington State. It features a wide variety of hikes, Rosario beach and its gorgeous wave-smoothed rocks, kayaking, lakes, little islands, dramatic views, boat tours, and more. Search “tripadvisor things to do in deception pass” for more ideas. ••• Coupeville (30min drive) ••• is a classic cute coastal town. Front Street is full of little shops, wine bars, and ice cream, and Penn Cove Brewery is a short walk away. Coupeville sits on Penn Cove, home to some of the best oysters and mussels in the country--and many of its restaurants serve those same shellfish. Our personal favorite is Oystercatcher, which we prefer to any restaurant we’ve eaten at in our last ten years living in Seattle (even for its non-seafood). Search “tripadvisor things to do in coupeville” for more ideas. ••• Mariner’s Cove (3min drive, 15min walk) ••• is the easiest way to get beach access, and it’s one of the few publicly accessible boat launches. The beach is covered in gorgeous driftwood, the rocks are smooth and beautiful and beloved by our kids, the views of the Cascade Mountains to the left and the Olympics to the right are awe-inspiring (when the weather is clear), and if you’re lucky you’ll find one of the cute painted rocks created by locals (search for “painted rocks treasure hunt” to learn more). ••• Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (15min drive to Ault Field and 15min drive to Seaplane Base) ••• hosts search and rescue aircraft as well as 20 squadrons of F/A-18 Super Hornets (the workhorse of U.S. Naval Aviation). If you like airshows, there are strategic locations where you can get a very close view of these aircraft taking off and landing. ••• Dugualla State Park (10min drive) ••• features pleasant hikes that wind through wetlands, an alder grove, and shoreline hikes. It isn’t as epic and exciting as Deception Pass State Park, but it’s a pleasant change of pace. ••• The Farm Stand at K & R Farms (15min drive, but only open April through October) ••• is a great place to take kids---ice cream and shaved ice, lawn games, beautiful views, and seasonal activities like a fall corn maze. You may also drive by seasonal farm-run stands where you can drop some money in a pot and walk away with a beautiful bouquet of flowers or a tasty box of eggs produced on that farm. ••• Oak Harbor (15 min drive) ••• is largely oriented around serving the needs of the Naval Base community, and as such has plenty of groceries, stores, pharmacies, a hospital, and so forth. It features a lovely little downtown strip near Windjammer Park, an open grassy area on the sound. We’re partial to Noe Jose Cafe for breakfast, Orlando’s for barbeque, The Terrace for drinks, and Fraser’s Gourmet Hideaway for a nice dinner. ••• Whidbey Island weather ••• benefits from the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, and as such is significantly dryer than Seattle. Different regions have different rainfall microclimates---some areas of north Whidbey Island have half as much rain as some areas of south Whidbey Island. •••••••••••• Long-terms stays •••••••••••• We've had quite a few folks stay at our place for several months, and they've all given us 5 stars. A few things in particular to note: • Internet is fast and reliable • Kitchen is very well-equipped (including dishwasher) • We're pet-friendly • Primary bedroom has a walk-in closer • Lots of storage space, both in a large hall closet and a mostly unused garage • In-house washer and dryer • If you stay for more than 1.5 months, we'll coordinate with you to bring cleaners in once per month •••••••••••• Families with Young Children •••••••••••• We have some young kids ourselves and have equipped the house with some basics: a high chair that attaches to any of the normal chairs, plastic plates and silverware, a collapsible crib that fits into the primary walk-in closet when expanded, an inflatable tub for our otherwise stand-up-only shower, and a toy & book box (in the closet). All are used but in good condition. •••••••••••• Remote Workers •••••••••••• While rural internet is generally not as fast as that in major cities, our Internet is still fast enough to have several people video conference or watch HDTV at the same time. We live and work in the other house on the property for big chunks of the summer, so internet speed is very important to us. We were initially quite scared by the fact that the connection is DSL, but somehow we end up having as good or better internet connections than we have at our houses in Seattle. When we do have occasional hiccups, there are a good number of 5G towers around so our phone hotspots do very well (and also outperform our Seattle home internet, oddly). We don't have a dedicated desk, so you'd likely end up working from the small table in the main area. •••••••••••• Shared Property •••••••••••• This house is the guest house of a larger house on the same property. Depending on the date, that house may be occupied by us (the family that owns it) or by other Airbnb renters or be vacant. We’d ask that you avoid going right up to the house or its deck or hot tub, but you can still feel free to explore the other four acres of forest and grass. •••••••••••• About the Laughlins •••••••••••• We’re two families that live in Seattle (the dads are brothers). Between us we’ve got five young kids, two local grandmas, and two dogs named Cocoa and Maverick. We bought this five-acre property and its two houses so we could get out of the city and into nature with friends during the summer, and so we could host our huge extended family for holidays. When the whole family stays together, the grandmas take this guest house. As such, we really care about creating a welcoming space, and we’ve invested significantly in fixing it up. When the grandmas and our friends aren’t using the house, we rent it out on Airbnb. Hopefully it will be clear to you when you stay that we take pride in our work and in the visiting experience we offer. If there's anything we can do to help make your stay even a little bit better, please reach out and we’ll take action as quickly as possible. (Legalese that you can ignore: Technically this property is owned by Whidbey Nice, LLC, the entity we set up to share the property between the two families.)