Where to find apartments with larger living rooms (Bellevue, Redmond: for sale, real estate)

[tk06]

I've been looking at apartment complexes on the eastside to see if I could find livable apartments that are cheaper to rent than buying a house however all of the apartment complexes I've seen so far have very small living rooms. Usually when they offer more sqft in other floor plans that extra space is in some other room but never the living room.

Typical dimensions I've seen are 12x12, 11x13, 15x12, etc. Many complexes have identical designs for their living rooms despite having different management companies. Unfortunately with living rooms this small you cannot fit furniture in them. Maybe one couch and a coffee table but nothing more. Nevermind another couch and a large computer desk.

Any suggestions on how to find some apartments with bigger living rooms (maybe along the lines of 20x14)? Using sites like rent.com and seeing floor plans you cannot really search by living room size and most floor plans don't have room dimensions (you need to go there to see the size).
Or is there a good site for perhaps finding houses for rent as I cannot really find listings for this except a few ads on craigslist with not enough info.

Is there a very comprehensive properties website used in the northwest that most everyone uses to list properties for rent (and sale) that has decent search options?

[Vinylly]

Look for apartments in older neighborhoods then the East Side. Even newer homes have very tiny living rooms, and many do not even have a living room, -just a combination kitchen, eating space and a place for a couch and TV.
If you want large spacious living rooms look for older apartment buildings on Queen Ann, First Hill, or Capital Hill and maybe the University Dist. Nearly all are large, solid brick buildings. If you can find an Anholt or an Arthur Lovelace designed apartment building, -your in apartment heaven.

[tk06]

Originally Posted by Vinylly

Look for apartments in older neighborhoods then the East Side. Even newer homes have very tiny living rooms, and many do not even have a living room, -just a combination kitchen, eating space and a place for a couch and TV.
If you want large spacious living rooms look for older apartment buildings on Queen Ann, First Hill, or Capital Hill and maybe the University Dist. Nearly all are large, solid brick buildings. If you can find an Anholt or an Arthur Lovelace designed apartment building, -your in apartment heaven.

Would Kirkland be old enough to perhaps have better living rooms? Unfortunately I cannot live on the westside since I work on the eastside. I couldn't possibly afford the upcoming toll on the SR520 everyday. I've also experienced the Westbound traffic on the 520 after 3:30pm - it's quite bad.
I was thinking about trying neighborhoods near the I-90 on the westside like Mt Baker though I've heard bad things about that neighborhood. The commute on the I-90 right now seems fine but I can't predict how it will be when the toll comes in. It could end up being complete gridlock during 7am-10am and 3:30pm-7pm with people avoiding the 520.

I was thinking I may have more luck with space in an older house though I don't really know where to look for listings of houses for rent.

Some pictures of apartments/condos for sale on the eastside APPEAR (hard to tell from a picture) to have spacious living rooms and with mortgages far below rent until you add in HOA dues then they get a lot more expensive.

[Ira500]

Some of the older houses in Bellevue have big living rooms, and downtown Kirkland does have a few older buildings...And you're right, some of those photos are so deceptive. Condos are tricky. If you find one with low HOA dues, they aren't necessarily going to stay low, and if they've deferred maintenance, they can charge the homeowners very large one time assessments because the HOA dues were too low and they didn't have anything in reserve. And when the dues are too high, you just have to wonder what you're getting for all that money.
As far as where to find a house for rent, craigslist, hotpads,nwsource, and real estate agents all have different ones, but craigslist is usually the most plentiful.

[VeronikaW]

Try looking at The Highlands at Wynhaven in Issaquah Highlands. We rented a townhome there, and it had the "great room" concept which was basically a huge combined living room/dining room, but there was also a nook in the kitchen, so we used the entire living/dining room space for living. I notice that the exact plan we had is not actually on their website, but the other apartments seem to have pretty decent sized living areas, as well.

[RachelLJones]

Not sure where you are on the Eastside, but there are several townhome/apartment communities in Redmond with a great room concept.

[tk06]

Originally Posted by RachelLJones

Not sure where you are on the Eastside, but there are several townhome/apartment communities in Redmond with a great room concept.

Such as?

Townhomes are probably an unlikely choice since those that are for rent tend to be quite expensive (usually starting at $1600/mo).