Kim's apartment was a great place for our recent trip to Seattle.
It was really easy to communicate with Kim both before our stay and whilst we were there, and she was really warm and friendly. The apartment is attached to Kim's family home but is really quite separate and clearly your own space- in fact during our 5 day stay we didn't really see Kim and her family at all.
Ballard is a really nice area- a few 'main' roads which are fairly quiet during the day but slightly more lively in the evening when the restaurants and bars open up (after around 3pm). We ate out here a few nights and also for lunch and there is an excellent variety on offer. The apartment is about 5-10 minutes walk from this part of town and in a really quiet street so a perfect location.
It is around 30 minutes on the bus from Ballard to downtown Seattle and the bus is only a few dollars so it is really easy to commute. We preferred staying out of the city and did not feel the distance in and out was too great. You can easily walk from the apartment to the bus stop in less than 10 minutes and the buses come approximately every 15 minutes even at weekends so it is really easy to explore Seattle from Kim's place.
Overall a fantastic apartment in a great location with an excellent host- I would highly recommend!