The owners of this well-built brick and cedar shingle bungalow loved the quiet lane its situated on, but wanted a fresh, more open feel for their new home. Built in 1947 and with just one previous owner, the home required modern updates. The daylight basement on a sliver of the lot was simple to the point of plainness. The lower level, despite a good southern exposure, was dark and divided into several small rooms. However, the owner’s preference for mid-century modern design fit the bones of the house and it didn’t require much in the way of structural alterations to realize.

JA completely remodeled the kitchen and main level bath and opened up the entry to provide a light filled connection the lower level. Two small rooms were combined to create a new master suite that unveiled views to the re-vamped and very private back garden. A home office, a new bright laundry room and an “outdoor room” take up the rest of the lower level. The outdoor room has a concrete floor and large awning windows that can be swung upward and hooked to the ceiling to maximize the connection to the outside. With such a limited amount of yard, it was important to the owners and architects to create new places to connect to the outdoors. The roof of the existing carport became a 525 sq foot roof deck accessed via a new steel balcony and stair off the living room. The front yard was made more usable with the careful editing of existing plants, the addition of new ones, a new ipe fence and a sculpture/privacy screen collaboratively designed by the owner, architect and steel fabricator. The finished project retains the scale and simplicity of the original house while giving it a new attitude– one that is sleeker, brighter and much more connected to its fresh new landscape.

LOCATION Seattle, WA
PHOTOGRAPHY Sozino Imagery