9 Impressive “Before & After” Remodels to 20th-Century Homes in Seattle

Whether you’re remodeling a clumsy addition, adding expansive views, or adding an expansive deck, these Seattle renovations update historic homes that blend with the beautiful surroundings of the Pacific Northwest.

A Norman-style French home eschews a clumsy addition

From the street, this 1927 French Norman style house has retained much of its original character, including the brick facade, tower and stained glass windows. But at the back it was a different story. “The first impression of the house is impressive – it is beautiful and stately,” says the architect Lisa Chadbourne, who founded the Seattle-based office Chadbourne + Doss together with the architect Daren Doss. “Unfortunately, a previous owner had built a rear structure that cut the house off from the backyard,” she continues. “It had to work.”

Before: Access to the back yard was restricted to the entrance to the mudroom and the house’s sight lines were segmented.

The architects from Chadbourne + Doss replaced the extension with a steel and glass construction, which forms a modern counterpoint to the historical elements of the house, expands the living spaces and visually connects the interior with the backyard.

After: The modernized extension houses a kitchen and a family room on the main level, with the master bedroom and an adjoining terrace on the second level. Sliding glass doors now allow generous lines of sight to the courtyard and give the new building a lightness that stands out from the character of the old one.

A Seattle midcentury shakes off a wacky addition

Designer Prentis Hale of SHED Architecture + Design has worked on a number of mid-century homes in the Seattle area and prefers to avoid the go-and-go remodeling. “We don’t see it as a tabula rasa,” says Hale. “We see it as: How do we get smart and figure out how to solve multiple problems with as few insertions or deletions as possible?”

Before: A partition chopped up the floor plan and blocked sight lines to Lake Washington.

Before: The separation of the kitchen from the main living area was typical for houses from this period.

This 1961 home in the Seward Park neighborhood was originally designed by architect George Lucker, and despite an odd conservatory extension, there was still plenty to do. The team removed an awkward wall that blocked off the kitchen and swapped the conservatory for a terrace that was originally based on Lucker’s design. A streamlined pallet has been instilled so as not to detract from the view of the lake.

After: The long volume of the main living area had previously been halved by a wall that enclosed the kitchen on one side. The designers removed the existing wall to improve the connection between the main living areas. They also exposed the beautiful post-and-beam structure of the house and painted the ceiling joists a dark color to contrast with the preserved natural wood.

After: The kitchen was moved to the back wall.

A Seattle midcentury bares its unsightly surfaces

For a 1958 renovation of a 1958 residence in the View Ridge neighborhood, designers Liza Curtiss and Corey Kingston of local Le Whit studio say it was about “removing the outdated surfaces and opening up the living area to the original vernacular To enable mid-century “. get through. “

Before: The house, built in 1958, is located in the View Ridge neighborhood of Seattle. It had dated finishes, but spectacular views and good bones.

During the renovation process, the designers ditched existing finishes such as patterned carpet, beige mottled brick, and yellow floral wallpaper for a simplified palette that better highlights the home’s precious structural elements.

After: The designers at Le Whit created an airy first floor by exposing the frame on the ceiling, “almost like the exoskeleton of the house,” says Curtiss. The fluted glass panel replaced a massive wall and added transparency while still providing structural support.

Before: The dining room had an abundance of windows, but many of them were rotten or painted. A series of narrow doors connected the dining room to the kitchen.

The designer focused on making clever tweaks such as lengthening the outside staircase for a more graceful entrance, shrinking the front porch to give more space to the fireplace in the living room, and weaving custom cabinets throughout the property – all while maintaining the Size of the surrounding neighborhood.

After: The new windows take up the style of the old ones and at the same time ensure improved energy efficiency. The wood paneling synchronizes with the new housing elsewhere in the house.

Before: “Everything just had a brown-gray feeling,” says Wittman. “It felt very monotonous.”

Thanks to an offset support column and the installation of two large LaCantina aluminum sliding doors, one corner of the room now opens up to the deck. Marble counters, custom white oak cabinets, and Ann Sacks terrazzo tile floors provide a lighter palette throughout the space. The views of Lake Washington can now be seen from many vantage points, including the custom breakfast nook and kitchen sink.

After: Marble tables, custom-made cabinets made of white oak and terrazzo tile floors brighten up the kitchen. “The light tones strike the right balance between Southern California modernism and the warmer, highly skilled woodworking that the Puget Sound region is known for,” says Wittman.

A renovation brings the former home of a famous cartoonist back to life

When this house was built in Seattle in 1951 for illustrator Irwin Caplan, it looked like “a very humble house off the street because of the slope,” says designer Prentis Hale. “The door was opaque [and] The garage was just in the way, “he continues.” But when you got in, the house really opened up to the landscape. “

Before: Floor-to-ceiling windows provided breathtaking views, but the glass was one piece and needed to be replaced.

Hale and Kyle Griesmeyer, both from SHED Architecture + Design, have rearranged the interior slightly to better emphasize the innate charm of the mid-century home and to capture the surrounding view. A sweeping glass door trimmed in a vertically grained fir tree now opens the interior to the refreshed deck.

After: The team at SHED Architecture + Design made sure to keep the frame around the doors thin to capture the views and convey the minimal details of the original mid-century home. “All these details, which served to make the east window wall as open and permeable as possible, have increased the inside-outside connection of the house and preserved the character to which we and the owners primarily reacted,” says Griesmeyer .

A mid-century gem from the 1950s in Seattle is transformed into a modern eye-catcher

SHED Architecture + Design worked with home owner and interior designer Jennie Gruss to update this 1957 home for modern use. To do this, the team retained original elements from the house – such as the exposed half-timbering and the Douglas fir ceiling – and then incorporated strategic improvements.

Before: To ensure that the mid-century elements within the house were preserved, the team carefully restored the finishes and flow of the property while redesigning part of the space.

In the kitchen, custom-made cabinets made of red laminate provide a refreshing dash of color. In the living room, new wall cladding accentuates the fireplace and extends outward to highlight the structure.

After: The kitchen now looks out onto the large, open deck, which offers a view of the forest.

Two former circus performers are converting their home like a sophisticated big top

Your customers are not every day ex-circus performers. SHED Architecture + Design drew on its clients’ unique professional backgrounds to modernize a home constructed in West Seattle in 1975. After cleaning the outer shell and adding solar panels to achieve zero energy status, the designers turned to the inside and began redesigning the central chimney as a tent pole around which everything else is organized.

Before: The renovation of this house in Seattle did not change the existing floor plan, only the existing rooms were better used.

“In a figurative sense, the fireplace in the middle serves as a mast that pushes up a gable roof tent to create a large, airy room,” says the company. “This ‘tent’ houses the dining room, living room and music room under one large roof.”

After: The massive walls that separated the living room from the adjoining dining room were removed, opening up lines of sight between the living room and the upper floor.

Before: The lower level had a small deck near the door to Georgina’s yoga studio.

The subsequent remodeling expanded the space for Verzas Klassen to access a sprawling new deck, and also addressed the rest of the living quarters. The team only added 400 square meters to the existing residence, but “you get the feeling that the house is bigger than it actually is,” says Georgina.

After: Tiered decks now run the entire length of the house, visually and physically connecting both sides of the building.

After: The expanded foundation made room for an indoor / outdoor exercise room with folding doors that lead to a new yoga deck.

https://www.dwell.com/article/9-impressive-before-and-after-remodels-of-20th-century-homes-in-seattle-752cad56