Mission Accomplished

2012-01-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

The Challenge When Brian and Julie Leidel bought their Denver home a decade ago, the place had more potential than personality. Solidly constructed and situated on a large corner lot just a mile and a half from downtown, the 1951 ranch measured just 879 square feet—tolerable for two, but hardly big enough for the family the couple hoped to start. The home’s gaping windows and barren lawn afforded little in the way of privacy or street appeal, and the gimcrack awning in front was hopelessly undersized.

The Solution To gain more space, the Leidels decided to expand the house in front and back. “We had both fallen in love with the Craftsman movement and figured if we’re going to redo it, let’s make it look like a bungalow,” explains Brian, who borrowed design details from Aladdin and Sears kit houses from the 1910s. The couple bumped out the front wall and covered it with a new brick facade punctuated by inlaid arches and Craftsman-style windows from Jeld-Wen. (The old windows were repurposed elsewhere in the remodel.) A new roof was built atop the existing one to cover the expanded footprint; applied rafter tails adorn the eaves, which are supported by tapered plywood columns set atop brick piers flanked by composite wood railings. A new south-facing dormer breaks up the roofline and sheds light into the vaulted foyer below. Raised flower beds help separate the house from the street, while the concrete pathway gives way to flagstones as it approaches the house, for a more natural look. “The comment I hear the most is, ‘It looks like it’s always been here,’” notes Brian with pride. –Fred Albert

Portland homeowners tackle a do-it-yourself bathroom makeover

2011-10-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Before

Photo: Kelly Bernal

The Challenge With its lavender walls, raspberry tile and clunky corner shower, David and Kelly Bernal’s Portland, Ore., guest bath felt completely out of sync with the rest of their 1911 Craftsman foursquare. “It was a total eyesore,” recalls David with a shudder. Besides being ugly, the boxy vanity took up precious floor space, as did an 18-inch gap between the shower and the neighboring wall. The medicine cabinet offered period charm, but its wavy mirror was better suited to a fun house, while the curio shelf over the doorway made the ceiling seem lower. The lone window provided precious light, but not without a loss of privacy.

After

Photo: Marv Bondarowicz

The Solution “We wanted to make the bathroom feel as big as it could, and to bring it back to its original glory,” says David. He stripped the room to the bare walls and removed several layers of subfloor and vinyl, which were replaced with classic white hex tile from Daltile. New wainscoting and baseboard disguise damaged drywall and add bygone charm, as does a Kohler pedestal sink, whose slender base makes the room appear larger. The medicine cabinet was refinished and fitted with a new mirror; the toilet was updated with a new seat and handle. The Bernals wanted to start a family, so they needed a bathtub, but a conventional model wouldn’t fit the allotted space. They picked up a stubby vintage tub at an architectural salvage store ($200), had it resurfaced ($350), added a shower, and installed a built-in bench at the end. The tub enclosure was covered in matte subway tile (the only task assigned to a subcontractor), while surrounding walls were treated to a coat of pale gray paint to make the white trim pop. A sheer valance mounted along the bottom of the window preserves light but adds a few critical inches of privacy. “The bathroom is true to the style and period of the house now,” David says. “We love it. And our guests do, too.” –Fred Albert

2011-07-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Before
Photo: Brooke Noonan

The Challenge The first time Brooke Noonan walked through her Chicago home, she paused to caress the plaster walls—which crumbled beneath her hands. Deferred maintenance wasn’t the only problem with the 1914 bungalow. The living room’s pale pink walls may have complemented the stained-glass windows, but they did little to enhance the room’s Arts and Crafts character. The room had no light fixtures, and the sole electric outlet was centered above the brick fireplace, which was hidden behind a coat of drab gray paint. The surrounding woodwork was painted white, along with the radiator, while murky oak floors languished under a garish, glossy finish.

After
Photo: Erika Hildegard Johnson

The Solution Brooke and her husband, Sean, tackled the restoration themselves, taking advantage of Chicago’s abundant preservation resources. The lath-and-plaster walls couldn’t be saved, so the couple installed new drywall, which they painted mustard (Behr’s Beachwalk). They stripped the woodwork using a combination of heat and chemicals, then applied a red-oak stain in a satin gloss finish. (Professional strippers took care of the bookcase doors.) The window frames, baseboard and crown molding didn’t fit well after the wall replacement, so poplar ones were milled to match the originals. Sandblasting would have compromised the texture of the brick fireplace, so the Noonans applied a custom paint matched to the masonry’s original color; muted gold spray paint accentuates the decorative scrollwork on the radiator. The oak floors were sanded, revealing a blond finish so seductive the Noonans simply applied a low-gloss sealer over it. Sconces and a chandelier from Royce Lighting illuminate the room without compromising the dark, cozy atmosphere that attracts guests like moths to a flame. “When I walk into that room now,” Brooke says, “it always feels like a hug.” –Fred Albert

A facelift adds character to a ho-hum California Craftsman

2011-06-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Before
Photo: Kelly Sutherlin McLeod Architecture

The Challenge Although it’s located in a historic section of Long Beach, Calif., Ted Montue and Leroy Jackson’s 1913 Craftsman looked more pedestrian than pedigreed when Ted bought it in 2003. Converted to a duplex decades earlier, the home’s bland color palette and indifferent landscaping contributed to the rental-house feeling, as did the aluminum awnings shading the ocean-view windows. White paint covered the brick foundation and trim, diminishing those details, while narrow steps and a side-facing front door compromised the sense of entry.

After
Photo: John Ellis

The Solution The homeowners asked architect Kelly Sutherlin McLeod to update the home while honoring its original design as much as possible. McLeod made extensive structural repairs and replaced the crumbling foundation, chemically stripping the painted bricks and intermingling them with new bricks to fill in the gaps. New plantings by Botanica West Landscape Designs soften the resulting foundation and a low retaining wall that replaced the sloping lawn in front. Using a period photograph for guidance, McLeod reinstated the deck off the master bedroom, adding a custom railing that emphasizes the home’s horizontal lines. She also swapped the clunky exterior awnings for motorized interior shades. Widened front steps usher visitors to a more imposing entry that faces the street; leaded-glass panels admit light and views while preserving privacy. McLeod replaced the brittle shingles with new shingle siding stained a savory butternut (Sikkens’ Natural Light) to complement the amber trim and coffee colored window frames. The colors pay homage to the home’s original palette, underscoring the Craftsman spirit while instilling a sense of drama where none existed. “People drive by the house and tell the owner they never noticed it before,” reports McLeod with pride. –Fred Albert

A Wisconsin couple adds Craftsman charm to a characterless dining room.

2011-06-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Before
Photo: Bill Wilson

The Challenge When Bill Wilson and Ethel Himmel purchased their 1914 home in Milton, Wis., the dining room’s Craftsman charms were nearly undone by the decor, which favored prosaic pastel wallpaper, mint-green paint and matching vinyl miniblinds. “The colors just didn’t suit the Arts and Crafts character of the house,” says Ethel, a library consultant. The original built-in buffet, bereft of its mirrored backing, now shouldered a pair of plain plywood panels—a detail that felt as incongruous as the illuminated fan overhead.

After
Photo: Chris Joyner

The Solution “Our objective was to have it be livable and comfortable, and relatively consistent with what might have appeared in 1914,” says Bill, also a library consultant. The couple painted the lower walls Sherwin-Williams’ Saguaro green, and replaced the wallpaper above with a more period-appropriate Glenwood paper from Bradbury & Bradbury, chosen with help from designer Jill Kessenich of Bungalow Pros. (The paper’s subtle willow design adds depth to the walls while masking variations in the plaster underneath; the Thornberry border lends a finishing touch.) “If you use the right colors, this wood just pops,” explains Ethel, gesturing toward the oak buffet, which now boasts a scenic Motawi tile backdrop. Taking a crowbar to the plywood panel above, Ed found a row of small windows, probably covered over when the house was turned into college administrative offices in the 1960s. The owners replaced the openings with a window from Andersen’s Frank Lloyd Wright series. The Wright motif is repeated in the custom table, which Newport Wooden Furnishings modeled after photos of the architect’s work. The surrounding chairs were salvaged from a Wisconsin courthouse and rest atop a Mackintosh-inspired rug from Stickley. The pendant fixture is from Brass Light Gallery; wood Venetian blinds filter sunlight and views of the garden out back. –Fred Albert

Cosmetic touches lend Craftsman character to a Fort Worth bungalow.

2011-06-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Before
Photos: Stacy Luecker

The Challenge It took 10 years of searching, but when Eric and Stacy Luecker stepped inside their Fort Worth, Texas, bungalow, they knew they were home. “The house just needed a little TLC,” Stacy says. Beige walls cast a chilly pall over the living and dining areas, and the original 1915 oak floors were hidden beneath dingy gray carpet. Even the brick fireplace was buried under a coat of white paint. The room divider was missing its doors and light fixtures, and drab curtains covered the windows.

After

The Solution The Lueckers ripped up the carpet, refinished the floors, and painted the walls and ceiling a warm, welcoming gold (Behr’s Sahara Shade). The color reduces the contrast between the walls and woodwork, so the surfaces feel more cohesive. The fireplace bricks were too fragile to strip, so the couple painted them red, matching the color to an unpainted brick discovered inside the firebox. Navy-blue accents echo the border on the hearth; scenic Ravenstone tiles fill a recess in the center. The couple discovered the bookcase’s leaded-glass doors in the attic and reinstalled them, then Stacy applied a decorative stencil to the side, adapting the design from the new Meyda Tiffany pendant light above. Matchstick Roman shades filter the sun without hiding the window trim, and offer a natural foil to the Lueckers’ collection of 19th-century furnishings. The Mission-style sofa is new, but the owners replaced its three seat cushions with a single bench cushion, so it looks more like a settle. “This is definitely home,” concludes Stacy, “and it’s going to be home for a long time.” –Fred Albert

A compromised Craftsman in Portland, Ore., gets a welcome face-lift.

2011-06-14T09:42:00.000-07:00


Before Photo: Wade Freitag

The Challenge Mark and Terry Lewis’ Portland, Ore., home had shallow eaves, a stripped-down dormer and gaping picture windows that didn’t seem compatible with the house’s Craftsman interior. “There were details that just didn’t make a lot of sense,” observes Wade Freitag of Craftsman Design and Renovation. Most egregious was the front porch, whose skimpy columns, spindly iron railings and open rafters seemed sorely underscaled for the house, and offered scant protection from the elements.

After
Photo: Peter Eckert

The Solution At the suggestion of the local historical society, Terry went to the library and reviewed microfilm of newspapers from 1912, the year the house was built. She found a sales listing for the property accompanied by a photo that revealed the home’s original Arts and Crafts exterior. “We used that as the basis for our restoration,” says Freitag, who also culled details from a sister house a few blocks away. Freitag extended the eaves several feet and added rafter tails and brackets underneath. The new front porch boasts stout fiberglass columns set atop brick piers flanked by stocky custom railings. The new porch stops short of the living room windows, letting more light inside, while new paint accentuates the home’s Craftsman roots. “A house looks best if it’s anchored to the ground,” says Freitag, who chose a dark olive for the brick base and a paler green for the shingled story above. Cued by shadow lines on the interior trim, he replaced each picture window with a trio of smaller windows trimmed in burgundy, so they wouldn’t upstage the architecture. “It all comes together now,” says Terry. “I couldn’t be happier.” –Fred Albert

A chaotic bungalow bathroom gets a revivifying period makeover

2011-06-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

Before
Photo: Wade Freitag

The Challenge Cramped and chaotic, this Portland, Ore., guest bathroom didn’t fit the character of a 1905 Craftsman bungalow or the needs of owners Steve Talley and Frosti McClurken-Talley. The boxy vanity and tub enclosure pinched circulation, while the textured vinyl flooring trapped dirt and grime in every crevice. (“There was no way to clean it, other than getting down there with a toothbrush,” Steve says.) The sliding aluminum window and 1970s strip lighting did little to enhance the period feel, and the New Yorker covers crowding the walls only added to the room’s visual cacophony.

After

The Solution Wade Freitag of Craftsman Design and Renovation upgraded the plumbing, electrical and sound insulation, and jettisoned the New Yorker covers in favor of new plasterboard painted antique gold (Benjamin Moore's Blair Gold). “It’s almost like a Roycroft gold,” says Freitag, who often draws his color schemes from period pottery. He removed the tub enclosure, exposing the old claw-foot tub—thankfully still sporting its original feet. The porcelain interior was refinished, the exterior was painted with an epoxy appliance paint (for better adhesion and durability), and shower hardware was added. Instead of trying to patch the 4-by-4-inch tile wainscot, Freitag replaced it with 3-by-6-inch subway tile, which is more appropriate to the period. (Besides, he notes, it’s nearly impossible to match tile that’s more than 10 years old.) Hex-tile flooring and a double-hung window instill bygone charm, as does a reproduction light fixture from Schoolhouse Electric and a stocky Carrollton pedestal sink from Toto. “The pedestal opens up all that visual space below it,” Freitag observes. “The room feels a lot larger now.” –Fred Albert