Before & After: In Seattle, a 1904 House Sheds Decades of Remodels—and Five Tons of Debris

When Matthew and Holly moved into their last house, a "1990s, totally serviceable box that we never fell in love with," says Matthew, they immediately started searching for the next one. Both work in the arts, she as a playwright, communications professional, and administrator focused on equitable access to art and education, and he as the cofounder of a contemporary arts center and consultant. They wanted a project in the same central Seattle neighborhood where they lived with their child.

Their search went on for five years before they found this home partially hidden behind a tall laurel hedge. "At that point we had seen enough of the fixers that came on the market in the central core, which is not very many, to know how unusual this house was," says Holly.

Before: Exterior

The house was originally built in 1904 by David Kaufman, a Jewish tailor and merchant who owned twelve acres that would later be platted as the Kaufman Addition. For decades, the home served as a single-family residence with details such as deep front window seats and a bronze figurine holding a torch on the staircase newel post. From the 1950s onward, the building underwent a succession of changes, becoming an elderly care center, a Buddhist retreat and bookstore, and finally, a series of individual rooms for rent, with every door besides the kitchen fitted with a lock.

After: Exterior

By the time Matthew and Holly toured the home, much of its original detail was gone, and walls had been haphazardly moved, but they were struck by what remained. "Even through all those interruptions, there was a grandeur and a scale that was really obvious in it," says Matthew. After purchasing the property, they reached out to friend and architect Ian Butcher, founding partner of Best Practice Architecture, for a collaborative remodel.

Butcher provided design guidance, often on the fly—he lives close by, which made for easy stop-ins, and says "it was a lot of phone calls and sketches on-site"—while Matthew acted as general contractor, having remodeled a home on his own before. "The construction was literally me here with a hammer, hiring subcontractors, and checking in with Ian, like, ‘Hey, can I get a detailed drawing of that window?’" recalls Matthew.

Before: Dining Room Window