The Renovation Of This 1910 Seattle Retreat Embraces Tradition

Alix Day completely understood why her clients had on rose-colored glasses when first viewing the Seattle property they ultimately purchased. Situated on a sloped lot in the charming Madrona neighborhood, the back of the house overlooks a canopy of trees and boasts views of Lake Washington and, on clear days, Mount Rainier. Additionally, the 1910 dwelling, which Day describes as a classic Seattle combination of foursquare and federal styles, possessed nostalgic appeal. It reminded the couple of the traditional interiors they each grew up with and desired for themselves and their son.

However, charm isn’t everything. “The house had been staged to be move-in ready, but it wasn’t,” Day recounts. While it did have many virtues, the structure required significant interventions. Take the plaster walls, which had been covered in wallpaper. As general contractor Dalen Bakstad “knocked on the wall, you could hear the plaster crumbling,” Day recounts. “The wallpaper was holding it together.” So, she and Bakstad embarked on an extensive remodel that retained only the framing, roofline and façade’s leaded windows.

To create the traditional sensibility that the clients gravitated toward, Day introduced wall paneling and crown molding throughout. A fireplace that ultimately had to be removed served as the inspiration for the curves that now permeate the residence. “I templated the arched opening of the original fireplace and rebuilt it in limestone,” the architect explains. “We kept that soft, rhythmic language going in doorways and the curving stair rail.”

Initially, Day was enlisted only for the home’s architectural evolution. As she developed a level of trust with the clients, the scope expanded to the interior design. The couple was moving from Boston to Seattle and, with the Emerald City’s rainy days in mind, expressed their desire for a bright, white home. However, Day and designer Anna Thomassen knew that, due to the quality of light in the region and how it reacts to white, it would be best to rely on color and pattern to create warm and inviting spaces.

Fabrics with bold prints served as the springboard for the interiors, and, according to Day, inspired the clients to embrace both vibrant and delicate patterns throughout. Indeed, in the primary suite, a bed with a cloud-adorned headboard and a rug with a classic motif in soft colors gives way to a dressing room with a wallcovering that appears to be paint-splattered. A petite sitting room presents another opportunity to go beyond plain white: The walls are sheathed in yet another cloud-inspired print, and the room is anchored by blush-pink seating and a custom rug woven with broad, colorful stripes.

In the kitchen, the team opted for a softer touch. Day and Thomassen brought the clients to the stone yard to talk them through their various choices, including the white marble with subtle veining that proved to be the winning selection. It’s paired with soft-gray cabinets that “make the stone come alive,” Day notes.

Reflecting on the project, the architect feels that pointing the owners to color and prints was the right choice. “I never want to leave someone with an all-white house,” she says. “In some ways, we were rocking their world. Sometimes that’s our job: to listen to what people are saying but also see what they are responding to and push the envelope.” With collaboration, those rose-colored glasses provided a clear view.