An extreme fixer-upper with a lot of potential
Couple bought an old home in disrepair and launched into strategic revitalization
SEATTLE— Based on real estate buzzwords alone, loads of hopeful homebuyers likely picked up on the tempting potential of a mid-century fixerupper. Anne and Rob Tucker certainly did. “The view, privacy, community pool; it all seemed really special,” Anne says. “The neighbourhood really felt authentic,” she says of Killarney Circle in the city of Bellevue, Wash., 10 kilometres across the lake from Seattle.
In realty reality, though, there are older homes that could use a little refresher. And then there is the local scourge.
“The neighbourhood called it the crack house,” she says. “It was so bad. It was a rental in really bad disrepair.”
Anne and Rob bought that potential-filled extreme-fixer-upper and, with their architect, launched into a phased, strategized and realized revitalization.
“So many houses around here are being torn down and rebuilt as builder boxes,” Anne says. “They’re nice, but they have the same floor plan. We thought: ‘Let’s see what we can keep and make new.’ ”
They kept the basic footprint (except for a new garage) and, after a “complete gut and renovation,” now have a renewed basement, main level and exterior; a new second-storey addition; and a whole new esthetic. The former scourge has cleaned up its act with three distinct zones: upstairs for adults, the main floor for everyone and a downstairs “teenage heaven,” says Anne of the space for their four children, ages 9 to 17.
The open staircase to the new second floor “is one of my favourite things,” Anne says.
A new 16-foot-long folding glass wall in the dining area “turns the whole room into an outdoor deck,” she adds. The gold-and-black “killer chandelier” is by Crystorama; the table and chairs are Ralph Lauren. And there are always the lessons. Vacate the premises. The first phase of construction tackled the lower level, which had been “all chopped up and weird,” Anne says. Once that was resolved, everyone moved downstairs while the work moved up.
“That was a really bad idea — especially when it’s raining,” Anne says. “There were nights when we tried to keep the tarp on; nails were popping, boards were being thrown in the wind from the lake. Don’t live in it!”
Values have value. “Almost 100 per cent of the furnishings in this house I got second-hand,” Anne says, including ultra-comfy, swiveling Marge Carson chairs that she found for a bargain on Craigslist.
“One of my favourite things to do is use reclaimed or salvaged materials. You’re repurposing and reusing character or history. It’s a treasure hunt.”
Compromise works. The colour palette required a little give and take since Rob preferred modern white walls and Anne likes warmer colours. The happy medium: all white walls, all black fixtures and lots of natural color-infusing elements.
Some things should not wait until later. Amid all the chaotic renovation upheaval, Anne and Rob took on another meaningful joint project — the outdoors. “We got married by the pond with the house being a total wreck,” Anne says.
“Rob and I met when we were 10. We were friends through school but never dated,” Anne says.
“We both went off, married other people, had kids and reconnected.”