A Crafted Craftsman
How to put a personal touch on a classic architectural style without sacrificing its integrity.
When a homeowner with an eye for design and a talent for refinishing furniture and crafting accessories moves into a home, magical energy swirls through the rooms. When both homeowners are creative spirits, the magic is multiplied. Such is the case with this 1920-built Craftsman in Butte, Montana, owned by Jean and David Abrams.
Jean, formerly the owner of The Backyard Bungalow, and her husband, David, author of the novel Brave Deeds, moved into Butte’s historic district in 2009. They had looked at about three dozen homes before deciding on this one, Jean says. Her hesitation came from the color scheme (mustard yellow, green and maroon exterior) and the décor (“It felt very Southwestern, not Craftsman).” And with five bedrooms, “it was more house than we needed” as a couple, she says.
|TOP| DECORATING EVOLVES. In the kitchen, the homeowners added a farm sink they bought at Lowe’s and butcher-block countertops. “Decorating evolves; you have to live in a place to know what would look best,” Jean says. When she’s doing something permanent, she picks something classic they won’t get tired of. As an example, she chose classic subway tile for the backsplash. To add a bit of whimsy, she hung a sculpted lamb’s head with a wreath around its neck. |ABOVE| CRAFTED CHARM. The breakfast nook was built by Jean and David’s talented son-in-law. He designed the table using one big slab of wood. The number “3” on the wall has special meaning for Jean as she has three kids and she uses the rule of decorating in groups of three. The table lamp from Target had gold accents that didn’t fit the color palette, so Jean painted it black and set it on a tin piece she had in her store. Jean made both pillows from coffee and flour sacks that have been folded over and buttoned down—no cutting and very little sewing. She made the seat cushions from Ikea linen curtains.
It was a different story for David, though. “For me, it was love at first sight,” he says. He was attracted to the architecture of the roofline and stone front porch, which gave him a feeling of warmth, inviting him inside. The Abramses had moved around a lot for 20 years while David was in the Army, but they agreed that this would be “the most livable house” and that they would fix it up to make it their permanent home. It would also become the place that their grown children, who had moved around so often while growing up, could look back on as their family home, so David and Jean took ownership.
AN UNCOMMON CRAFTSMAN
This is no cookie-cutter Craftsman. It was important to Jean to finally flex her decorating wings in a permanent home. Her goal in the room designs was an overall feeling of serenity and calm. She is attracted to contrasting colors in design and is drawn to blue, so a thread of blue and white runs through the rooms.
One day while driving in another town, David and Jean saw an unusual blue paint color on a building, and they were so taken with it they pulled the car over and decided that it would be their home’s new exterior color. They were less sure the neighbors would like it, but luckily they did.
Among the rooms they modified was the upstairs bath, in which they pulled out a small tub with uncomfortably short plumbing, replaced it with a walk-in shower and moved the plumbing.
Half the kitchen had already been renovated, but Jean and David felt they didn’t have enough counter space, so they pulled out two closets (one was a pantry, the other a coat closet) and put in cabinets and a butcher-block countertop.
Throughout the home, they had linoleum floors and Berber carpeting removed to expose the home’s beautiful original wood floors.
VINTAGE COLLECTIONS
Jean says she collects pretty much anything vintage, especially vintage advertising and architectural details, like old signs. Many of those pieces are showcased in each room.
Jean made a point of creating several little reading nooks where they can relax. David loves his office, which looks out on a quiet, tree-lined street. Mining towns are not normally known for their beauty, but Jean finds beauty in their friendly neighbors, local park and large historic district. “It’s like Main Street, USA,” David says.
When asked what his home means to him, David replied, “I’ve written both of my novels while sitting at a beautiful vintage desk, which was given to me by Jean after she cleaned it up and gave it a fresh coat of paint. I sit at my desk every day in this room lined with books, gazing out at the quiet street below and think, I’m the luckiest guy alive. This warm and cozy writing space really helps the words flow. When I’m turning the corner onto our street and see our home, I feel like I’m seeing my best friend again.”