Making a ‘livable Craftsman’
For Lisa and Patrick Brault, the key to updating their 1911 Craftsman home in a historic Pasadena neighborhood is to balance its original Arts and Crafts flavor with the needs of their modern family.
“We call it ‘livable Craftsman,’ ” says Lisa of their home, which will be open to the public Nov. 11 in conjunction with Pasadena Heritage Craftsman Weekend (pasadenaheri tage.org/craftsmanweekend). “Not everything has to be authentic. We have a kid and two dogs. We want to be comfortable.”
The couple purchased the five-bedroom, four-bathroom house in 2003 when they were living nearby in Altadena.
“We knew we wanted an old house,” says Lisa, who grew up in West Los Angeles. “I didn’t care whether it was Craftsman or Victorian. I like the features in old homes. I had rose-colored glasses when we toured this house. I stood in the living room and could see the original house.”
Because the house had been used as a group home for 20 years, its interiors were painted an institutional white, including the wood details and window casings. Many of the original windows had been replaced with louvers and, outside, the shingles were covered in aluminum siding.
Still, the couple could see themselves living there. “I could visualize it all,” Lisa says.
After stripping their 1901 Victorian home in Altadena, however, the couple couldn’t face doing it all over again.
“My house is not a museum,” Lisa rationalizes. “We did that to our last house. We stripped every inch of wood in that house.” The couple decided instead to focus on manageable changes.
On the entry floor, the couple painted the interiors Benjamin Moore Westminster Gold to add warmth and brighten them. In the living room, they combined comfortable traditional furnishings with family heirlooms, furnishings by Pasadena woodworker Mike Devlin, a pair of Stickley chairs from the Rose Bowl Flea Market and Ephraim pottery atop the Batchelder tile fireplace. Upstairs, the bedrooms and den are shrouded by treetops, giving them a treehouse feel.
Doing some work themselves, the couple removed the aluminum siding, only to find that many of the shingles had been preserved. New wood windows, custom-made to match the originals, greatly improved the Craftsman feel of the house, along with an antique back door and hardware from Pasadena Architectural Salvage.
Last year, to streamline some awkward room additions, the couple expanded the kitchen and master bedroom, moved the laundry room upstairs and transformed an enclosed porch into a master bath.
Lisa speaks passionately about the need to support “Pasadena Heritage and our local historians, so that they continue to exist, preserve and track the histories of these beautiful old houses.”
It’s this kind of passion that has prompted the family to open their home to the public. In addition to Craftsman Weekend, the Braults host fundraisers and school events, including their son’s high school mock trial team.
“I feel like if you have a big house, you should utilize it,” Lisa adds. “I think we were lucky enough to find ourselves the caretakers of this beautiful home. We have worked so hard to bring back the original charm and to highlight the original craftsmanship. Our home is a piece of art that will still be here long after we are gone. I am happy to share it with others who appreciate the Arts and Crafts revival.”