CRAFTSMAN PATINA

A smitten owner brings the Arts & Crafts aesthetic to a 1921 bungalow in Seattle.

Steve Walsh visited the Roycroft Inn, in East Aurora, New York, while he was in graduate school. “I was captivated,” he says, describing his reaction to the simplicity of the spaces, the wood and stone, the metal strapwork and oak trim lit by glowing lanterns. Fast-forward a few decades . . . Steve moves to Seattle, lured by the city’s period bungalows. He buys one with deeply bracketed eaves and a wide front porch. Inside, wide archways separate main rooms and box-beam ceilings are intact.

Unfortunately, previous owners had painted everything in a palette of French and baby blues to “freshen the house” for sale. Woodwork is celebrated in Arts & Crafts homes, so Steve started with the messiest job, ridding the woodwork of blue paint. He combed antiques shows; rooms slowly filled with hand-hammered copper and brass lamps, Roycroft candlesticks, and woodblock prints.

1. THE EXTERIOR RESTORED 

The bungalow dates to 1921. The timber and stucco treatment in the gable was found under vertical board siding painted white. The new period paint scheme is in olive, brown leather, and copper red. A reproduction of F.L. Wright’s “Sprite” figure sits in the garden.

2. ANTIQUES FOR PATINA 

Antiques include a Limbert extension table #409 and Stickley Bros. ‘Quaint’ double-stretcher chairs. In the sunporch, a Lifetime trestle table holds a Benedict hammered copper lamp. (Many reissued and reproduction pieces are available, owing to a revival 50 years strong.)

3. MELLOW LIGHTING