Whenever I'm bored or slightly restless I have two sure remedies: Either go back to school or remodel an old house. I've done both with great excitement and energy. My favorite, though, is finding an unlikely dreadful tiny old house and creating a beautiful snug home for my soul.
My first restoration was in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1749 as a farmer's house, very near the Capitol. By the time I found it in the 1970's it had deteriorated miserably. On a lot 20' x 100', the little detached 2 storey house was only 16' wide. The walls were 12" thick, made of oversized hand-made bricks. It had served many purposes; most recently a pick up address for "women of the night".
I GUTTED IT!
With the help of a gifted mason I designed and rebuilt the huge fireplace, added a round stained glass window (from a torn-down church) to a tiny upstairs bathroom, created a charming front garden, an exposed brick kitchen leading through French doors to a long back garden and a studio built of gorgeous teak from a salvage yard.
Years later a D.C. realtor friend sent me a clipping from the Washington Post. It read, "MINI ESTATE...handsome original touches in this immaculately restored 18th century gem on Capitol Hill. Japanese maples and a giant cedar line the curved path to an inviting well-lit studio." I was thrilled!
I didn't do another remodel until 1983. A newish professor at UCLA, I saw an intriguing ad that said: "CHEAPEST HOUSE IN SANTA MONICA, minutes from the ocean and 1 block off trendy upscale Montana Avenue". And in small print it said "also smallest".
It was a wee Spanish style bungalow on a corner. Only 640 square feet! But I had to have it. After I sawed down the gnarled vines the size of your biceps I found a tiny boring bare box, and inside - a web of teeny dark rooms and piles of junk. One nite I sat on a can of paint in the living room ...feeling acute buyers remorse.
What on earth could I do with this dreadful, small, dark, depressing place?
And then it came to me...I would have to CREATE a SENSE of space and light!
So with wild determination I took a sledge hammer and pounded thru' a wall of lathe and plaster- instantly transforming the dark space with light from another room.
I pushed out the ceiling with large rectangular skylites...tore down the kitchen wall to make a pass-through, 'cut' the top off a tall closet to create a tiny loft, pushed hollows between the studs to shape spaces for my paintings and sculptures, built samba stairs up to the loft..used every single nook and cranny for clever storage.
I found a darling young carpenter who worked happily with my ever-changing designs and shared my excitement with patience and skill.
He hand-plastered every arch and corner round and soft in the Spanish tradition. Lots of natural light on the chalky white walls (with just a touch of burgundy) made the rooms glow warmly.
I loved climbing up the space-saving Japanese Samba staircase to the loft -
From there I could access a 'guest bed' library under the eaves AND see the stars and the beautiful blooming jacaranda through another long high-domed skylite.
Here's where my dear cat, Mr. Tiff, liked to rest...halfway up to his favorite spot in the loft.
Outside - we built a tall curved wall to enclose an intimate patio overhung with scarlet bougainvillea.
That little house became my soul's home - a place of peace and warmth - full of music, love, and great ideas!
Even now I wonder if there's another house in me? - if only to re-experience that energizing process of creation.
Great photos Dorothy.
Posted by: Maryjean | April 30, 2012 at 10:41 AM