Houzz Tour: Seattle Designer Renovates Her Own Tudor-Style Home
The new design respects the home’s architecture while making room for her growing family
Even though Tamar Kestenbaum is an interior designer, when she first saw this 1,700-square-foot Tudor-style home, she was overwhelmed by the thought of making it work for her growing family. “Seattle’s housing market was so tough that this was the only house that had sat on the market for more than a week,” Kestenbaum says. While the home had great bones, there were reasons it wasn’t snapped up in a matter of hours. The layout made the house dark, and it had only two bedrooms and 1½ bathrooms. Kestenbaum and her husband, Aron, were planning a family and had never renovated their own home before. “I said, ‘I don’t know if we can do this.’ But my husband said, ‘We’ve got this — you can do it!’ ”
The home was designed and built in 1928 by a well-known Seattle builder for his daughter next door to his own home. “This is a tight-knit block, and the previous owners had been a big part of it for 35 years,” Kestenbaum says. “This gave us a sense of responsibility to preserve its feel. We loved the bones of the house and wanted to respect the original architecture. I think the neighbors were happy to see how much we cared about the house.”
The couple approached the house in two phases. The first phase, soon after they bought it, was mostly cosmetic and included the full remodel of an upstairs powder room that transformed it into a full bathroom. The second phase, recently completed, included reworking a long bathroom and adjacent closet into a powder room and primary bathroom. The scope of phase two also included more cosmetic changes and finishing the basement. The basement has a bedroom, bathroom, mudroom and den, adding 600 square feet of living space to the home.
The home was designed and built in 1928 by a well-known Seattle builder for his daughter next door to his own home. “This is a tight-knit block, and the previous owners had been a big part of it for 35 years,” Kestenbaum says. “This gave us a sense of responsibility to preserve its feel. We loved the bones of the house and wanted to respect the original architecture. I think the neighbors were happy to see how much we cared about the house.”
The couple approached the house in two phases. The first phase, soon after they bought it, was mostly cosmetic and included the full remodel of an upstairs powder room that transformed it into a full bathroom. The second phase, recently completed, included reworking a long bathroom and adjacent closet into a powder room and primary bathroom. The scope of phase two also included more cosmetic changes and finishing the basement. The basement has a bedroom, bathroom, mudroom and den, adding 600 square feet of living space to the home.
The living room is on the left and the dining room on the right. One of the original architectural features the couple loved was the coved ceilings. “I didn’t want to do any recessed cans in the ceilings because they didn’t suit the era of the home,” Kestenbaum says. Instead she opted for wall sconces, chandeliers and flush-mount ceiling fixtures.
Unfortunately, the original floors were full of loose nails that would be a hazard to little ones crawling around, so the couple replaced them for safety’s sake. They went with oak hardwood with a custom stain. Kestenbaum also replaced all the exterior windows with more efficient ones. “A lot of the panes were broken in the original leaded glass windows and many of them were inoperable,” she says. “I chose windows with a customized grid motif to suit the architecture.”
Browse wall sconces in the Houzz Shop
Unfortunately, the original floors were full of loose nails that would be a hazard to little ones crawling around, so the couple replaced them for safety’s sake. They went with oak hardwood with a custom stain. Kestenbaum also replaced all the exterior windows with more efficient ones. “A lot of the panes were broken in the original leaded glass windows and many of them were inoperable,” she says. “I chose windows with a customized grid motif to suit the architecture.”
Browse wall sconces in the Houzz Shop
The designer knew her family would need a large sectional for the casual way they live. The large encaustic painting is by local artist Corrie LaVelle, a favorite of Kestenbaum’s.
Browse sectional sofas in the Houzz Shop
Browse sectional sofas in the Houzz Shop
Kestenbaum gave the fireplace surround and the cabinets next to it a look that respected the original architecture. The cabinets are new but keep the original spirit of the architecture alive. Kestenbaum had them made deeper for more practical storage — the fireplace is now slightly recessed within the new millwork. She chose maple with a dark custom stain to suit the era of the home. The fireplace tiles are from a favorite manufacturer, Fireclay Tile, and the mantel is white marble.
“Placing the TV over the fireplace wasn’t necessarily my first choice, but this is how we live and this is the house we live in and it’s what works for us,” Kestenbaum says. “This is the only sitting room in the house. We knew the sectional sofa would make it work.”
Light fixtures: Olde Brick Lighting
“Placing the TV over the fireplace wasn’t necessarily my first choice, but this is how we live and this is the house we live in and it’s what works for us,” Kestenbaum says. “This is the only sitting room in the house. We knew the sectional sofa would make it work.”
Light fixtures: Olde Brick Lighting
The couple also replaced the wood-burning fireplace with a gas insert. “It’s so much easier to control, so I knew we’d get much more use out of it,” Kestenbaum says. “It also felt safer with the kids around. And there’s this great circulation effect that really helps warm a lot of the main floor. At first my husband was sad about changing it, but now it’s his favorite thing.”
This photo also introduces the family’s dog, Alf, named after the 1980s sitcom alien. “Alf is a real gem. He just settled himself into the photos,” Kestenbaum says with a laugh.
This photo also introduces the family’s dog, Alf, named after the 1980s sitcom alien. “Alf is a real gem. He just settled himself into the photos,” Kestenbaum says with a laugh.
The original layout made the interiors dark. Kestenbaum widened the openings between the living room and dining room and between the dining room and kitchen. “We squared them off. They were curved before but the arches were uneven and messy,” she says.
The kitchen base cabinet seen on the right is original, but Kestenbaum added the shelves, creating a butler’s-pantry-like transition within the kitchen that provides extra storage. “Storage was definitely at a premium within this house,” she says.
The kitchen base cabinet seen on the right is original, but Kestenbaum added the shelves, creating a butler’s-pantry-like transition within the kitchen that provides extra storage. “Storage was definitely at a premium within this house,” she says.
To bring light into the adjacent hallway, Kestenbaum installed one of the home’s original leaded glass windows in the living room. The designer also added storage wherever she could. The sideboard serves the dining room and the living room, providing space for display and table linens.
The painting next to the window is by Canadian artist Kayla Gale.
The painting next to the window is by Canadian artist Kayla Gale.
When they first moved into the home, Kestenbaum added the wainscoting to the dining room along with purple walls. “I thought the purple would be temporary, because I knew we’d be doing more remodeling down the line,” she says. “But my daughter, who is 4 now, is really captivated by watching me do what I do as a designer. And she takes taking care of this house very seriously! I let her pick the new color and she loved the purple. She chose this particular deep rich purple herself.”
Kestenbaum value-engineered the project. While the floors and new windows were a big part of the budget, other things like the flat-weave rug from a discount online store and a relatively inexpensive chandelier helped her balance the bottom line.
The couple already had the midcentury modern dining table and chairs. “I love to mix furniture from different eras,” Kestenbaum says. Mixing eras instantly creates layers of history that look like they were added over decades.
Kestenbaum value-engineered the project. While the floors and new windows were a big part of the budget, other things like the flat-weave rug from a discount online store and a relatively inexpensive chandelier helped her balance the bottom line.
The couple already had the midcentury modern dining table and chairs. “I love to mix furniture from different eras,” Kestenbaum says. Mixing eras instantly creates layers of history that look like they were added over decades.
Here’s a look at the interior window from the other side. It brings light into a hallway that leads to the primary suite, powder room and stairs. The beautiful new tile flooring marks the kitchen, and the cabinet is the same one seen in the previous photo.
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Find a local tile professional
Photo by Wynne Earle
“The kitchen makeover was mostly cosmetic,” Kestenbaum says. “The previous owner, who had raised his family here, had made the cabinets himself, which was special to us.” She added a new tile floor, which has a vintage look, as well as new countertops. The couple also replaced the lighting, appliances and cabinet hardware. But preserving the cabinets that had been made for the house with love saved a bundle over a full kitchen renovation.
“The kitchen makeover was mostly cosmetic,” Kestenbaum says. “The previous owner, who had raised his family here, had made the cabinets himself, which was special to us.” She added a new tile floor, which has a vintage look, as well as new countertops. The couple also replaced the lighting, appliances and cabinet hardware. But preserving the cabinets that had been made for the house with love saved a bundle over a full kitchen renovation.
Photo by Wynne Earle
The designer created a cozy eat-in area at the far end of the kitchen, adding a whimsical wallpaper. “I love the idea of all these creatures on the wall,” she says. With young kids around, the print adds a playful touch, while the black-and-white palette keeps the offbeat pattern sophisticated.
The designer created a cozy eat-in area at the far end of the kitchen, adding a whimsical wallpaper. “I love the idea of all these creatures on the wall,” she says. With young kids around, the print adds a playful touch, while the black-and-white palette keeps the offbeat pattern sophisticated.
Photo by Wynne Earle
Kestenbaum also added a small landing zone with a built-in bench, hooks and shelves off the casual entry to the home. The main mudroom is in the newly renovated basement. The dark wainscoting around the kitchen protects the wallpaper from Alf’s curious nose.
Kestenbaum also added a small landing zone with a built-in bench, hooks and shelves off the casual entry to the home. The main mudroom is in the newly renovated basement. The dark wainscoting around the kitchen protects the wallpaper from Alf’s curious nose.
One of the trickier parts of the remodel was finding space for more bathrooms. Originally, the house had a long full bathroom with a railroad layout and a closet next to it. Kestenbaum reconfigured those spaces to accommodate this powder room and a separate primary bathroom. She also found space for the primary bedroom closet.
In the new powder room, she added high wainscoting with a ticking stripe wallpaper above it and across the ceiling. “When you want to add wallpaper to a bathroom, especially when you have little kids, it’s a good idea to add wainscoting around the bottom of the room,” she says.
In the new powder room, she added high wainscoting with a ticking stripe wallpaper above it and across the ceiling. “When you want to add wallpaper to a bathroom, especially when you have little kids, it’s a good idea to add wainscoting around the bottom of the room,” she says.
When reconfiguring the old, inefficient bathroom, Kestenbaum was also able to add a few square feet to the snug primary bedroom. With storage at a premium, she chose nightstands with drawers. She also took out some larger windows to create room for the headboard. She replaced them with clerestory windows to let in light on that side of the room.
The entry to the reconfigured primary bathroom can be seen on the left side of the photo.
The entry to the reconfigured primary bathroom can be seen on the left side of the photo.
The “before” floor plan on the left shows the railroad-style full bath at bottom center, with the closet on the left side of it. The “after” floor plan on the right shows the way Kestenbaum played with the space to remodel the primary bath and create a separate powder room. “We were able to design it in such a way that the toilet in our bathroom didn’t have to be relocated, which saved a lot of money over having to move the toilet stack,” she says.
“Instead of a double vanity, we really needed extra linen storage,” Kestenbaum says. The tower adds wood and glass to the space. The hanging light fixtures are a fun vintage touch. One of Kestenbaum’s favorite tiles of all time is this one from Fireclay with a mini star and cross pattern, and she was excited to use it in her home.
The vanity includes a hair appliance insert with an electrical outlet. The four deep drawers provide more storage than either the designer or her husband needs. Wall-mounted faucets save space, and the large mirror helps keep the room light and bright.
The second floor has both kids’ bedrooms and a remodeled full bathroom. This is the nursery. The green-gray wall color suits the 1928 home’s vintage.
Blocky black-and-white drapes are an updated take on classic plaid. Fun items like pom-poms, favorite art pieces and a walrus adorn the walls. The room is one of the designer’s favorite spots in the house.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: Interior designer Tamar Kestenbaum of Sienna & Sage Interior Design; her husband, Aron; their daughter, Izzy (age 4); and their son, Raffa (age 1)
Location: Seattle
Size: 2,300 square feet (214 square meters); four bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Contractor: Nathan Alwin of Alwin Installs
“In this house, you basically walked in the front door and were in the living room. We get so much rain in Seattle that this really didn’t work for us,” Kestenbaum says. There had been a very small space inside the door and a coat closet that had a window in it.
The designer removed the closet to create a small landing zone. Then she custom designed a tile floor with “EST. 1928” in the pattern. The tiles are Carrara and Nero Marquina marble hexagons. “I’ve learned the hard way that hexagonal tiles work much better for lettering than penny rounds, because penny rounds don’t line up vertically and horizontally when you try a pattern like this,” Kestenbaum says.
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