My Houzz: A House Made of Mud in Arizona
A couple restores an 1880s adobe building in Tucson brick by brick, blending rustic finishes with midcentury furnishings
“It was clear something needed to be done if the house was to be kept from returning back into the dirt from which it had come,” says Lison, pictured on the right with Cokinos. “Insane decision though it was, we decided we were the ones who should do it.”
Lison documented the transformation from a crumbling brick structure to a fabulous multiroom residence on her blog, House Made of Mud.
Lison documented the transformation from a crumbling brick structure to a fabulous multiroom residence on her blog, House Made of Mud.
“You must love the shape and power of the row house geometry,” Lison says. “Not only that, but they also provide space for some amazing interior design.”
Pictured here is one corner of the living room and the entrance to the kitchen.
Industrial task floor lamp: West Elm; browse more floor lamps
Pictured here is one corner of the living room and the entrance to the kitchen.
Industrial task floor lamp: West Elm; browse more floor lamps
After. The walls of the living room and dining room are made partly with lime plaster and partly with the original mud plaster from the late 1800s. “I am totally in love with the look and feel of them,” Lison says.
The ceilings in the living room and dining room are 12 feet high. Some of the ceilings are original, while some are made of reclaimed floorboards from the house.
The Eames Lounge chair and ottoman are vintage.
The ceilings in the living room and dining room are 12 feet high. Some of the ceilings are original, while some are made of reclaimed floorboards from the house.
The Eames Lounge chair and ottoman are vintage.
Neo dining table: Copenhagen Imports; Jansen chairs in cherry with charcoal stain: Room & Board; Eames molded fiberglass armchair: Design Within Reach
A bookshelf in the dining room displays the couple’s turntable and records.
Carpenter John Kalnins built the kitchen island using reclaimed wood.
“The vintage Norge stove was in the house, but it didn’t work, so we had it refurbished,” Lison says. “We felt it was important to hang on to as many things that were already here as possible.”
Beyond the kitchen is the walk-in pantry and back door.
Half of the alcoves in the kitchen existed, and half were added.
The orange wall hanging representing Sagittarius — Lison’s astrological sign — was in the house when they bought it. “It was like the house had my name on it,” she says.
The orange wall hanging representing Sagittarius — Lison’s astrological sign — was in the house when they bought it. “It was like the house had my name on it,” she says.
There are built-in benches on both sides of the kitchen door. The base of the kitchen table is vintage, and the top is a slate remnant from a local countertop maker.
“We could have left all of the distressed walls in their raw state, but we ended up plastering some of the ones that were in really rough shape,” Lison says.
Cactus pillow: Etsy
Cactus pillow: Etsy
A library area is the first room off the front entrance.
Lily swivel chair: Copenhagen Imports; electric fireplace: Dimplex; ottoman: vintage
Lily swivel chair: Copenhagen Imports; electric fireplace: Dimplex; ottoman: vintage
The other corner of the library features a built-in shelf and a comfortable armchair for reading.
Leather chair: JCPenney; framed photograph: Jamey Stillings
Leather chair: JCPenney; framed photograph: Jamey Stillings
The library is outfitted with a hidden bookcase door, a feature the homeowners always wanted. The table in the library is part of a set that belonged to Lison’s grandparents.
Framed photograph: Daniel Kukla; telescope and chair: vintage
How to Create a Secret Doorway Behind a Bookcase
Framed photograph: Daniel Kukla; telescope and chair: vintage
How to Create a Secret Doorway Behind a Bookcase
The walls throughout the house are 18 to 24 inches thick, the width of the adobe bricks. Pictured here is the wall between the library and Lison’s office, which is behind the hidden bookcase.
Since both Lison and Cokinos often work from home, it was important that they created comfortable office areas. Lison’s office consists of two small rooms since much of the house was originally configured that way. Back in the 1800s, each set of two rooms would have been an apartment.
Eames molded fiberglass armchair: Design Within Reach
Eames molded fiberglass armchair: Design Within Reach
Lison uses the second room in her office for her art and design projects.
Pictured here is one room in Cokinos’ workspace.
His second room has an electric fireplace and a sofa that offers a quiet place to read.
Electric fireplace: Dimplex; Stafford cocktail table in cherry: Room & Board; sofa and chair: vintage
Electric fireplace: Dimplex; Stafford cocktail table in cherry: Room & Board; sofa and chair: vintage
The wall on the left collapsed during construction, so brick from it was used to build the floor in the zaguan, the main entryway. “The wall on the left was rebuilt with new mud adobe bricks made on-site by hand by the contractors, then plastered,” Lison says.
Vertigo modern pendant light: Corbett Lighting, Houzz
Vertigo modern pendant light: Corbett Lighting, Houzz
At the other end of the entrance, a vintage sign complements round mirrors and a midcentury modern-style armoire. The door leads out to the backyard.
Grove office armoire: Room & Board; browse more armoires
Grove office armoire: Room & Board; browse more armoires
The sunny master bedroom was originally two rooms. “It’s hard to describe how fortunate we feel every morning waking up in this space,” Lison says.
The other part of the master bedroom was large enough to fit a sofa.
Andes collection sofa: West Elm; Hovet mirror: Ikea
The other part of the master bedroom was large enough to fit a sofa.
Andes collection sofa: West Elm; Hovet mirror: Ikea
This door in the master bedroom hides a walk-in closet and laundry room. The walls in this room were left in the distressed state they were in when the couple bought the house.
Latitude dresser in white: CB2
Latitude dresser in white: CB2
The homeowners kept the master bathroom open. The shower and tub are walled in on two sides. Geometric cement tiles cover the floor.
Contempo cement tiles: Cement Tile Shop
Contempo cement tiles: Cement Tile Shop
“I found a bathroom vanity that I liked in a photo, so I asked a local carpenter to copy it for me,” Lison says.
Ombre mirrored pendants: West Elm; Godmorgon mirrored cabinets: Ikea
Ombre mirrored pendants: West Elm; Godmorgon mirrored cabinets: Ikea
Their guest bathroom features hexagonal cement tile.
Starburst III tiles in Pacific Green: Cement Tile Shop
Starburst III tiles in Pacific Green: Cement Tile Shop
The homeowners added skylights throughout the house when replacing their roof. In their guest bedroom, they highlight the original mud plaster walls.
A vintage bench swing is located near the rear of the backyard in front of a corrugated metal fence.
“This is our favorite part of the yard,” Lison says. “Our outdoor fireplace was the wood stove that was in the kitchen of the house when we bought it.”
“When we first entered the backyard, we were amazed by the salt cedar tree growing there,” Lison says. “We figured it was likely over 100 years old.”
Before. When they bought the house, Lison says, “its doors and windows were boarded up; its walls, made of traditional mud adobe bricks from the 1880s, were crumbling; and its roof looked as if it might be held on with chewing gum. By the time we looked at it, the house had been on the market for nine years,” she says.
By the mid-20th century, many of the adobe houses in the neighborhood were rundown, and the Tucson City Council decided to remedy this by demolishing about half of them. This spurred preservationists to nominate the remaining half of the barrio to the National Register of Historic Places.
By the mid-20th century, many of the adobe houses in the neighborhood were rundown, and the Tucson City Council decided to remedy this by demolishing about half of them. This spurred preservationists to nominate the remaining half of the barrio to the National Register of Historic Places.
After. Oden Construction replaced the crumbling stucco on the exterior with new stucco, a traditional mix of lime, putty, sand and water that is hand-applied with a trowel. Once it dried, the stucco was coated with a lime wash.
The windows and doors also were replaced, as the originals were either missing or beyond repair. The lime-green door, second from the right, leads to a guest unit that the couple rents out. The middle door, between the pair of pots farther to the left, leads to the main house, which extends back and to the left. “Two of the other brown doors are functioning: One leads to my study and workspace; the other leads to my husband’s study. The rest we made nonfunctioning,” Lison says.
The couple also installed a new roof and low-maintenance landscaping.
The windows and doors also were replaced, as the originals were either missing or beyond repair. The lime-green door, second from the right, leads to a guest unit that the couple rents out. The middle door, between the pair of pots farther to the left, leads to the main house, which extends back and to the left. “Two of the other brown doors are functioning: One leads to my study and workspace; the other leads to my husband’s study. The rest we made nonfunctioning,” Lison says.
The couple also installed a new roof and low-maintenance landscaping.
Drawings by Kegan Tom of The Architectural Co.
Before. The original main house, built in the 19th century, is shaded in gray above. On both sides of the main house are smaller row houses that were added later. Each house had a door in front and one at the back that opened onto a shared courtyard.
“It’s hard to say exactly how many row houses there were originally with any certainty, or how the units were occupied or used over the years,” Lison says.
Before. The original main house, built in the 19th century, is shaded in gray above. On both sides of the main house are smaller row houses that were added later. Each house had a door in front and one at the back that opened onto a shared courtyard.
“It’s hard to say exactly how many row houses there were originally with any certainty, or how the units were occupied or used over the years,” Lison says.
After. The homeowners made the south end of the house, on the left side of the drawing, their main house. On the other end, they created a guesthouse rental unit.
They removed two walls in the main house: one to create a large living and dining room, and another for a large master bedroom. They also added three new interior doorways to link the former row houses to allow the couple to walk from one part of the house to the other without going outside. Lison and Cokinos also decided to expand a former bathroom to make a slightly larger pantry off the kitchen to add storage.
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
They removed two walls in the main house: one to create a large living and dining room, and another for a large master bedroom. They also added three new interior doorways to link the former row houses to allow the couple to walk from one part of the house to the other without going outside. Lison and Cokinos also decided to expand a former bathroom to make a slightly larger pantry off the kitchen to add storage.
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Who lives here: Kathe Lison and Christopher Cokinos
Location: Barrio Viejo neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona
Size: Main house of 3,800 square feet (353 square meters), with two bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms; guesthouse of 825 square feet (77 square meters), with one bedroom and one bathroom
Year built: 1880s; renovated in 2014
“You’re buying a warehouse?” a friend asked upon seeing a picture of the dilapidated place Kathe Lison and her partner, Chris Cokinos, planned to make into their home. In response, Lison says, “Chris just laughed.”
Lison, an author and then-architecture student, and Cokinos, a science and nature writer and professor, purchased the crumbling Sonoran Desert row house in Tucson’s historic Barrio Viejo neighborhood in 2014. “We were looking for an old house in the barrio, and I was intrigued by the falling-down historic adobe,” Lison says. “You have to love that it’s made of mud. You have to understand the heft and gravity of such a material, and the hands of the laborers that dug its walls from the ground over a century ago.”
Barrio Viejo started as a dusty Mexican town. In the 1880s, it was a culturally diverse community of working-class people from America, Europe, Africa and Asia, many of whom worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The home’s renovation took more than a year. Lison and Cokinos enlisted the help of architect Kegan Tom from The Architectural Co. and contractors from Oden Construction.
The red enamel fireplace in the living room is vintage and has an electric insert.
Rochelle sectional sofa: Crate & Barrel; coffee table: vintage