Houzz Tours
My Houzz: A Midcentury Home’s Remodel Lets a Family Breathe
By overhauling the layout and saving on finishes, a Seattle family gets the home it has always wanted
After living in seven houses in just 11 years, Peggi Fu, an executive director at a nonprofit, and husband John, an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, had a mighty list of likes and dislikes from each of those experiences. The home they found after moving to Seattle didn’t check all the boxes. But, Peggi says, it did have the “quiet, friendly, holiday-spirit-filled” neighborhood they were looking for, along with great bones, so they were willing to take on a remodel to make the home work for their family. The result? “The house,” Peggi says, “has everything we liked from other houses.” Even more important to the couple was being able to pick out the fixtures and finishes to give the home their singular stamp.
The color of the original sandstone clashed with the other masonry, so a new coat of paint on the gray stone and the garage doors helped marry these elements to the existing brick. Adding a vibrant shout of color on the front door livened up the exterior.
Paint: Urbane Bronze (sandstone and garage), Cartographic (front door) and Anonymous (front door alcove), Sherwin-Williams
Paint: Urbane Bronze (sandstone and garage), Cartographic (front door) and Anonymous (front door alcove), Sherwin-Williams
Changing the entire layout helped create the family-friendly house the couple envisioned. Finding the right contractor was critical because it was a big project on a short timeline. The couple chose Slater Construction “because I liked that they let us source what we wanted to source,” Peggi says. “We wanted the house to reflect us.”
Previously, the home was a warren of small rooms and hallways. The Fus wanted to open it up and offset the gray Seattle skies by making it as light and bright as possible without losing its warmth. Reorienting the rooms and removing some walls created an open, flowing, light-filled and uncluttered home that still paid attention to its roots. “I tried to infuse timeless parts of midcentury as I could,” Peggi says.
The original fireplace remained but got a makeover to bring its look in line with the home’s new freshness. “We’re the fourth owners of this home,” Peggi says. “The third owner did a lot in the home for her mother, who loved pink.” Staining the pink sandstone resulted in a garish purple. So Peggi chose a warm gray instead, which neutralized the pink and plays off the neighboring kitchen’s backsplash.
Fireplace paint: Requisite Gray, Sherwin-Williams
Fireplace paint: Requisite Gray, Sherwin-Williams
The family’s remodel budget was limited, but an upfront decision helped guide their purchasing decisions. “It was more important to get the right layout than to get high-end finishes,” Peggi says. Peggi also mastered the art of creative shopping, regularly using apps for sites such as Craigslist and eBay to alert her to price drops on her needed and favorite items. She also shopped clearance sales and enlisted artists and craftspeople to give old items new life.
Sofa: Room & Board; carpet: Crate & Barrel
Sofa: Room & Board; carpet: Crate & Barrel
Every floor surface changed during the remodel except that of the home office. “We decided not to refinish the floors, primarily due to the tight timeline,” Peggi says. Luckily, the family found a manufactured wood floor in a walnut finish that hit all the right notes, including a great price. “It’s actually exactly the floor we wanted,” Peggi says. “It really makes the home.”
Floor: Great Floors; green armchairs: Ikea; wall paint: Shoji White, Sherwin-Williams
Floor: Great Floors; green armchairs: Ikea; wall paint: Shoji White, Sherwin-Williams
A firm believer in the saying that if you buy something you love, you’ll always find a place for it, Peggi moved the living room armoire from home to home until it finally found its perfect fit in their forever home. The armoire originally came from Goodwill, and Peggi turned it over to an Etsy store owner to give it a new look.
Ceiling paint: Shoji White, Sherwin-Williams
Ceiling paint: Shoji White, Sherwin-Williams
The kitchen is the first space you walk into and is the hub of the home. Before the remodel, the tiny kitchen was in the far corner of the first floor in what is now the master bedroom.
“We knew we had to move the kitchen to get an open floor plan,” Peggi says. The new kitchen now sports a massive 14-foot island that, Peggi says simply, “we live at.” The size of the island fits the scale of the room, providing counter space for cooking, eating, playing, drawing and working while creating a boundary and adding definition in the otherwise open space.
Island: Pius Kitchen & Bath
“We knew we had to move the kitchen to get an open floor plan,” Peggi says. The new kitchen now sports a massive 14-foot island that, Peggi says simply, “we live at.” The size of the island fits the scale of the room, providing counter space for cooking, eating, playing, drawing and working while creating a boundary and adding definition in the otherwise open space.
Island: Pius Kitchen & Bath
High on the couple’s list of must-haves were features that make modern-day life more efficient. One example is this built-in charging station for the family’s devices, set at a height that allows the children to plug and unplug their own cords.
The kitchen cabinets are from Ikea. Flexibility about using Ikea products was one requirement the couple had for their contractor. “To find a contractor who was willing to work with Ikea kitchens was really hard,” Peggi says. “Sometimes contractors think the quality is lower, but owners like it.”
Peggi cites Ikea kitchens’ price, functionality, durability and the ease of replacement as reasons for liking the product. “We worked with a local company, Kokeena, to customize our Ikea cabinetry,” she says.
Stools: Overstock; hood: eBay
Peggi cites Ikea kitchens’ price, functionality, durability and the ease of replacement as reasons for liking the product. “We worked with a local company, Kokeena, to customize our Ikea cabinetry,” she says.
Stools: Overstock; hood: eBay
Peggi thought the island’s front-facing side needed a jolt of something unexpected, so she created a faux shiplap look from boards nailed to the island front with space between. The color, a nod to midcentury design, is Knock-Out Orange by Sherwin-Williams.
The kitchen’s look is both sleek and eclectic, with a variety of textures and finishes. Peggi went with two-tone hardware on the cabinets, even though her wish would have been hardware that was all matte black, which she loves. The pulls on the lower cabinets came from eBay; the upper cabinet knobs came from Home Depot.
The backsplash is another nod to midcentury style. The Fus bought it from Mission Stone & Tile for only $75.
The backsplash is another nod to midcentury style. The Fus bought it from Mission Stone & Tile for only $75.
The family’s dining room table is another purchase brought here from a previous home that looks just right in the new space. Peggi set an alert on Craigslist, which allowed her to pounce on the six CB2 chairs when they came up for sale. The rug is an outdoor rug for easy cleaning, and the art is John Fu’s name, written artfully in Chinese.
Light: West Elm
Light: West Elm
Looking for opportunities to interject surprise into the home was one of Peggi’s objectives. “I like to turn a corner and see something colorful and unexpected,” Peggi says. She painted this wall a perky chartreuse. “It brings personality to the center of the house,” she says.
Paint: Frolic, Sherwin-Williams
Paint: Frolic, Sherwin-Williams
The banister provides graphic interest to the stairwell while being budget-friendly. Fabricated by the contractor on-site, it is another reason the Fus sing their contractor’s praises. “He was both able, and willing, to do it,” Peggi says.
Above the stairwell is the family’s “mountain view,” an antique carving found in an Asian antiquities shop Peggi had toured for work. When she went back four months later, she thought it was gone, only to find it on the floor, buried under a pile. This time, she bought it.
Above the stairwell is the family’s “mountain view,” an antique carving found in an Asian antiquities shop Peggi had toured for work. When she went back four months later, she thought it was gone, only to find it on the floor, buried under a pile. This time, she bought it.
The office is the only room that remains from the home’s original floor plan. The ability to be able to close it off and keep it private makes it practical, but its adjacency to the kitchen and living room makes its location efficient.
A simple desk and chair from Cost Plus World Market coupled with a desk lamp from Target and a wooden file cabinet (not pictured) found on Craigslist make for a tidy, no-fuss workspace.
Wallpaper: Zimba in Soft Chartreuse, Schumacher
Wallpaper: Zimba in Soft Chartreuse, Schumacher
A wall with this much zing must lead to something equally dynamic. In this case, it’s the arresting wallpaper in the main floor half bath.
Schumacher’s Featherfest wallpaper in Marine livens up the small half bath just past the stairwell, a space the couple knew would be visible from other rooms “because we knew the kids would leave the door open,” Peggi says. They elected to forgo a standard door for a well-hidden sliding door instead.
The Fus selected Pax storage units from Ikea to fill the mudroom’s entire wall. “We pushed our architect to make this room this exact size so we could use standard-sized cabinets,” Peggi says. She and John assembled the cabinets, and their contractor installed them.
Outdoor rug: Rugs USA; closet paint: Open Air, Sherwin-Williams
Outdoor rug: Rugs USA; closet paint: Open Air, Sherwin-Williams
When the cabinet doors are closed, it’s hard to imagine that the mudroom actually contains the shoes, coats and gear of a five-person family. But when they’re open, it’s all there: one cabinet per person, with specific spaces for each type of item. It’s organization at its best — flexible, thought-through and realistic. “I love that as the kids get older, we can rearrange these endlessly,” Peggi says.
Bench: Ikea
Bench: Ikea
Across from the closets are wire and wood frames ideal for hanging lists and the kids’ artwork, as well as a decorative porthole bought on eBay. This whimsical addition, which relates directly to this Coast Guard family, is both decorative and intensely practical: The porthole acts as the cover to the home’s laundry chute. “I wanted the laundry near the kids’ bathroom downstairs and the outdoor clothes here near the door,” Peggi says.
The master bedroom is located where the kitchen, a full bath, the laundry room and a door to the outside formerly sat. It is now a spacious room filled with happy color.
Bedding: Yala; end tables: West Elm; lamps: Overstock
Bedding: Yala; end tables: West Elm; lamps: Overstock
Peggi found the dresser on Etsy. An accidental misspelling in the listing meant that the dresser had been unnoticed by buyers until Peggi happened upon it. Seeing it for the deal it was, she scooped it up. It’s another great find in a long list of budget purchases.
To save space and create the look they wanted, the Fus purchased a standard door from Lowe’s, painted it in Sherwin-Williams’ Indigo and mounted it with $80 barn door hardware.
The master bathroom design came from experiencing many homes with many bathroom styles. The Fus had installed a glass tub enclosure twice before, but for the bath of their forever home, they went with a free-standing tub and searched until they found a faucet that was long enough to reach it from the shower.
Tub: Wayfair; faucet and hardware: Delta
Tub: Wayfair; faucet and hardware: Delta
The room originally had one large window in the shower. The Fus divided it into two and frosted the glass. The divided window provided a place to mount the large glass enclosure doors for the shower and tub.
Peggi fit in a bit more of her love for black matte surfaces with these floor tiles from Discount Tile. “We have small kids, and their fingerprints are all over. So, I so love matte finishes.”
Peggi fit in a bit more of her love for black matte surfaces with these floor tiles from Discount Tile. “We have small kids, and their fingerprints are all over. So, I so love matte finishes.”
The Fus saved money on the bathroom by using many of the same materials used in the kitchen, including extra stone from the kitchen island, Ikea cabinets and the same pulls. The addition of mirrors that echo the shape of the bath tile, found at One Kings Lane, brings continuity to the space.
The staircase is original and required only refinishing the treads and a coat of fresh white paint. But what the stairs led to underwent a major transformation.
Formerly, the lower level was “a totally unfinished basement. I mean totally,” Peggi says. Now it is a spacious daylight basement with a family room, a guest bedroom, two kids’ bedrooms, a laundry, a full bath and a playroom.
Formerly, the lower level was “a totally unfinished basement. I mean totally,” Peggi says. Now it is a spacious daylight basement with a family room, a guest bedroom, two kids’ bedrooms, a laundry, a full bath and a playroom.
One of the first things the Fus did was to rework the ducting to hide the structural supports and to make the basement feel like another daylight floor of the home.
A chaise bought many years ago and reupholstered twice since then has found a good home in the family room. Its midcentury lines work well with the fireplace, which was left in its original condition.
Paint: Repose Gray, Sherwin-Williams
A chaise bought many years ago and reupholstered twice since then has found a good home in the family room. Its midcentury lines work well with the fireplace, which was left in its original condition.
Paint: Repose Gray, Sherwin-Williams
Peggi brought her love of color to the bottom floor in the form of a large accent wall painted in Sherwin-Williams’ Talipot Palm. A neutral carpet from Home Depot covers the concrete floor, and a sofa from Room & Board plus a small table from Ikea round out the uncluttered space.
Built as a storage room, this extra room in the basement is large enough and bright enough to function as a playroom for the couple’s three young children. Peggi found the Pottery Barn kitchen set on Craigslist for $150. She hired an artist to paint it with fresh colors and a new design.
The Fus’ oldest daughter’s bedroom looks new and designer-styled, but it’s actually filled with quality used items savvily purchased from Craigslist and eBay.
The bed frame from The Land of Nod and the yellow side table from West Elm are both Craigslist finds. The bedding was also within budget, with the sheets hailing from Target, and the duvet and sham from Pottery Barn via eBay.
Wall paint: Inner Child, Sherwin-Williams
The bed frame from The Land of Nod and the yellow side table from West Elm are both Craigslist finds. The bedding was also within budget, with the sheets hailing from Target, and the duvet and sham from Pottery Barn via eBay.
Wall paint: Inner Child, Sherwin-Williams
An Ikea desk and a metal chair purchased on Craigslist create a serene study space. The lavender canopy from The Land of Nod via Craigslist helps add a note of privacy and whimsy.
Dresser: Ikea via Craigslist
Dresser: Ikea via Craigslist
The two younger children share a room filled with color and comfort. An alert set on Craigslist for The Land of Nod items helped Peggi find the matching upholstered bed frames with headboards. “They maybe are not what we would have chosen, but staying within budget pushed us designwise,” Peggi says.
Ikea cabinets and chairs create an art table at just the right height.
Owl table: HomeGoods; wall paint: Inspired Lilac, Sherwin-Williams
Ikea cabinets and chairs create an art table at just the right height.
Owl table: HomeGoods; wall paint: Inspired Lilac, Sherwin-Williams
A significant design philosophy that the Fus follow affects how the home looks and functions. As Peggi explains, “We knew we wanted toys in the closets, not clothes.” This allows for rooms that by default are clean and uncluttered, as everything can be put away and hidden behind doors.
Instead of taking up closet space, most of the clothes go in dressers, such as these simple chests from Ikea.
Just outside the children’s bedrooms is their shared bath. When Peggi and John realized that the entire family often ends up in the bathroom at the same time, they decided to design a 10-by-13-foot room that could handle rowdy bath times and morning “get-readys.”
They installed radiant heat for comfort, durable tile floors, dual sinks and a toilet enclosed in its own private space with a door.
They installed radiant heat for comfort, durable tile floors, dual sinks and a toilet enclosed in its own private space with a door.
Ceramic shower tiles with a monochrome yet busy pattern pulls in the midcentury feel yet again, while a pale spring-green paint keeps the room feeling airy and fresh.
Paint: Mint Condition, Sherwin-Williams
Paint: Mint Condition, Sherwin-Williams
Peggi relaxes in the heart of their forever home. Its thoughtful design works for their growing family with a layout that allows for togetherness, the means to stay organized, additions that create efficiency and, most of all, a vibe that is completely personal and totally them.
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.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
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.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Peggi and John Fu and their three children
Location: Seattle
Size: 3,260 square feet (303 square meters); five bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
The exterior of the Fus’ house, in a 1950s-era planned neighborhood, doesn’t scream “remodel” since it retained its low profile and many original features. Still, the remodel left several gaps in the brickwork. Using 300 bricks found at salvaged building materials source Ballard Reuse, plus used brick from a neighbor’s fireplace tear-down, EMR Masonry created a harmonious restored midcentury facade.