The Laurelhurst Home Tour Takes You To A Cottage Reverently Enlarged -- Charm, Anhalt Style

CUTLINE: RICHARD S. HEYZA / SEATTLE TIMES: IN ADDING THE KITCHEN AND FAMILY ROOM, THE OWNERS TRIED TO RESPECT THE FLAVOR OF THE ORIGINAL HOUSE WITH BEAMED CEILINGS, A STONE FIREPLACE, AND LEADED GLASS WINDOWS AND CABINET DOORS.

CUTLINE: STORAGE BINS BUILT INTO THE ENDS OF THE COOKING ISLAND PUT STAPLES WITHIN EASY REACH. TILE FLOORS AND COUNTERS FIT THE '30S FLAVOR OF THE HOME.

CUTLINE: RICHARD S. HEYZA / SEATTLE TIMES: IN REMODELING DAUGHTER LISI'S UPSTAIRS BEDROOM, THE JENSENS BUILT STORAGE DRAWERS INTO THE EAVES, ENLARGED THE DORMER TO ACCOMMODATE A WINDOW SEAT, AND ADDED A SKYLIGHT FOR EXTRA ILLUMINATION.

CUTLINE: RICHARD S. HEYZA / SEATTLE TIMES: THE JENSENS KNEW THEY HAD TO BUY THE HOUSE THE MOMENT THEY STEPPED INTO THE LIVING ROOM. LACE VALANCES, BOTANICAL PRINTS AND LIGHT-COLORED FURNISHINGS HELP OFFSET THE ROOM'S LODGELIKE DEMEANOR.

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Fred Anhalt didn't just design homes, he created fantasies.

As Seattle's leading pre-War architect and developer, Anhalt used historical styles to fashion castles for the common man. His apartments and homes were always embellished with turrets, leaded windows, vaulted living rooms and landscaped courtyards. Whatever the style he was working in (Tudor, Norman and Mediterranean were his favorites), Anhalt set a standard for craftsmanship and imagination that's never been equaled in this city.

The public will have a rare opportunity to visit one of Anhalt's most charming efforts, an English country-style cottage set in a 100-year-old orchard, as part of the first Laurelhurst Home Tour, this Saturday, Nov. 17.

Originally designed by Anhalt in 1935 for a family named Proctor, the home now belongs to Howard Jensen, Cindy Bouillon-Jensen and their three children. Nestled amidst stately apple trees and rolling banks of grass, the Jensens' house looks small and unassuming from the street. But just beyond the fragrant swags of honeysuckle framing the front door is a home full of rustic charm. Amber expanses of aged knotty pine cover the walls and ceiling of the two-story living room. Leaded glass windows illuminate the hand-hewn beams and maple floors fitted with walnut pegs. Bare wood stairs spiral upward to the second floor, guided by hand-crafted wrought-iron railings.

It was the living room and two-acres-plus lot that first attracted the Jensens to the Proctor house seven years ago. Unfortunately, the rest of the 2,100-square-foot house needed work. Shortly after the Proctors moved in, their family grew. With each new baby, they hired Anhalt to add another bedroom. Although the childbearing eventually ceased, Anhalt's work didn't. The Proctors asked for an indoor roller-skating rink, then guest quarters, and finally a garage.

``Being their builder was almost like having a regular job,'' recalled Anhalt in his biography.

The constant remodeling work may have put food on Anhalt's table, but it didn't make for a very cohesive living space.

``This house was almost like a hobbit house upstairs,'' says Cindy Bouillon-Jensen, a graduate student in philosophy and medical ethics. ``Everything was very low. There were funny-shaped doors. Little nooks and alcoves that you really couldn't walk into unless you bent down. And lots of levels, because they had to build on top of the existing roofline.''

Realizing something had to be done to bring the house up to contemporary standards, the Jensens approached the 90-year-old Anhalt four years ago about doing one more remodel to the Proctor house. Although Anhalt expressed some interest, the Jensens ended up turning over the project to Harry Rich, a former partner of Cindy's late architect-father, and a man who had experience working with historic structures.

Rich's remodel, executed by Marquiss Construction, added bedrooms and a bath upstairs, and extended the back of the house to form a family room and informal dining area. Windows were enlarged to take advantage of Lake Washington views, and to accommodate window seats.

While the original house cost just $4,000 back in 1935, the price tag for the recent remodel came to about $250,000, owing to the extensive custom detailing required.

In building the 1,500-square-foot addition, the Jensens were careful to preserve the character of the original structure. ``One of my biggest fears was that the addition would look like an addition,'' says Cindy.

The Jensens enlisted a small army of local craftsmen to reproduce Anhalt's original detailing. A Vashon Island firm, Cherry Creek Windows, duplicated the leaded glass windows in code-required Thermopane. The shingles on the addition were custom-milled to replicate the originals, which are no longer produced. The custom-designed hardware on the doors, by Heritage Forge in Maple Valley, preserves the spirit of Anhalt's original work while improving on its function. Several door handles are adorned with ram's heads, a personal favorite of Howard Jensen.

Although the original house didn't have a stone fireplace, the one that mason Rick Arnhold built in the family room is true to the home's English country spirit. The exterior chimney is also made of stone, and is fitted with a built-in barbecue surrounded by a stone-walled terrace.

When no wood could be found to duplicate the paneling in the original wing, the old paneling was stripped from the dining room ceiling and the top half of the entry hall and reused in the new family room. Likewise, a few of the original light fixtures were removed from the old wing and inserted into the addition to blur the distinction between the two.

Much as the Jensens loved the home's rustic, woodsy interior, the rooms felt a little too dark. Linda Lundgren, a Whidbey Island interior designer, worked with Cindy to soften and lighten the home's decor. The pair hung lace valances on the windows and nature prints on the walls. Traditional furnishings inherited from Cindy's grandmother were reupholstered in shades of rose and pale green, inspired by the heirloom oriental rug in the living room. These pieces were augmented with a few of the Jensens' own finds, such as the antique Danish dining table that folds out to seat 20.

The avocado-and-gold kitchen, the result of a previous remodel, was gutted and enlarged. Cherry cabinets and beadboard paneling restore a period flavor to the room. Swing-out drawers built into both ends of the cooking island store fruits, vegetables and grains. The white tile counter tops are highlighted with custom-painted tiles that a California firm copied from Cindy's favorite set of English china. Cabinets faced with leaded glass doors on the front and back hang above the breakfast bar, which divides the kitchen from the adjoining family room, decorated by Vicki Hague. A solid wood trestle table, custom-designed to withstand any abuse children or pets can dish out, anchors the family eating area.

Anhalt himself landscaped the original home, working around the existing apple orchard. Although the yard was beautifully planted in an English garden style, the Jensens found the shrubs overgrown and the rolling terrain virtually unusable. The couple flattened out the grounds so their children could play in the yard, planted a perennial garden, and plan to restore the old pond and waterfall in the not-too-distant future.

One attribute they didn't alter was the way the house sits several feet lower than the surrounding yard. Although such practices are no longer permitted, due to drainage problems, the Jensens say they love looking out their dining room windows at the land's comforting embrace.