Mansion Returns To Its Former Glory -- Benefit For Leukemia Is This Weekend

KENMORE

Crunch time has hit Wildcliffe.

Cadres of workers - painters, electricians, carpenters and decorators - are stepping around one another to finish refurbishing the 1927 French Provincial mansion. Saturday's deadline looms.

That's when the American Society of Interior Designers' Showcase, a benefit for the Leukemia Society, opens to the public.

Even for decorators and construction workers accustomed to tight schedules, Wildcliffe has been a lesson in coordination. Susan Stanfield of Edmonds, co-chairwoman of the showcase, calls it amazing.

"We've put this together in nine weeks," she said. "Typically we work on a showcase project a year."

That included replacing the mortar on the brick exterior, new wiring and a new heating system. The kitchen had to be gutted.

"When I walked through the house the first time, there were dead mice everywhere and the kitchen cabinets had all collapsed," Stanfield said.

The house - called Wildcliffe in tile over the back door and Wildcliff over the front door - was built on the two-acre site by Seattle businessman Charles Thomsen. He and his second wife, ElVera,

operated a blueberry farm at the west side of the property, now covered with condominiums.

Charles died in 1969; ElVera in 1970. The property was willed to Easter Seals to be used as a rehabilitation residence.

In recent years it sat vacant. Earlier this year it was sold at auction to Charles Kerber and Trenton Eckhardt of Seattle. Eventually they hope to use the mansion as a bed and breakfast.

Even with layers of dust, kitchen cabinets in the living room and painters in the den, Wildcliffe is an oh-wow house.

Extensive landscaping hides the building from traffic on Simonds Road. A circular drive winds to the front of the house. At the east end is a three-car garage and a back entrance. The main entrance opens into a hall. To the immediate left is a curved staircase going to the four bedrooms and five bathrooms upstairs.

Beyond the staircase is a wide entrance to the living room. Lattice windows with small diamond-shaped panes include a series of stained glass shields.

"Charlie had the crests of each college in the PAC (Pacific Athletic Conference) put in the shields," said Mary Margaret Bowles of Kenmore, the Thomsens' niece. "I think there are only six there because it wasn't even the Pac-8."

The entry hall also leads to a small guest bathroom and a closet with a trapdoor. The trapdoor is the entrance to the dungeon.

"That was added during World War II," said Bowles, who first visited the house in the early 1950s. "It was dug out to be a bomb shelter, but Charley used it as a party room. . . . He loved fun, crazy gadgets and if it lit up, so much better."

Back in the main house, beyond the dining room is a breakfast nook. Last week artisan Nichole Parsons of Bellevue was carefully sponging on paint to create a marbleized effect.

There is also a butler's pantry, den and kitchen. Workers were beginning to install cabinets Thursday.

"We couldn't have done this without a lot of help," Stanfield said.

Despite the donations of material and labor, the owners have invested $400,000 into upgrading the building.

One thing they haven't had to replace was door handles. The original iron ones were still there.

"Yes," said Stanfield, "we were surprised at how well-preserved the house is in many ways."

Bowles remembers the bathrooms as beautiful.

"There was a black bathroom with black tub and fixtures," she said. "We bought our lot just a mile from Wildcliffe because we liked Charlie and ElVera so much. I wanted to put a black tub in our bathroom and ElVera talked me out of it because she said it was too hard to keep clean."

Although overgrown, the grounds were once as spectacular as the Wildcliffe house.

Bowles thinks the pool was added in the 1930s.

"All my kids learned to swim there," she said. "Charles and ElVera had pool parties, too. They entertained a lot."

Even with the side yards overgrown and the once-open view to the Sammamish Slough covered by trees and brush, be forewarned.

You're not going to want to go home. The house is that inviting. ------------------------------- Showcase benefit

Wildcliffe American Society of Interior Designers Showcase benefits the Leukemia Society of America. 7332 N.E. Simonds Road, Kenmore. Oct. 11 through Nov. 8, Wednesday 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Monday. Admission is $14. Call 206-444-1200 for ticket information.