Some houses are snapped up in days. Others take years. The sellers should be commended for their patience.
Fans of architecture will appreciate the term, "Georgian Revival". The rest can appreciate a 1906 piece of artwork that defines "classic". But just walking by on the street won't reveal the beauty that is this 6,665 square foot, 6 bedroom, 3.75 bath, well-preserved time capsule on the east edge of Capitol Hill. You and your house maintenance and management crew get to tend this for $2,288,000.
The artistry is in the details. Stained glass windows, mullioned windows even between the rooms, fireplace masonry and tilework, woodworked archways framing every room, are the aspects you'd notice every day. They establish the feeling that can't be described by the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, or square footage.
Houses don't have to be laid out as mazes of halls with boxes of rooms hidden behind opaque doors. Each room leads to the next, with windowed doors that provide privacy without losing a sense of space. The entry is more than just a place for the door to swing through. The entry is the invitation to visitors to be introduced to the house, or for the owner to be welcomed back.
The original kitchen must be gone, as are the original bathrooms. Their replacements fit the nature of the space while significantly improving the experience. The kitchen has a six-burner stove, as many upscale homes do; but it also has a full-size restaurant griddle and multiple ovens. The bathrooms are functionally elegant, where the bath and shower are showpieces, but not set on intrusive pedestals or given more room than they need.
It is in the maintenance of the defining original elements that this house maintains its character: original radiators, kitchen cabinets that didn't come from Ikea. Was that wine cellar original? Congratulations to the decades of owners who have only improved and stewarded this work called a house. Now, why has it been on the market for over 1,200 days? At least the listing has improved from last year's post.
· 957 22nd Ave E Seattle [Redfin]
· Ode On A Capitol Hill 6-BR For $2.28M [CS]
Written by Tom Trimbath