Budget Breakdown: They Gave a Legendary Artist’s Home an Era-Appropriate Revamp for $442K

Seattle’s leafy Wedgewood neighborhood, nestled beside picturesque Lake Washington about seven miles north of downtown, features a coveted collection of midcentury-modern houses designed by some of the region’s most renowned architects of their time, including Paul Hayden Kirk, Gene Zema, and Paul Thiry. 

Julie Shin and her husband, Hugh McCullough, had lived in a modest house in Wedgewood in the past, and they were looking for a home in the neighborhood with a little more space, particularly as their son and daughter entered their teenage years.

Then they happened upon the midcentury-modern Alden Mason House for sale, just barely within their price range and nestled in an oasis of fir trees on a third of an acre. "We were like, ‘Oh my gosh,’" Julie recalls. "We put in an offer immediately."

The house, completed in 1958, came with a unique provenance. It was designed for artist Alden Mason (1919-2013), whose acclaimed abstract and figurative paintings are held in permanent collections at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Seattle Art Museum, among many others. Mason also spent over three decades teaching at the University of Washington School of Art, and his students include internationally renowned artists like Chuck Close and Roger Shimomura.

The Mason House was built by award-winning contractor Tom Paulsen, who before establishing a prolific career in Seattle had, as a Denmark native, been part of the Danish resistance during World War II. The home's designer was Charles A. Marsh, Jr., who was lesser known than Thiry and Kirk, and whose portfolio was small—but the following year he designed an acclaimed house outside Seattle for another artist and UW art professor, William J. Hixson.

With its butterfly roof, glass-ensconced public areas, and wood-festooned interior, the Alden Mason house epitomizes the Northwest regional style, yet with its setting over a forested ravine, it is private enough to be barely visible from the street. Low-ceilinged private spaces give way to larger-volumed, glass-ensconced public areas, with the drama of compression and release echoing the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

After its 1958 completion, the house was featured in the Seattle Times as its Home of the Month.  "The owners wished to establish a natural environment for their residence with a feeling of compatibility with nature," wrote Margery R. Phillips. "They expressed a desire for the house to have a feeling of being an artist’s house...the living areas have wall surfaces designed for hanging paintings."

When Julie and Hugh took ownership of the 2,481-square-foot, four-bedroom house in 2018, they decided to live with it for a few years before making any alterations. During the pandemic, like many, they found a chance to focus on renovations—and the sudden need for a home office.

"It was just in the air, the idea: ‘Okay, we have some time. Let’s go ahead and start the process,’" Julie explains. "A lot was breaking down in terms of finishes. Cabinet doors were falling off...the fridge was leaking. The roof was leaking, too." 

A previous renovation had distanced the home from its essence with marble countertops and a gray interior palette. While they were interested in more storage and enlarged bathrooms, they also wanted to rekindle the home’s character. "We definitely wanted to focus on natural materials and warmth and show total respect for this architectural legacy of the Northwest," Julie says.

But even more than aesthetic warmth, they wanted literal warmth. With its forested site and relative lack of insulation, the house needed an infusion of thermal comfort.

"From the time we moved in, we were like, ‘Wow, it’s really cold in here,’" she adds. "I read in a book about Paul Kirk that this style of housing fell out because it’s too expensive to heat."

Perhaps appropriately given the influence of Japanese architecture on the region’s midcentury homes, Julie and Hugh turned to Seattle architect and Tokyo-area native Nahoko Ueda for the renovation. Ueda spent a decade at Olson Kundig, and she had amassed a portfolio of thoughtful contemporary residences since founding her own firm, Ueda Design Studio, in 2016—yet this project called for something different.

"Usually, I like to create something entirely new, or change an old structure into something totally contemporary," Ueda explains. "With this one, it was more like, ‘Let’s listen to the house and be mindful of its history—don’t change the whole thing."

Today, a wooded, creek-side pathway leads from the carport to entry, where an eye-catching open stairway leads to the second-floor public areas. Halfway up the stairs is one of the homeowners’ prized possessions: a print by legendary artist Robert Rauschenberg. It was given to the couple many years ago by Hugh’s uncles, who found it at an estate sale. At the top of the stairs, a wall sculpture by Mason hangs in tribute to the artist.

In the foyer at the bottom of the stairway, Ueda discreetly added shoe cabinets and a coat closet while cladding the walls in wood to match the original. Beside the foyer, the architect preserved two glass-walled spaces that had served as Alden Mason’s painting studios—now one is a home office, and the other is a music/guest room. When contractor Mercer Builders removed the existing laminate flooring, they discovered paint stains on the original concrete floor: markings of Mason’s creative process.

Both to save money and to preserve the integrity of the original design, the couple left much of the living area intact, including the oak floors, cedar-clad walls, and striking steel fireplace. This was a thoughtful, surgical renovation focused on improving the home’s function while celebrating the poetry of its original architecture.

The kitchen, though it was not as secluded from the rest of the house as many midcentury kitchens, still underwent a transformation with cabinetry from Space Theory, which was started by the founders of Henrybuilt (the first American kitchen system) as a more casual, affordable alternative.

"There were a few different woods used in the main space. The posts and beams were stained dark, and the kitchen cabinets from the previous renovation were different, too," Ueda says. "So when we were looking at new kitchen cabinets, we said, ‘We don’t want to make it too busy.’ That’s why we added some walnut, but also white laminate—it’s not too much, and the white brightens the area."

The renovation also introduced a new skylight above the kitchen, and a new tubular exhaust hood that matches the steel fireplace in the living room. The adjacent dining area is anchored by a table built by Seattle furniture studio Chadhaus, founded by the couple’s friends, Emily and Chad Robertson. "We love working with local Northwest companies," Julie says.

To warm up that drafty, cold interior, the team installed new roof insulation and hydronic radiant floor heating on the main level. Though the couple were interested in heated floors downstairs too, they opted for radiant wall heaters to stay within budget. The architect and homeowners credit constant communication with Mercer Builders for helping them stay within budget constraints, as the company always offered a range of options for material and construction choices.

Though Ueda and the clients considered replacing the home’s aluminum-framed windows to further increase energy efficiency and reduce drafts, they decided to keep them, knowing that, while newer windows would be better insulated, these were still double paned.

Perhaps the biggest change came in updating the home’s three bathrooms. Ueda removed a closet to expand the primary bath, which has a new shower under an existing skylight and dark, geometric tiles with brushed bronze fixtures.

"That bathroom, I think it changed my life," Julie says with a laugh. "I can live in there. When you’re in the shower and the rain is falling on the skylight—yeah, that’s especially nice."

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A Midcentury Glass House Is Revitalized for $299K

Project Credits:

Architect of Record/Interior Designer: Ueda Design Studio / @ueda_design_studio

Builder: Mercer Builders LLC

Kitchen Cabinetry: Space Theory