Anyone who has ever undertaken a home renovation can attest to the moment when it feels like the project will never end. For Seattle couple Julie and Chris Lubke, embracing this feeling—rather than running from it—is what allowed them to craft the home of their dreams over the course of 14 years. “Julie and I had been living in a new construction townhome and we were bored,” says Chris. “We had both grown up in houses with ongoing improvements, and, apparently, we needed that too.”

Enter the early-20th-century fixer-upper they bought in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood in 2007. “When we found the house, we knew it was in a great location, with great light—and not much else,” says Chris.

Both practicing structural engineers, Julie and Chris embraced the compact home’s lack of charm and less-than-turnkey state, tapping their friend and colleague, architect Ian Butcher, with whom they had consulted on several projects over the years, to help with initial renovation plans. “I had worked with Ian on a number of projects as his structural engineering consultant,” Julie says. “I always found his work joyful and simple—unpretentious, real, honest, and tailored. I knew that was the style we wanted.”

Before: Front Porch

When Julie and Chris purchased the home, it was hard to tell its provenance due to a slew of changes and additions that had been made over time by previous owners. “The porch had been completely enclosed, so the first thing we did was come up with a design to turn it back into a conventional front porch,” says architect Ian Butcher, founding partner of Seattle firm Best Practice Architecture. “We wanted to make it look like a version of the craftsman-inspired porch that it might have originally been.”

After: Front Porch

Although it’s a contemporary take, the new entry porch and concrete stoop hearken back to the original craftsman expression the home likely had. “The entry is like a yellow contemporary box that’s been inserted into the porch,” says Butcher, referring to the pale, buttery-yellow paint the team used to recast the entry. “We asked, what can we do to create a craftsman-style house, but do it in a way that’s more interesting and thought-provoking?” recalls Butcher. “We’re often playing with history, proportion, and nostalgia in our work.”

Before: Living Room & Dining Room

Inside, the home was functional and Julie and Chris made do for some time with mostly cosmetic upgrades. However, before the arrival of their first child in 2011, the couple knew they wanted to update the main level by swapping out the stone fireplace and expanding and brightening the kitchen. Creating a new connection between the dining room and the adjacent exterior deck was also on the checklist.

After: Living Room and Dining Room

In the living room, Butcher continued his play on history by specifying a large triple-panel window that evoked craftsman designs. Over the fireplace, a new clerestory window stands out as a clearly contemporary intervention. Butcher drew up plans for a new fireplace surround in precast concrete panels, also a contemporary play on a more traditional design, which Julie and Chris fabricated and installed themselves.

Before: Upstairs

The final phase of Julie and Chris’s renovation journey came seven years later, when their family had expanded to three kids and a dog. “At that time, all three kids slept in one room and kid stuff was everywhere on the main floor,” remembers Julie. “We needed to expand our upper floor, and we knew we wanted Best Practice to be involved again.” Butcher returned to design a small addition to the upper level, which reoriented the rooms and made space for a larger kid’s bathroom, a more functional home office, and a more generous hallway landing.

After: Upstairs

Establishing a spacious landing on the upper level was a key concern for the Lubkes and Butcher. “Even though we only added 400 square feet to the second floor, it’s become a new place to be,” says Chris. “The whole evening routine can happen with a single migration up the stairs.” Butcher also understood the importance of this space, which some might have written off as frivolous. “It’s this meeting point for the whole family,” Butcher says. “Everybody has their own territory, but they all start their morning and end their day at this same point.”

The upper level now has two distinct volumes: one for the primary bedroom and a home office, where Julie oversees her structural engineering company, and a second containing three children’s rooms, a play area, and an expanded kids’ bathroom. “I wanted a place where we could all live with just enough space that we weren’t always on top of each other, but not too much that we were apart at home,” says Julie. Throughout the revised upper level, splashes of color continue the playful attitude set 14 years ago with the first dip of butter-yellow paint on the exterior.

Before: Backyard

Outside, the yard wasn’t much to write home about, but the Lubkes loved having a strong connection to their backyard and sought to amplify that in the latest round of updates.

After: Backyard

During the latest phase of renovations, the Lubkes and Butcher worked together seamlessly. “We had developed a lot of trust and shorthand after working together for such a long time,” says Butcher. Updating the outdoor spaces and adding a new freestanding garage made the home complete—for now. The garage is designed to be ADU-ready and can accommodate a future mother-in-law suite on the upper level.

“This was a really unique opportunity to do something over such a long period of time,” says Butcher. Even now, 14 years after the front porch was finished, Butcher still finds satisfaction in the design. “It makes you take a second look. From the outside, I hope the house makes you think and wonder about what you’re looking at relative to history and design.”

More Before & After stories:

A Kandinsky Print Inspires a Seattle Rambler’s Radiant Remodel

An Architect Levels Up His Tiny Seattle Cottage With a Soaring Skylight

A Serene Renovation Saves a Midcentury From Shag Carpet and Pink Linoleum

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Best Practice Architecture / @best_practice

General Contractor: Dolan Construction / @dolan_gc

Structural Engineer: Smith Lubke Engineering