Paxson Fay is a full-service marketing and public relations firm specializing in the architecture, design, and arts industries.
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SHED Architecture & Design’s Black Sheep Remodel on Dwell
Before & After: Clever Changes Bring Out the Charm in a 1920s Seattle Bungalow
In a real estate market as hot as Seattle’s, it’s not uncommon for 100-year-old houses to get torn down in favor of building bigger and boxier. But the couple that bought this 1921 bungalow didn’t need more space—they just needed the layout to flow together better.
“They did not want to tear it down—they wanted to work with the existing bones of the house, and open up the kitchen and the dining room to the living room to make it a Bohemian hangout pad,” says designer Prentis Hale, of the Seattle firm SHED Architecture & Design.
Before: Front Porch
SHED’s redesign started outside. Access to the front and back doors was compromised by the home’s height off the ground and narrow staircases, which emphasized the separation between inside and out. SHED rebuilt the staircases to be wider and more generous, so that they could double as seats.
After: Front Porch
The original floor plan—a simple rectangle—is common to homes of this time. A long and narrow living and dining room lies on one side of the home, and two bedrooms and a bath sit on the other. However, a few small additions and faulty interventions had created too many compact rooms connected by narrow doorways and haphazard pass-throughs.
SHED removed two walls to improve the circulation between the main living spaces. “The clients initially were like, ‘Let’s open this all up.’ But it was a little too open,” recalls Hale. The solution is a half-wall topped with slim shelving that “keeps the whole space open, but creates some definition between spaces so it doesn’t feel like you’re in a big, long tube,” says Hale.
Before: Living Room
Courtesy of SHED Architecture & Design
After: Living Room
Before: Dining Room
Courtesy of SHED Architecture & Design
Courtesy of SHED Architecture & Design
After: Dining Room
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“The kitchen was super weird, and had also been remodeled a couple times,” says Hale. “It was extended to enclose the back porch, but the plan of the kitchen hadn’t changed.” The result was a series of chopped-up spaces, disconnected from the rest of the house.
When the firm removed a structural wall to combine these spaces into one, they installed a generous island with a slim structural column at its corner, which Hale calls the “linchpin” in the design. “It was this pin in the plan that anchored the island and allowed us to clear out the walls in the kitchen,” says Hale.
Before: Kitchen
Courtesy of SHED Architecture & Design
Courtesy of SHED Architecture & Design
After: Kitchen
While the owners were happy to preserve the character of the 100-year-old house, they also wanted to foster a tension between old and new throughout. “The owners really liked this house, so they didn’t want to go super contemporary on anything. They wanted a mix,” says Hale.
In the kitchen, custom plywood and laminate cabinetry by Seattle-based Kerf Design contrasts with the exposed brick chimney and classic detailing on the range. In the bathroom, a Kerf medicine chest echoes the new casework elsewhere, while a claw-foot tub nods to the house’s vintage.
For Hale, the remodel really “shows the value of small moves,” whether borrowing a couple feet of space here and there, or opening up walls and installing new cohesive casework. “A few subtle changes transformed the house,” he says.
Before: Bathroom
Courtesy of SHED Architecture & Design
After: Bathroom
Before: Back Porch
Courtesy of SHED Architecture & Design
After: Back Porch
More from SHED Architecture & Design:
A Midcentury Ranch Home Is Totally Transformed in Seattle
Before & After: A Remodel Brings a Cartoonist’s Former Home Back to Life
Project Credits:
Architect of Record: SHED Architecture & Design / @shedarchitecture
Builder: Thomas Jacobson Construction
Structural Engineer: Todd Perbix
Cabinetry: Kerf Design
Photography: Rafael Soldi
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meet the team
We’re inspired by diverse design perspectives, innovation, technology, art, and the world around us. We live for the chance to create and disperse powerful, genuine messages that resonate.
amy golden
principal
amy@paxsonfay.com
Growing up in Seattle, Amy was always exploring the great outdoors but she found a particular thrill in traveling. During a visit to New York City at age 10, she knew that was where she wanted to live. After high school she left her home in the Pacific Northwest behind for the great unknown to attend Fordham University in the Bronx. Upon graduation, Amy received a phone call from CNN offering a job opportunity of a lifetime working in television ad sales at Manhattan's Time Warner Center. When a job opportunity in Los Angeles opened up a few years later, Amy couldn't say no to a new adventure back on the west coast. But Seattle eventually called her back home and Amy returned to pursue a Master's degree in Business Administration with the hopes of learning the skills she needed to feed her entrepreneurial spirit. Before graduating, Amy co-founded Paxson Fay with Tessa Andrews in 2015. Amy focuses on marketing strategy, public relations, social media, and partnerships.
tessa franchini
principal
tessa@paxsonfay.com
Tessa graduated from Fordham University in New York with a dual bachelor's degree in Communications and Political Science. During her time at Fordham, she worked for an interior designer and at NBC News where she developed her love for both design and communications. After graduating, Tessa managed marketing at 3form, a pioneer in the sustainable building products industry. During her tenure, 3form was repeatedly named one of the most recognized manufacturers in the design industry among architects and designers, and the company won multiple awards for its innovative product launches. After 3form, Tessa consulted on marketing efforts with leading product manufacturers in architecture and design before starting Paxson Fay with Amy.
colby wood
account executive
colby@paxsonfay.com
After graduating from Fordham University in New York City with a major in Communications and Media Studies and a handful of marketing and PR internships, Colby moved to Boston to manage marketing for a small, women-owned, creative consulting agency. While in that role, Colby managed public relations and marketing efforts for some of Boston's most prominent events and public art initiatives, including the Boston Pickle Fair and The Bulfinch Crossing Projections in downtown Boston. Colby gained experience crafting brand stories and identities through social media marketing and creative copywriting, seen through the successful launch of a premier Massachusetts adult-use dispensary and the revamp of her agency's own website. After two years, Colby decided it was time to figure out what the West Coast was all about. Looking to blend her marketing experience with her passion for design and architecture, Colby found Paxson Fay, where she focuses on social media strategy and management and public relations.
stasha vincent
communications specialist
stasha@paxsonfay.com
Originally from Spokane, Washington, Stasha relocated to Seattle after completing her studies in communications at Eastern Washington University. Over the past seven years, she has held various communication roles at Amazon, specializing in crisis communication and brand reputation. In June of 2023, Stasha joined Paxson Fay as a Communications Specialist, providing her with the opportunity to blend her communications expertise with her passion for design. Stasha focuses on PR efforts for a variety of clients at Paxson Fay.
We are looking for a star communications specialist to join our team, leading creative brands in their communications efforts across platforms. Click here to read more.
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what we do
We are a communications firm founded in our passion for good design. Our unique approach to marketing and public relations in the architecture and design community has elevated our clients work to the next level. We’re backed by a talented community of creatives. From copywriters to social media experts, we provide a complete package of customized services. We strive to create a personal experience with each client, integrating teams and tackling your biggest marketing and public relations challenges from a high level. Then we help execute those plans ensuring lots of reporting along the way, with lots of coffee breaks in between because we’re from Seattle and that’s what we do.
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content production
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awards: strategy, content development and submissions
social
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photography acquisition + curation
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tradeshow coordination
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Here is a little taste of who we love to work with and what we love to do.
