Contractor: Doric Construction
Architect: Lewis Ficken
I fondly remember the turn- of-the-century home my grandmother owned on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit. The mahogany wood staircase, leaded glass parlor doors and ornate finishes. They were standard in those stately 19th century homes along the Boulevard — the kind of craftsmanship you don’t often find these days. So when I walked into a 1911 home on Spokane’s South Hill, I was flooded with memories of my grandmother’s house and the time I spent there as a kid. This elegant home on the Hill’s Highland Boulevard had so many of the same classic features, a surprise considering it had undergone a massive renovation.
“The only thing we didn’t gut is the formal dining and formal living room,” says contractor Doric Creager. “Everything else was just a disaster.”
Creager teamed up with architect Lewis Ficken to renovate the home. Their goal was two-fold: to keep the charm of the period in which it was built and to update it to meet the owner’s functional needs and design style.
“It was extensive work to replicate the original detail,” Doric says. “Any time you tear into a home built in 1911, you never know what you’re going get.”
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Among the major work was turning the small kitchen into a larger and more functional space. A stairway leading to the basement had to be relocated to make room for a center island. It was moved to the back corner of the house, which was excavated to add a guest suite and second laundry room.
On the second floor an outside porch at the top of the main staircase was converted into a master suite.
Windows were replaced with thermal-efficient glass but still replicate the look of the original. Creager was mindful to match the craftsmanship down to the handrail and spindles on the staircase.
Outside, the small detached garage was demolished and a 400-square- foot garage and office was built in its place. As with the main house, the team went to great lengths to ensure the new structure matched the period in which the home was built.
While the architecture is classic, the décor is not. A mix of whites and earth tones along with grass cloth wall covering and modern furnishings create a rustic yet modern space. It’s the perfect blend of old and new.
Or as Doric says, “It’s the hippest old house in town.” N
By Kristina Lyman
Photography By Larry Conboy
As Featured In: Winter/Spring 2018 SPO Edition
