Budget Breakdown: A Tiny Pantry Makes a Big Difference at This $111K Seattle Townhome Renovation

Buying a home is a hard enough task for the average person—between finding the right location, price, and style, it can be a months-long process. When you’re two architects, house hunting, at least in the case of Sandy Wolf and Daniel Ash, takes an even trickier tack. "We rented a tiny apartment for a really long time waiting for the right space," says Sandy. "We’re both picky, so with every house we looked at, there would be something that one of us liked, then something that the other one didn’t."

At the end of 2019, the Seattle couple, who have their own practice, Office of Ordinary Architecture, found a 1979 townhouse designed by the late Milton Stricker, the first Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice to be licensed in Washington. Part of a four-unit complex, the 1,040-square-foot townhouse had most recently been occupied by Stricker’s son and retained many of its original details, including the kitchen, millwork, and butt joint windows. The windows in particular caught the architects’ eye.

"They are characteristic of Stricker’s work," says Daniel. "They’re custom-built and fully distinctive. They are part of what makes this house a rare example of Prairie-style architecture in the Pacific Northwest."

While the couple loved some of the original details, as avid cooks, they knew the 50-year-old kitchen wasn’t going to cut it in the long run. They wanted to address this first, but shortly after they moved in, the pandemic hit, and renovation plans went on pause.