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.