Seattle homeowners Eric Krauss and Elisabeth Archer are kids at heart. Unique art (including a few by kid Evangeline), kitschy toys and lively collections take centre stage in their remodeled home within an homage to childhood, fun and loved ones. Krauss and Archer remodeled extensively two years back, teaming up with architect Tom Maul and Brad Wageman of Ambrose Construction to completely revamp their living area over five weeks. They opened up the main floor that was a darkened hallway with three bedrooms in a row. “We loved the retro ’50s vibe, but the home was too dark and the design seemed wrong,” Archer says.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Eric Krauss and Elisabeth Archer, daughters Simone and Evangeline, 3 cats and 7 chickens
Location: Seattle, Washington
Size: 3,000 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
That’s interesting: Eric and Elisabeth collect robot figurines and have 37 through the home.
John Prindle
A figure painting by Carole d’Inverno welcomes at the entryway. The shelf is out of Krauss’ childhood home.
John Prindle
Angled slits were cut through the middle wall to connect both living areas of the main floor, and a large skylight was inserted to illuminate the stairs. On the walls, a red plantlike sculpture provides a splash of colour. The plant bits, from Algue: In Home, come individually; you assemble them any way you desire.
John Prindle
From the multipurpose area, Krauss and Archer knocked down the walls and expanded the windows, turning the prior bedroom area into a spacious area in which to hang out and enjoy views of the yard, garden and chicken coop. A wall-to-wall desk serves as a home office area. Twisp, one of 3 cats, rests on one of those seats — both Craigslist finds. The family attempts to reduce, reuse and repurpose as much as possible, therefore most of the furniture is secondhand.
Rug: Angela Adams
John Prindle
The couple’s robot set. The first member is second from the right.
John Prindle
The couple remodeled the kitchen, adding more space, new appliances, a skylight and recycled bamboo flooring. “Most of the kitchen came out of a little place named Ikea,” Archer says with a grin, “but a few of the drawers and cabinets were customized to fit into the space.”
John Prindle
This kitchen shelf serves as a point with this trio of vibrant wrestler toys, and dishware is tucked beneath.
Lucha libre characters from Screaming Sky Gallery in Portland, Oregon; Java: Tivoli Audio
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A secondary dining space is outfitted with another Craigslist locate: a ’60s-era knockoff of a costly ’50s-era Saarinen dining table and seats. Archer says, “Secondhand, vintage, Craigslist, eBay — that is the way to get pleasure, unusual items with personality. We would rather buy that way than new.”
Red FLOR modular carpet tiles complete the appearance.
John Prindle
Evangeline drew this framed Sharpie marker figure study when she had been seven years old.
John Prindle
A view of this simple yet diverse dining area. A painting by Manuel Abril hangs on the wall, and a bell jar centerpiece covers a little Godzilla figurine. Krauss discovered the table legs, which can be actually stove legs, years back on a road in San Francisco. He saved them Tom Eckhoff constructed a custom plywood top and combined all of the bits into a exceptional dining room table.
John Prindle
These cool felt monsters by “moxie” are exhibited in a small acrylic box onto a living room walls, modern museum–style.
John Prindle
The couple picked this up bas-relief from Juan Torres on a road trip in Mexico. It had been framed by Tom in Framesmith Custom Picture Framing in Seattle.
John Prindle
The living area is home to this retro orange sofa, another Craigslist find. Archer says, “We sunk a whole lot more money into that one and had it reupholstered and refinished.”
Paintings by Manuel Abril; lamps: Ikea
John Prindle
Greeting visitors at the top of the stairs is a lively skateboard deck out of kidrobot.
John Prindle
It is hard to know where to begin with the lower-floor den. From a framed Elvis concert record into some felt-lettered “Thank You For Not Smoking” sign, the whole room oozes retro cool. There’s a built-in hidden turntable above the white-grill speakers.
Archer says, “We bought the pub stools from Louise, the original homeowner, who was 91 when we bought the home. Her husband was an engineer and constructed the shelves behind the bar.”
John Prindle
The media room is simple but functional. The media stand is original to the home, and Krauss and Archer inserted a new white top.
Honeymooners painting, on a bedsheet, by Manuel Abril.
John Prindle
The master bedroom remains basically the same, and is the only room untouched from the renovation. At the corner is a guitar, which Archer is learning to play with.
Lamps: Urban Outfitters; painting of Citroën: Tom Eckhoff; vintage cellphone: Russell Johnson Imports
John Prindle
Simone’s bedroom is full of brightly colored stickers. She desired a guitar on the wall, therefore Krauss made her this one out of strings and plywood.
John Prindle
A spacious deck overlooks the yard, which can be big for a town lot. Krauss and Archer are avid urban gardeners. There are metal tubs with bamboo and raised garden beds for vegetables.
John Prindle
Krauss built this treehouse for the kids and a chicken coop under it homes seven chickens. The clubhouse window and door are leftovers from the home remodel, as would be the shelves inside.
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