A mix of materials bring a Midcentury into the next century

DRIVE UP the Hawthorne Hills street of Midcentury homes, and the contemporary house is easy to spot. And yet not.

The house, now two stories, is taller than its hill-hugging neighbors, but the original Roman-brick facade remains. A 1940s tie that binds.

Open the front door, and there, offering visitors a warm and friendly welcome, is a wall of good-old knotty-pine paneling. In disguise.

"We wanted a wall to separate the public spaces from the office, and something to warm up the house, so we took the slats from the old pine ceiling in the basement and cut them into random widths and then stacked them," says architect Milton Lam of the entrance to his newly remodeled home.

"It was a family bonding experience," says his Modus V Studio partner, David Huang.

"My parents were helping us," Lam says. "They were supposed to stay for two months, but they left after a month and a half. They said, 'We're leaving. This is like a labor camp!' " (Just in case you thought this remodeling stuff was easier for professionals.)

"During the whole thing, Milton kept saying, 'This is the hardest project,' " Huang says.

"That's because I wore three hats," says Lam of the first house he has done for himself. "I was the builder, the architect and the client." And, if you count the job of project blogger for the whole experience, that would be four hats: http://www.houseathawthornehills.blogspot.com/.

Milton Lam and Ilona Wang wanted a home with more space: for visiting parents, the Modus V Studio office and Wang's work as a knitwear manufacturer. And, but not least, a place to barbecue and host the "Iron Chef" parties they like to call "Rusty Chef."

"We were looking in 2007. It was a tough time then," Lam says. "We put in eight offers on eight houses."

"We were always second," Wang says.

But they finally snagged the Hawthorne Hills 2,300-square-foot rambler. And Lam, who has worked for Modernist master Richard Meier in New York and locally prominent architect Lane Williams in Seattle, set about opening spaces, adding a story to the original footprint, finishing the basement and creating touches that add warmth and whimsy with contemporary flair. All while not offending the neighborhood.

"The bathroom was pink," Wang says. "The basement was unfinished."

Nothing is unfinished now. The open main floor features hand-scraped acacia floors, a vaulted ceiling with clerestory windows and a Nano Wall system that connects the outdoor and indoor living rooms. Taupe laminate kitchen cabinets from International Kitchen cast a subdued shine alongside Carrara marble counters. Fireplaces are solid and modern in black horizontal slate tile. A two-bedroom, two-bath home became four bedrooms and baths. The former basement is a cool entertainment space and media room used for poker and movie nights.

So what did Lam and Huang learn from their first home redesign for one of their own?

"We realize a lot of people are not doing their last remodel," Lams says. "They're remodeling for maybe the next 10 years. So we learned to look for design opportunities and to save money."

How does this contemporary, done with a light but firm hand, sit with the neighbors? One of them came knocking for an update of their own.

Rebecca Teagarden is assistant editor of Pacific Northwest magazine. Benjamin Benschneider is a magazine staff photographer.