Chris Serra and Valerie Wersinger stand in the stairwell of their Ballard home. They conclude their experience of converting a vintage apartment into a modern living area will become more common as frustrated home-seekers turn to older, smaller spaces to satisfy housing needs.

Serra and Wersinger, both architects, thought they could make it work. They decided to keep the bottom floor as a rental, to the relief of the tenants, and to transform the upper floor into modern quarters for themselves. Research showed the building had been divided in the 1950s and designated legal, nonconforming use. That meant they couldn't expand exterior dimensions in the neighborhood of single-family homes.

A stairway led from the common front door to the owner's unit, which was depressing and dysfunctional. It had little natural light or ventilation. The couple figured that if they knocked out a maze of walls, they could eliminate several tiny rooms and coax about 750 square feet of living space into a commodious whole.

Serra is a principal with Bjarko/Serra Architects; Wersinger works with Ann Beeman Architects. The couple value sustainable architecture and respect Northwest building style — modern lines in glass, wood and stone.

Though this wasn't the perfect place to advance that sensibility, "we hoped to introduce some modern architecture to an older shell," Serra says. "It's a little bit of an experimental space for us."
 

	Serra built the couch to fit the entry space and is partial to it because it reminds him of banquettes in European rail cars. A walnut-wood ladder leads from the foyer/living room to a small loft. Serra works at the kitchen sink in the background.

Simplicity was their guiding principle. "We wanted to create a sense of refuge while at the same time have clean lines and little clutter," Wersinger says.

The pair had modest means, but knew details and finish materials were especially important in a small space, where almost everything is visible.

The makeover came in three phases. First, they knocked down the old walls and ceilings. "We took a lot of weight out of this building," Serra says. Because exterior access was limited, they had to shovel thousands of pounds of debris into sacks and lug it out. They hired a structural engineer, drywall installers, an electrician and a wood-floor installer. The greater part of the work — including reinforcement in the basement — was finished in six weeks, at which point they moved in to paint, add wood trim and install lighting fixtures.

The redesigned flat consists of a small foyer/living room, dining room and kitchen — all visible from the entry — plus bedroom and bath. They first put a couch and small table in what is now the dining room, but as Serra says, "When you can never invite more than two people over, you need to change the functions." So they bought a big antique table and made the larger space the dining room. Serra later built a combination couch/day bed to fit on the wall between kitchen and foyer. Now several guests can gather around a table, and eight people can mill contentedly in the foyer/living room.

A well-lit dormer off the dining room holds a desk and bookcase. Cork flooring and a skylight help define this as office territory.

A ladder in the foyer leads to a 120-square-foot loft for movie viewing and meditation. The bedroom, just off the entryway, had been dark and unfriendly. They doubled the light by replacing two small windows with larger French casement windows and built sills wide enough to accommodate a lounging book-reader.
 

Paint sets the stage in the dining room. Warm tones give a lift during long winters and help define the rooms. The cheery print, titled "The Anza Trail," by A.F. Vallee, was purchased during a visit to Californiašs Anza-Borrego Desert. Floors here and throughout are cherry; the rustic table came from David Smith & Co.

The second phase, remodeling the kitchen, came in 2000. The couple pulled everything out and added larger windows for the territorial view, as well as mahogany cabinets and stainless-steel countertops. Serra installed the finish trim, including window molding, and punched four openings in the wall between kitchen and foyer for a sense of spaciousness.

Phase three: the bathroom. Serra suspects a storeroom was made into a bathroom in the 1950s, and none too carefully. JAS Design Build replaced an old dormer and reframed the room so the walls were parallel. Experts installed a green slate floor and stone shower tiles. Serra covered one wall with clear-fir strips to enhance the Asian-bathhouse look.

As architects and first-time home owners, the couple saw the Ballard project as an opportunity to stretch, both personally and professionally. They'd wanted to gain a better understanding of what their clients went through and learn how to communicate more effectively with builders. "As an architect, your interaction is so minimal — typically, once a week at the building site — so it can take a long time to get construction experience," Serra says.

They gained experience beyond building skills. "When you live in a place this size, you cycle through things; you need to purge," Serra says. "A certain amount of order is important when you have a lot of stuff — then it becomes calm again."

Serra calculates they spent about $100 a square foot for the entire remodel. They shaved costs at least in half by doing work themselves and managing the subcontractors. They sought quality materials locally or through the Internet, with an eye for bargains.

Though they didn't gain an inch of space, the result was well worth the money and trouble and, when they build their own house someday, they'll carry with them the lessons they've learned here.