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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

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Why many old Seattle homes lack an entryway

And what you can do about it
AUBREY COHE, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Updated 1:31 pm, Monday, February 17, 2014


  • A typical Seattle bunglaow from the early 20th century. Photo: Joe Mabel/Wikimedia Commons
    A typical Seattle bunglaow from the early 20th century.
    Photo: Joe Mabel/Wikimedia Commons


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Many classic, early 20th-century Seattle homes have one notable omission: An entryway.

Open the front door, and you're right in the living room -- often, right in the middle of the living room, not even off to the side.

It's understandable that houses built a century ago wouldn't mesh perfectly with modern lifestyles. Our cars are bigger, we have way more stuff to plug in, we all seem to need our own bathroom.

But were people really perfectly happy taking their coats off in the living room in 1914? Wouldn't they have wanted a place to knock the mud and horse manure off of their boots?

More importantly, how can you adapt one of these charming, old, entryway-less homes?

To answer the first two questions, we reached out to some local architecture professors and historians.

What we're talking about are Arts & Crafts "bungalows," replied Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, a University of Washington architecture professor.

"The term 'bungalow' does not refer to a style, but typically describes a form type -- usually a 1- to 1-1/2-story house with an attached porch," he said. "Because space was at a premium, especially in a one-story house, and because the entrance was from the exterior porch, the porch served as a space protected from the rain and the dedication of interior space to an entryway was not thought to be needed."

In contrast, two-story foursquare homes from the same era typically do have stair hall entrways, he added.

Erin Doherty, Landmarks Preservation Board coordinator for the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, said Seattle's housing boom in the early 20th century coincided with a "fundamental shift" in house design.

"Cultural and economic changes in society were influencing changes in planning, and we see a departure from entry halls and formal room layouts to the open plan," she said. "The living and dining spaces became more integrated, and it was not unusual to step directly into the living room from the main entry."

Whatever the reason, the homes were built the way they were built, and we're still living in them. So what can you do? Click through the gallery above for some suggestions.
