A “Scandinavian-Meets-Craftsman” Kit House in Savannah

Name: Betsy
Location: Savannah, Georgia

Our 1,600 square foot home is a 1920 Aladdin, Co. “kit house” bungalow. My husband and I bought it last fall after moving to Savannah, GA from Brooklyn, NY in search of more space and a quieter life. Though it was in rough shape when we bought it, bringing it back from the brink has been a joy — and an adventure.

There’s so much about this home we just love — a bright sunroom with a painted wood floor, an open living and dining space separated by original built-ins, and a newly redesigned kitchen. The kitchen has been our biggest project so far. When we bought the house, its ceiling was sagging and leaking, the cabinets had detached from the walls, and crumbling plaster had been covered in spots with plywood by previous owners. Not only that, but the layout was disorganized because the space had originally been two separate rooms and there were still two doors entering into the space, side by side. It was a total gut job, and because we were on a tight budget, we had to do all of the work ourselves. We were terribly intimidated, as we had never done renovation work before and had few DIY skills. But we were intrepid and eager to learn. It took four months and we wouldn’t want to go through it again, but in the end we got our dream kitchen for well under half of what it would have cost to hire a contractor to do the work for us. Our little house seems happier now too, as if she’s finally gotten the kitchen she longed for. She feels prettier now!

My husband grew up between Venezuela and Sweden. I’m a medieval art historian from Pittsburgh. And yet our styles somehow really blend. We think of it as Scandinavian-meets-craftsman. I also have a thing for ecstatic textiles — I especially love Josef Frank patterns — and old upholstered chairs with beat up arms. Because we have a basset hound, we can’t be too fussy about things, though. This house feels very cosy and lived in, even though we’ve only been here for about nine months.

When we moved here from Brooklyn, we had almost no furniture as we’d been living together in a 400 square foot studio (with our basset hound)! We love old-timey things, and nearly everything in the house has been purchased secondhand in and around Savannah — bought from estate sales and auctions. In fact, we’ve really lucked out because Savannah has incredible antiques you can get for a song. In our bedroom, we have a pair of antique painted chairs we use as side tables. We bought them at auction for five dollars a piece. We’ve picked up Persian hand-woven rugs for less than fifty bucks. And we like that even though these things are new to us, they already have a history. Our one major splurge so far? A Bryght Alcott sofa for the living room. There was no getting around the fact that we wanted a good leather sofa to sink into together at the end of the day.

Thanks, Betsy!

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