MIKE'S OLD HOUSE

Jim and I have known our friend Mike Tench since our Frederick and Nelson days, in the early 1980s where Mike and I worked in the deli kitchen and Jim was the warehouseman who delivered our produce. Mike takes DIY to new heights. He is not only creative and inquisitive, but also a very handy guy. He loves nothing better than doing "projects." There was the Tiffany Lamp phase (he cast the bronze, made the stained glass shade) and the Chicken House phase (so beautiful he was interviewed on two TV shows about backyard chickens), to name a couple.


One of his favorite activities is buying houses and fixing them up to rent. This time he out-did himself. Mike found a wonderful old farmhouse in West Seattle that was still pretty much in its original 1909 condition. Here's a photo of it from the past.

The thing that really sold Mike on this house was that it still had the original wood cook stove in the kitchen (with a modern one alongside).

Mike has been working to upgrade essential things, like plumbing and electrical, while keeping the old time charm. The original kitchen did not have a sink in it! (One had to go to the pantry for washing). So, of course Mike found a wonderful farmhouse sink and installed it with this lovely bee-tile back splash.


He also found a really cool NEW old-looking iron support for the sink.

And, he got a neat idea at an auction where he bought a lot of embroidered pillowcases - they are now the sink skirt which hides the plumbing.


A big part of the charm of this little 3 bedroom house is the tall ceilings. This is looking into the pantry.

The bathroom has a claw foot bathtub, of course, and this lovely sink.

But there is a little bit of a problem, if you are at all tall, getting INTO the bathroom.

Mike's farmhouse is in a great location south of the West Seattle Junction. The house sits deep on the lot, which gives maximum privacy as you sit on the wrap around porch.

There is also a full basement, accessible from an outside stairwell, and a stand alone garage. Mike is really proud of his farmhouse and looking forward to renting it to just the right people.

Still to come from our Northwest trip - a visit with Dad and Multanoma Falls with Lee and Louise.

Audrey