Y ou could call Kim Kelzer’s home quirky, maybe even whimsical, eclectic or artsy.
But, really, it’s just plain cool.
Is it her collection of 45 toasters or the bowling balls used as edging in the garden?
Could it be she built this place, covered on the outside in corrugated steel and funky industrial signs, mostly on her own?
Yes, yes and yes.
Then again, this is the kind of home you would expect from an internationally acclaimed woodworker living on Whidbey Island.
Indeed, Kelzer’s one-of-a-kind creation is refreshing in an increasingly cookie-cutter world – and she did it all on a $55,000 budget, using a high percentage of salvage materials, help from friends, a handful of specialized contractors and a great deal of her own hard labor.
|
Photo GalleryRich wood, textured metal, brilliant color and abundant light are the key players here, as they often are in Northwest homes.
Kelzer, 48, however, found her own way to interpret all four.
Her woodworking studio on the ground floor is a welcome oasis in the woods, where a covered porch decorated with old signs and other vintage goods welcomes visitors.
Inside, sun pours through skylights into the space, where Kelzer can throw open two sets of giant doors to let in more air, light and sound while she cuts, shapes and paints wood in about 1,400 square feet of space.
Here her collections of tins, tools and found objects are affectionately arranged, elegantly exposed, glorified even.
“I do have this flea-market, treasure-hunt side of me that loves that salvagey stuff,” Kelzer said. “I think it would be great if people did use more found stuff. I just hate to see anything good go to waste.”
Kelzer’s eclectic style might come from her varied training in the arts. She studied painting as an undergraduate and furniture making in graduate school and, for 10 years, worked as a cake decorator as she put herself through college. She also studied pottery.
“I’m really just a frustrated ceramist,” Kelzer said.
On the second floor above the studio, Kelzer built 850 square feet of living space as well as a balcony. She also provided her own fanciful pieces of furniture, laid the hardwood floors with wood milled from trees on the property, installed salvaged remnant linoleum tiles in the kitchen, and built all the kitchen cabinets and an extensive network of bookshelves.
Kelzer easily set her kitchen apart from the granite and stainless steel kitchens so common today. Her red-painted refrigerator pairs perfectly with the random stone material she found at a Navy surplus store.
None of this was very easy.
“I understand why nobody would want to build,” Kelzer said. “If you knew enough about it, then you probably wouldn’t do it. It’s scary. It’s a punishment.
“On the other hand, most of it is just common sense and hard work.”
Salvaged materials often presented special challenges. When Kelzer went to build a frame for a salvaged pocket door, one hardware employee scoffed at her.
“People need that stamp of approval that it’s been done before,” Kelzer said. “Builders don’t want to see the pile of doors you’ve salvaged.”
All the extra work, however, is worth it when it comes to warmth, Kelzer said.
“You immediately have character. It doesn’t look like a new, sterile apartment,” she said, adding that all the interior trim for her upstairs living space came from salvaged wood, too. “No two windows here have the same trim because it was free or close to free.”
Did everything turn out perfect?
Not exactly.
Despite being seasoned for two years, the wood Kelzer used for the upstairs floors ultimately shrank, leaving small cracks between some of the boards that she practically broke her back to install.
“I could lay in bed and hear the floor,” said Kelzer, who was not overly discouraged.
Kelzer’s fearless, pioneering spirit pairs beautifully with her skill and superior craftsmanship, said John deWit, a Whidbey Island artist who commissioned a kitchen island by Kelzer for his home.
“You can be like Martha Stewart or you can be Martha Stewart,” deWit said. “You can listen to what comes out of you.
“There are people that are leaders and she’s a leader,” he said of Kelzer.
Looking back, Kelzer said she would definitely do it over again if she had the chance.
“It’s a great feeling of accomplishment,” she said. “If you can figure this out, you could do almost anything.”
Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
