1529 NE Knott Street Grandly Proportioned Craftsman Style

This is a Craftsman Style house built on a grand scale.  While its stately Doric porch columns would be at home on a Federalist or Colonial Revival Style home, the broad overhanging eaves with prominent rafters and corbelled bay windows speak to the strong Craftsman/Arts & Crafts influence.  Builder John Turnbull built this $8000 home in 1910 for a Mr. L. M. Lacey about whom, unfortunately, very little is known.  Nearly every window of the house is ornamented with stained and leaded glass... some of the finest in the neighborhood.

The current owners moved to Portland in 2003 from Massachusetts where they had owned a home built in 1845.  They saw this house as an opportunity to rescue a somewhat tired structure, and looked forward to creating a great house for raising a family and entertaining.

When they moved in, the house was dark , and the predominant color was beige.  But the owners were delighted with all the nooks and crannies and saw the potential for updating and remodeling the house.  They began by washing the woodwork and painting some of it white.  The floors were refinished to a lighter shade that revealed a darker cherry-wood stripe in the oak flooring.

The kitchen was tiny, and had no counter space, so they removed the butler's pantry, enclosed a porch and added French doors to the back so as to greatly expand kitchen space.  This now is the primary gathering spot for the family.

A nautical theme is found in many places in the house.  The colors in many instances are derived from or deliberately complementary to those of the ubiquitous stained glass.  Note the living room artwork, some of which is by Tom Cooke, a former neighbor in Massachusetts and the illustrator for the Sesame Street Bert and Ernie books.