A well modified prefab

This house has been adapted by and for a reclusive artist over a period of about twenty to twenty five years. The goal throughout has been to make a place as close to nature as one can get in a suburban lot flanked by more conventional homes and lawns. Some of the modifications no doubt make it unsuitable for the average home buyer, but for the right person (an artist, writer, or gardener) you won’t find any place nicer.

Basic elements: one bedroom, one bath, a large living room, a nice dining alcove, just over 600 square feet total, wood frame construction on a block foundation, wood textured lap siding, baseboard heat and window mounted air conditioner, includes newer oven and older refrigerator, has front and back (side) porches, 8x10 storage unit, fenced yard, and mixed vegetation without a conventional lawn or irrigation system.

This house was originally a two bedroom prefab (what realtors now call a "rambler") with 2x2 walls, single pane windows and a post foundation. (Click here to see a copy of the original design.) Someone added a block foundation, extra attic insulation, and a 200 amp electrical service panel before I bought the place. I added front and back porches and removed the wall between the large bedroom and the living room to create a large living and work area. (Click here to see a revised ground plan and here to see a lot plan). This leaves a single small bedroom that is 7’-5” wide and 12’-9” long. This is too small for a large couple’s bed, but if you set a twin bed next to the window, as shown in the photos, you will have the benefit of being able to see the North Star from your pillow.
In the kitchen I pulled off all the cupboard doors, added extra shelves and a pegboard rack for utensils. In the area originally designated as "storage" I added extra windows to make a little dining alcove and added more shelves for books, papers, pens, etc. There is also a hookup for a washer and dryer in this alcove but I have preferred to keep the area open and use a laundromat instead.

On the South side a sliding glass door leads out to a 10’x10’ covered porch and an 8’x10’ storage unit. The porch is covered with smoke colored plastic panels but I stretch a silver tarp over the porch during the summer months for added sun protection. The storage unit began as a basic metal shed but I added a wood base to increase the height and I replaced the sheet metal sliding doors with wooden bi-fold doors.

I also replaced all the windows with double pane units, added moldings for window insulation film, thickened most of the exterior walls with an extra 3-1/2” of insulation and new sheet rock, added new wood textured siding and a cedar fence, put a floor in the attic for added storage, and installed a 220v outlet for a heavy duty air conditioner.

The soil is very fertile, built up from years of composting and gardening, and the yard has a great mix of perennial and annual flowers and herbs plus a variety of fruit, flower and shade trees*. Over the years I have grown everything from artichokes and cabbages to tomatoes, peppers, and raspberries. I even raised fish and ducks for several years but more recently filled in the pond and leveled the ground. The backyard is currently fallow, but the front yard still has several dozen varieties of herbs and flowering plants, each with its own cycle of growth, blooming and decay.

Location: 327 Rossell Ave, Richland WA 99352

Price: $79,000

For more information call Philip at (509) 946-4981, or email me at peharding@aol.com.

 
*Lavender, sage, oregano, chives, columbine, Alaska daisy, black-eyed Susan, ajuga genevensis (a nice ground cover with blue flowers in the spring), scented geranium, yarrow, lots of purple malva (a two to three foot tall flower in the mallow family that blooms heavily in early summer), evening primrose, Asian pear, Apples, Russian olive, a dozen silk trees (albizia julibrissin), a tamarix (the twisted and scared tree beside the front porch), several small maples, an elm, a locust, an apricot (the “house flipping” people next door just pull out the big one that hung over the fence but there is a four or five year old sapling in the back yard that should bear fruit in a year), day lilies, valerian, bedstraw (cleavers), iris (yellow and blue flag), lilac, Daphne (several varieties I think), bridal vale, a spirea (I think), tulips, daffodils, wild rose, holly, poke weed (a bird favorite), white grapes, nigella (“Persian Jewels,” a self-sewing annual), cosmos (a favorite annual I plant each spring to fill in during late summer after the malva is past its prime), several unidentified succulents, juniper, arborvitae, echinacea (purple cone flower), and several yucca plants flanking the walkway up to the house. There are also a fair number of weeds which shall remain nameless.