It was this combination of rural charm and urban proximity that inspired my partner, Mark Sheppard, and me to consider a move to Vashon 15 years ago. Fueled by fantasies of rolling acreage and turn-of-the-century farmhouses, we spent the next 18 months scouring the island for a home, only to find that our budget limited us to tired tract houses and misguided remodels—none of which offered the classic lines or country character we sought.

One day, after a particularly fruitless afternoon of house hunting, our real estate agent asked if she could show us one last property. Moments later, a serpentine lane deposited us on a secluded waterfront bluff bordered by evergreen forests and a sun-dappled garden overlooking a panoramic stretch of Puget Sound. Mark and I turned to each other, eyes wide. We’d found our dream home!

Perhaps “dream” isn’t the right word. A drab 1960s daylight rambler with a squat asphalt roof, cheap finishes, and plate-glass windows, the house was the antithesis of everything we’d been looking for. But the setting was magnificent, the size ideal, and the orientation took full advantage of sunny southern and western exposures. So what if the place needed work? Our last house taught us the value of a good location (it didn’t have one), so we made an offer.

For the next year we lived in the house as it was, marveling at the makeshift construction and irrational design (although it faced west, the home had virtually no operable windows, making it an oven in summer). The following year, we asked architect Cihan Anisoglu to help us transform this ranch house into a welcoming coastal cottage.

The biggest obstacle was the roof: Outside, the shallow pitch screamed 1960s; inside, it was too low to disguise behind a suspended ceiling. Working with Ed Palmer Construction, we tore it off, along with most of the main level. Over the next five months we rebuilt, adding 9-foot ceilings and steep gable roofs edged with shingles. To save money, we kept the plywood siding, but painted it a sunny yellow so you notice the color, not the material.

We turned the carport into a dining room and gave the kitchen a makeover. We traded cheap oak cabinets for economical Shaker-style units from a home improvement store, then splurged on SlateScape counters and a tile backsplash in watery beach-glass colors to replace ho-hum laminate. Most importantly, we transformed the exterior walls, where old floor-to-ceiling windows fixed the house in a Nixonian time warp. Unable to afford sash windows with true divided lights, we found vinyl-clad units with wood muntins glued directly to the glass. Then we topped some with transoms to introduce extra light and trimmed them with medium-density fiberboard.

Today, as Mark and I stroll the beach below the house, we still can’t believe our good fortune. It may not have started as a dream, but it certainly became one.

Fred’s Best Advice
Remodeling can be expensive. Try these cost-saving methods to stay on budget.

Prioritize according to the budget. Because everything in the house needed replacing, we tackled the major structural work first, then phased in cosmetic changes—such as bedroom wainscoting—as our budget allowed.

Avoid changing the size of the house. Increasing the number of baths or bedrooms can make prices soar. At our house, alterations like that could have prompted the building department to request a costly septic system upgrade.

Know what you want ahead of time. Change orders are pricey, so Mark and I reviewed our plans thoroughly in advance and made few changes once the work commenced.

Consult your architect over the phone. Architect Cihan Anisoglu was always available to answer questions by phone, but didn’t visit the job site during construction, which shaved a bit off his fee.

Think alternatively. I wanted to use painted finishes, so it didn’t matter what material was underneath. Mark and I used economical medium-density fiberboard for stair railings, wainscoting, and trim, and did all the painting ourselves.

Make a building wish list. Before construction started, we pinpointed cosmetic flourishes such as beamed ceilings and arbors that could be eliminated—but added later—if we ran over budget.