For artistic couple, this bungalow is a natural fit

Brownie and Rich Hayek admit they enjoy living in different environments. Mountains, desert, woodlands — they’ve experienced them all.

“Wherever we’ve settled, one constant in our homes is blending nature inside and out,” says Brownie.

For the past two years, they’ve successfully integrated that notion into their 1926 Prairie-style bungalow in the Ward Parkway-Waldo corridor.

The couple’s home wraps around them like a generous hug.

Reflected throughout the home is an earthy pallet drawn from the colors and materials found in nature.

The couple is motivated by a constant search for a genuine feel found in their leather and linen furnishings, Rich’s pastel landscapes and Brownie’s botanical arts and crafts.

It seems this aesthetic was honed from experiences living in diverse environments throughout the country.

After both retired from long teaching careers in Colorado, they found a dilapidated cabin on 100 acres of Nebraska pastureland. After a five-year renovation to bring the tiny cabin into the modern world, “admittedly,” says Brownie, “it became a very unromantic endeavor. Eventually we moved to Kansas City — far easier.”

But that initial stay was short, as the lure of the Southwest and a 130-year-old adobe house in El Rito, N.M., captured their fancy.

“It was so authentic ... a compound with a courtyard. We really fell in love with it, but with 18-inch walls it was too hard to heat — besides, we missed our grandchildren,” Brownie says. “Moving back to Kansas City into a little airplane bungalow was a good fit.”

Thinking outside the box

The low-slung bungalow features generous gables, enough space and two porches — one in the front, one in the back.

“The house had lots of potential in addition to its structural integrity — something we recognized before we even made an offer. Considering one of the problems with bungalows is that they have a tendency to be dark and chopped up with little rooms, we figured out how to aesthetically configure spaces to suit our lifestyle while keeping period motifs intact,” says Rich.

One of the first tasks was to paint the woodwork a warm ivory followed by monochromatic shades of buff and sage on the walls.

A wall between the kitchen and what was once the dining room had been removed by prior owners to create one large space. The Hayeks widened the door between that space and the living room. That seemed to enhance the original architectural details such as the ceramic-tiled fireplace flanked by craftsman bookcases and the bands of double-hung windows — both hallmarks of a bungalow.

It also moved the Hayeks toward their goal of creating “an urban loft feel.”

Outfitted with furnishings they’ve acquired over the years, the living room features a tobacco-colored leather sofa, two linen and burlap-studded wing chairs, and Brownie’s dried botanicals foraged from the woodlands.

The dining room-turned-gathering room is similarly decorated with large, overstuffed club chairs surrounding Southwestern motifs on walls and floors.

Texture is vital

Reclaimed lumber serves as a source of creativity for Brownie and Rich, whether it’s for building a backyard sculpture or cladding accent walls in thin rough-cut pieces of barn wood. One industrial touch is in a bedroom-turned-office where Rich attached cement wire wall racks to display his artwork.

The kitchen boasts a varnished wood island, sleek stainless steel appliances and polished granite countertops.

From the front door to the back door, an unobstructed view merges the inside with the outside.

An outdoor room, of sorts, lies at the foot of the pergola-topped back porch.

Graced with a small pond, a flagstone patio is xeriscaped with pine needles instead of grass – this is a go-to spot for instant relaxation.

As if the downstairs doesn’t already have an abundance of individuality, the couple’s upstairs attic retreat is the epitome of smart design.

The couple’s bedroom, tucked beneath the eaves, is simple and stylish.

With only room for a bed and dresser, the bedroom needed distinction, so they added a sliding barn wood door for privacy and applied more pieces of barn wood veneer to echo the same textural treatment on the downstairs gathering room wall.

The upstairs space also has a sitting area complete with low-slung, open built-in cabinets and Rich’s working space.

Just off the bedroom lies a tiny bathroom with two small sinks, a Mexican tiled shower and Southwest-styled appointments.

Except for the absence of a kitchen, the Hayeks could easily live upstairs.

The question is will they stay?

Only time will tell.

Brownie’s already sifting through properties on the internet that catch her eye.

She mentions to Rich in passing that there’s a building somewhere up north she’s eyeballing that would make a great gallery/living space…!

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "For artistic couple, this bungalow is a natural fit."