Farmhouse Vernacular

705 Mabelle Street, Moscow, ID

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2

Fully renovated 2005

Basement unfinished

Furnishings - appliances only

Off-street parking

Classic 1916 farmhouse with 9'-5" ceilings and 7'-6" high windows that bring in lots of light. 705 Mabelle Street is situated in Moscow's family-friendly "Old Swedes" neighborhood, 12-minute walk to Moscow Food Co-op and summer Farmers' Market, 15-20 to the University of Idaho campus. Public elementary schools in easy walking distance include Palouse Prairie School and Lena Whitmore Elementary.

Purchased in 2004 from longtime owner Helen Pingree, the house was restored and fully updated by owner-architect Valeri Schillberg in keeping with the original "farmhouse vernacular" style. Construction was done by David Peterson.

A large new dormer ("paired" with existing east dormer) was added to accommodate a full second-floor bathroom. Paired dormers on the east side give a Lutyenesque look to the façade. The brackets and roof vents have been restored with new half-round gutters. The storms and windows have been painted to recede on the façade. 

Before

After

Before After

All major systems in the house were updated: electrical, plumbing, heating.  New windows were added to south "porch," the new dormer, and the laundry room. Kitchen and bathrooms were all fully remodeled from floor to ceiling. Carpet was removed throughout to expose radiant red fir flooring. On the exterior, vinyl siding was removed, new paint applied (green and white with pale lavender under the eaves), and architectural features (window moldings and eave brackets) restored.

Floor Plans

First Floor 1047sf Second Floor 967sf Basement 371sf unfinished

Lot: 0.37 acres, including undeveloped adjacent lot currently in use as garden for 705 residents. The 231sf detached garage is not usable at this time.

Room Highlights

The main floor bath has antique claw foot tub and separate tiled shower with frame-less glass door.  The fixtures are Newport Brass with quarter-turn faucets.  Integral-color natural clay plaster covers walls and ceiling. Upstairs bathroom has tiled floor/wainscot/tub surround, integral-color natural clay plaster, bidet and large windows.

In the kitchen: New custom local Maple and Russian Olive wood flush frame cabinets with unlacquered brass hardware. Under-cabinet lights, soapstone counter and Zephyr 695cfm exhaust hood for the gas range. Picture rails frame the room and are suitable for hanging art or the year's supply of garlic. A large pantry with window provides ample storage off the kitchen. Bosch dishwasher installed under-counter. In-wall stereo speakers (wired to middle second-floor bedroom) replace historic chimney vents in kitchen/dining rooms. 

Dining and living rooms.

New posts and railing installed on the spacious upstairs landing to match existing original.

Upstairs bedrooms.

Laundry tucked away in a former storage closet on the now heated back porch with sunny east-facing window. New casement windows and French door were added to the south-facing back porch.

Details

- The original doorbell was re-wired to a new (unlacquered brass) button at the front door.

- New Baldwin locks on front and back doors. Bathrooms have Baldwin privacy locks.

- Original antique porcelain fixtures were preserved, after attaching customized junction boxes and adding new fabric cord. Missing or non-functional original push-button switches replaced with new replicas throughout the house, with solid brass face plates (unlacquered to encourage formation of patina). Quorum Dragonfly multi-speed ceiling fan in the dining room. 

Green Building at its Best

The house has been restored to take advantage of the natural cooling and heating properties, keeping and re-using as many original materials as possible.

The 2005 remodel was done with a nod to maintaining a small carbon footprint.  We installed a 95% efficient gas furnace with recirculated forced-air and programmable thermostat, and new Reggio cast iron grilles.  In the summer fresh air is drawn into the system to cool the house at night.  We kept and restored the passive heat vents between the first and second floors. 

The original double hung windows have new ropes, while the outside (upper) ropes were removed and the cavities packed with rigid and foam insulation. Storm windows repaired and tightly sealed with new weatherstripping. Exterior walls have blown-in insulation.  R-40 batt insulation has been added to the attic and R-27 batt insulation in the crawl space beneath the house.  Paint is low VOC in all rooms. Trim and doors have been stripped and re-varnished or faux-painted. The original lath-and-plaster walls have been maintained.

We added an on-demand water heater and all new plumbing using low flow toilets and aerators. We reused the cast iron claw foot tub on the main floor (adding a new faucet with hand shower), and added a second antique cast iron tub upstairs.  

New kitchen cabinets were designed with a nod to existing bead-board cabinets, and built from locally harvested hardwoods (Maple salvaged from a tree cut down in Pullman; Russian Olive from Moscow) by local craftsmen (the Talbot brothers). New soapstone counter designed around original antique cast iron farm house sink.

2010 average utility bill (gas+electric):  $85.60/month (428.5kW electric, 50 therms gas, continuous occupation by family of three, intensive culinary activity ;)

Yard & Landscaping

The large rectangular double lot on which 705 Mabelle is situated is flat with a gentle slope to the south. New plantings have emphasized native/drought resistance and edible fruit, and soil enrichment has been ongoing, with organic compost and wood chips/mulch added to planting beds several times per year. 

The historic street trees on Mabelle had been cut to ground level sometime before 2004; these have been replaced by bur oak, scarlet oak, London planetree, and mountain ash, now all rapidly maturing.  Also along the sidewalk on Mabelle we've established a healthy population of large sunflowers that re-seed themselves each year, require little or no irrigation, and have won awards at the Latah County Fair two years running. (These have since disappeared.)

Four nearly mature Douglas fir trees (each 30'+ in height) grow along the western property line; one is easily climbed and has been a favorite of the neighborhood kids in recent years (perhaps owing to the 35' zip line installed halfway up...). Also along the western edge are quaking aspen, and young ponderosa pine, western larch, & black cherry. Several rows of raspberry vines grow in the southwestern corner. 

On the southern edge of the property along Hidden Lane we've planted a mix of native and domesticated fruit-bearing (black, red, and yellow) currant bushes, which are growing nicely into a "green fence" (and are great for pies!!!).

Lining the western edge of the property, also on Hidden Lane, grow mature lilac trees (purple and white) and antique roses that produce brilliant orange flowers with deep red centers.

Fruit trees behind the house include apple (2), apricot (2), Asian plum, pear, and pie cherry.  

In the brick planter framing the back porch, four mature Concord grape vines are self-irrigated by a small section of the roof left gutter-less. Each year they leaf out over the porch arbor and under the eaves, providing a vibrant cool green shade in the heat of summer, and (later) a large crop of dark purple grapes suitable for table service or juicing.

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