408 Iowa Street

After deciding to move to Lawrence from Seattle, architect Roy Ley bought the house at 408 Iowa Street, sight unseen, while on a road trip in California in 2016. It was in need of much work, but according to Roy, “it reminded me of the house I grew up in and I knew it would feel like home, and it possessed pretty much all of the design characteristics I was looking for.”

The rehabilitation of mid-century modern architecture has its own unique demands, and 408 Iowa is no exception. The house, which was built in 1957, does not have a basement or attic, so replacing plumbing and HVAC that were not to code was a challenge. Replacement of the forced-air HVAC system with a mini-split system required cutting interior surfaces and the strategic placement of new closets and cabinets. Replacing obsolete plumbing was no picnic either. At one point, in the height of summer, Roy was living with a four-foot pile of dirt in the kitchen, no plumbing and no AC for an extended period. Two years were spent living out of boxes, with one ‘sanctuary room’. 

But after nearly four years of hard work, rehabilitation is almost complete and it looks fantastic. The street-facing brick chimney, perhaps the house’s defining feature, was rebuilt using bricks salvaged from planter boxes on site. Roy, an architect at Lawrence’s Hoke Ley: Architecture + Interior Design Studio, hired Jonah Seibel of Seibel Fabrication to design a beautiful chimney shroud/spark arrestor. The home also features unique rows of louvered openings with tilt-in panels for ventilation. These have been restored, including the original casement sash locks, which resemble what you would find on an old-time icebox. The wood breezeway between the carport and house has been restored to match the original design and a new metal roof was installed.

408 Iowa features plenty of arresting mid-century modern details, down to the light trough that runs through the center of the house. But it’s the natural simplicity and grace of the house that is perhaps most striking. It’s tucked away on a seldom-traveled street and nestled beneath a large stand of trees. Roy says it reminds him of a picnic shelter house in a park. LPA applauds Roy’s vision, meticulous attention to detail and dedication to this unique, hidden “shelter house.”