The Heggens

12/6/2017

Drawn to bungalow’s character

Danny and Katy Heggen loved the character of the bungalow they found in the summer of 2016 in the Roosevelt neighborhood.

Katy likes to joke they immediately recognized the house’s “potential.” It was well loved and needed updates, but it wasn’t anything too overwhelming for the couple to handle.

The couple had lived in other west-side historic neighborhoods and decided it was time to buy a house. They both grew up in an older home and wanted the same for their home together.

The west-side bungalow was in the perfect neighborhood where they were still close enough to walk or bicycle to shops nearby or downtown. It also fit their age requirement, having been built in 1916.

“This house checked everything off of our list,” Katy says.

They moved into the house a month after purchasing it and took that one-month time to complete as much work as they could. They removed old carpeting and had the hardwood floors refinished. They freshened up the house with new paint colors and changed the light fixtures.

The biggest projects began after the Heggens moved in: remodeling the bathroom and kitchen, both of which were dated and had met the end of their life with wear and tear.

“We had a lot of momentum after those weeks we spent pulling up the carpet and thought we would keep it going while we had the time, energy and motivation to do it,” Katy says.

The kitchen was completely gutted to start over from scratch. It was remodeled to fit the time period of the house with soapstone countertops, white shaker cabinets and appropriate light fixtures.

“We took it down to the studs,” Katy explains. “There wasn’t anything to keep in there except the original windows and the door … but we didn’t want it to look like we dropped a new kitchen into an old house.”

The windows were one of the aspects that drew the couple to the house. It has about 38 windows, all of which are original and provide an abundance of natural lighting into the space. The opening between the kitchen and dining room was widened to continue with the open floor plan throughout the rest of the first level. The house also has its original working fireplace and original doors and all of their hardware.

The Heggens completed some of the work themselves but hired professionals to refinish the floors and do most of the remodel work.

Their most recent project is a new backyard patio and retaining wall. Katy would still like to add more landscaping and a garden to their outdoor space.

“We want to keep bringing out the character of the house and investing in it and the neighborhood,” she says. “We knew we were looking for someplace we wanted to be in for a while.” ♦