GREAT EVENT ALERT

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This flyer pretty much says it all, but see below for a little backstory.

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In Fall of 2016, I took on a project through the Lawrence Preservation Alliance (I am on the board) to write an application for 200 Nebraska AKA the Zimmerman House in Lawrence, Kansas, to be added to the Lawrence Local Register of Historic Places.

EASY, I thought. I like houses, writing is kinda fun, NO PROBLEM, I thought.

WRONG. 

Turns out I am not a huge fan of the kind of chronological writing required for an application of this sort (detailing when storm and sanitary sewers were installed and subdivisions platted is not exactly exciting, even for an infrastructure/ real estate nerd like myself). That said, I powered through and completed the application in Winter of 2016. 

DONE, I thought. The City Commission approving it will EASY, I thought. Time to move on to my next project, I thought.  

WRONG.

Instead, the application got hung up in City Commission purgatory for months for whatever reason, and I thought perhaps all my work was for naught. 

WRONG. (hooray!)

In December of 2017, the City Commission voted unanimously to add the Zimmerman House (along with a few others that LPA worked on) to the Local Register of Historic Places. (I personally think they were swayed by a pic we showed them of one of the most sexy staircases in Lawrence, so sexy it had to be featured on the flyer as well). 

Now, in order to celebrate this unique mid-century modern property's addition to the register, Lawrence Modern and Lawrence Preservation Alliance are hosting this great, free event. HUGE BONUS- the man, the myth, the legend, the architect himself- Warren Heylman, will be flying in from Spokane, Washington, where he has had a prolific career as a forward-thinking architect. Additionally- Lee Zimmerman, the man who commissioned the building of this house, will ALSO be in attendance.

I'm thrilled I've gotten to be a part of this process to document, preserve and celebrate this unique property- hope y'all can make it to the event! BRING A DISH TO SHARE! 

House of steps // a new project

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I love Jefferson County, Kansas. Its building codes are lax, leading to a host of weird and inventive structures hidden in the woods. It was in front of a fire at another great Jefferson County property that a friend told me about the house of steps, a small house in the woods with great views, interesting angles, a different room on each floor and as the name implies, lots of steps. Said friend offered to connect me to the owner, artist John Niswonger, and soon after, on a brisk January day, I was out exploring and photographing the property with John, my partner in crime Alicia and the dogs of the house.

This project has been a long time in the making. I've been exploring the history and exteriors of different properties for the past few years on Instagram and have loved sharing my photos/impressions/mini-research binges. I want to take it a step further and go deeper into the properties I'm interested in. Hence this, a series of explorations of properties that inspire me. I've never been interested in shiny, perfect, pristine, architecture- instead, what gets me going are the creative, raw, diamond-in-the-rough kind of spaces that make me feel things like wonder and inspiration and whimsy. I'm interested in spaces that don't entirely subscribe to trends, constructed of materials straight from the earth, that have an element of utility to them. I love utility. To me, dream architecture is utility + whimsy, and I hope to share a slice of that here.

House of steps

SPECS:

  • 1 bed, 1 bath
  • Circa 1970 
  • Book it inspired: "The House of Steps: Finding the Path Home" by Amy Blackmarr 
  • Music festival hosted on its grounds: Climax Festival, a mini-Woodstock in the 70's
  • Other features include: sauna, defunct cistern, creek in wet weather

Down a steep driveway off a rural Kansas road, in front of a large clearing with a plethora of yard- art, sits the house of steps. She's an odd, geometric shape, with varied elevations and is clearly the product of someone's creative mind (YES!- I wonder what the product of my mind would look like. Maybe if I move to JeffCo I can build it and find out).

Exterior of the house of steps. I love how the fence around the house goes UNDER the entry stairs. Clever, house of steps, very clever. See rest of post for more elevations- she just gets more and more interesting. (Unless otherwise stated, all photos are my own.)

And from the other side. 

There are two ways to enter the property, from the front steps or around back into the ground level kitchen. We climb the stairs and enter through the front and find two rooms: a den and a bedroom with an incredible cathedral window and wood-burning fire place. The only interior doors in the house of steps are the doors to the bathroom and doors to the pantry where shelves and the fridge live.

There is also a staircase- God I love this staircase. Its painted a blue/green color that I so often spot on porches here in Kansas (Y'all- what's up with this color?!?! Anyone know the story behind it? MESSAGE ME). The staircase goes up to the most AMAZING ARTIST STUDIO IN THE WORLD. The stairs have no railings. And I'm in love with them.

THIS STAIRCASE AND JOHN'S ART AROUND IT AND IN THE HOUSE IN GENERAL ARE AMAZING. Also- seriously- the color of the stairs is what dreams are made of.

Also on the staircase to the artist's studio is a landing with a movie-theater style chair and windows, windows, windows. These windows are insane. I'm pretty sure that while Alicia and John were up in the studio talking about art and process and other deep stuff I was just hanging on the landing taking thousands of photos of plants and windows and trinkets trying to capture the magic of this space. I am confident I didn't come close. 

This chair. This landing. This light. 

The windows in the stairwell to the studio are so. beautiful. Evidence of John's past as a skateboard shop owner in Lawrence, KS are prevalent throughout the property.

Treasures in the windows.

After climbing the staircase- there you are- in a room that is shaped like an extended decagon (don't quote me on that- geometry was never my strong suit) that John uses as his studio for his stained glass work (please visit him on Instagram @thenish to see more of his work and to purchase). Previous tenant and author of the book about the property "The House of Steps: Finding the Path Home" (which I read in its entirety in preparation for this post because that's just how I roll), Amy Blackmarr, used this room as her bedroom. I can see why. I'm certain I would both sleep AND create well in this room. 

John's studio at the top of the house of steps. 

Studio vibes.

Studio dog. Note theater chair and triangular cut-out on the left. The cut-out passes through to the bedroom one level lower, and is rumored to serve as a heat exchange. The wood burning stove sits just below it. 

Regretfully we leave the studio, and pass through the den and the bedroom and head down another set of stairs to the rustic (I say that with admiration, to be clear) kitchen and bathroom levels. This is also where the other entrance to the property is. The lower level is admittedly colder. With a brick floor and utilitarian features all around, I love this level nonetheless.

Part of the cathedral window in the bedroom space. 

Staircase to the first floor kitchen. The light. The LIGHT. 

The kitchen is uninsulated, with the limestone structure of the house serving as interior wall. Even in this room, the light is great. The HVAC is exposed, but I kinda dig it. It keeps the space raw. It feels like a space you can really work in, without it being so precious that you're worried about messing it up, and that's a good thing, especially for a person like myself who cooks with wild abandon.

After exploring the kitchen, we head outside. From here, you can really get an idea of the different elevations of the house. They are varied. And amazing. And this property is WOODED. I can't imagine how beautiful it is in the fall. 

This is my favorite photo of the property because it shows how varied the elevations of the house of steps is. The wooden door is the entrance to the kitchen/first floor. The cathedral window with the antlers is the bedroom space. The window to the right of that is the den you enter upon climbing the steps out front. The tower at top is John's studio. 

The tower in more detail. Because this space is amazing. 

The sauna. John eventually wants to expand his stained glass operation here.

The sauna, close-up. 

Apparently a while back, someone went through and changed a bunch of signs in Jefferson County. One Alicia and I encountered when driving in was "Onion Road," which had been changed from "Union Road." I thought this edited sign, leading into a series of trails on the property/neighboring properties, was just delightful.

In the words of Amy Blackmarr:

“I discovered the genius of this house by living through the season in it-by learning how in fall the leaves crisped and drifted around it, how the trees let in shards of winter light or filtered the summer sunlight into a dusky haze, how they drew shadows light Zen paintings across the walls in the moonlight. ”
— Amy Blackmarr, The House of Steps

Yes. I agree, Amy Blackmarr, although personally, I didn't have to live in the house to discover the genius of  it. It exudes creativity, beauty and incredible light in every inch. It's not perfect- Amy's book retells how the attic was infested with wasps in the 90's, how cold it is in the winter and how impossible it is to mow because of the God-forsaken-moles (my words, not hers- I hate moles). John also spoke of its quirks. But at the end of the day, the house of steps is a special, weird place, and I am thankful to have had the chance to explore it. See below for a few more bonus shots to round out the collection, and THANK YOU for reading. If you have suggestions for properties I should explore, please either find me on Instagram @katyclagett OR shoot me an email using my contact tab! Best- Katy. 

BONUS SHOTS!!!

Courtesy of John Niswonger. Back in the days, the fellows used to use the abandoned cisterns on the property as a swimming pool. The water, clear and clean as day, was perfect for beer bathing. 

Courtesy of John Niswonger. In addition to being the site of Climax Fest in the 70's, the house of steps also served as the site of Nish Fest in 2008. This poster is brilliant- not many people can incorporate a 40 into the design of their house so seamlessly. Kudos, John! Again- you can find this creative master on Instagram @thenish .