Jeffrey Pelletier—founder and managing principal of the architecture firm Board and Vellum—and his husband took on this 1902 foursquare-style house in 2006. A couple of major remodels later, it’s a vibrant and creative, but still historic, home.

This house has gotten a lot of press for its basement which, at one point, held Pelletier’s collection of 250,000-ish Legos; it was Houzz’s most popular home tour in 2015. But even if this space looks familiar, you might not have noticed other playful details like the library ladder, built-in dog crate, secret attic playroom, and adorable backyard studio.

You might also recognize this home just from walking through the neighborhood. It’s right at the end of 15th Avenue East’s busy thoroughfare, nestled among other grand turn-of-the-century homes. It’s much less secluded than similar homes in Millionaire’s Row that are closer to Volunteer Park. You might have even partied nearby, back when the neighborhood was wall-to-wall punk houses up here. The green paint and red trim—way too bright to be Christmassy—act as a foil to the dull newer moderns across the street. A wide, minimalist front patio is welcoming, but doesn’t clash with the original front porch.

Inside, the house still has the separate spaces that characterize this style of home. The foyer has a banister staircase on one side, and leads into a circular floor plan. The library comes first, with a whole wall of built-in bookcases and a ladder on a rail to reach the top shelves—a dream come true for short bookworms. A cased opening, preserved with care, frames the formal dining area. Beyond lies a sitting room with a fireplace bookended by built-in shelves.

The restoration on all this was painstaking. Pelletier even had the bookcase trim custom-milled to match the original trim and added the crown molding, which wasn’t there when the family moved in. The fireplace is also new; the previous one took serious damage in 2001, the year of the Nisqually earthquake.

The kitchen is a total overhaul with really fun custom cabinetry: In another win for short people, this room also has a ladder rail to match the one in the library. Theoretically you could bring the ladder in here to access a row of cabinets right at the ceiling. There’s a built-in dog crate in the base of a cabinet that separates the kitchen from the stairs to the lower level, too.

When Pelletier and his husband moved in, the basement was full, but cramped and unfinished. So they dug into the ground to create the 9-foot ceilings you'll currently find down here. The Lego room, right at the bottom of the staircase, has custom storage built especially for Ikea Trofast bin drawers (153 of them!) and those compact little three-drawer Sterilite chests (189 total drawers!).

The shelves and brackets remain in the house, so if you have your own Lego collection or a similarly clutter-happy hobby like quilting, painting miniatures, anything that involves yarn, or snake breeding (warning: link has kind of a lot of snakes), it’ll be pretty easy to re-adapt the space to fit your needs.

Even when fully operational, the Lego area is designed to fade into the background when necessary. Put away the stowable work table and the space becomes a media room, complete with a projector and pull-down screen. The wet bar on the opposite wall makes it the ideal space for a movie night (or a crafting party).

The basement level has a bedroom; three more are upstairs, including a gorgeous suite with a large balcony. The bedroom that appears to be the smallest hides a ton of extra space. A door you might mistake for a closet leads to a narrow staircase and the finished attic, which is a low-ceilinged blank canvas full of little nooks and crannies.

The low-maintenance backyard has a wooden patio with a hot tub, and a lower-level stone patio with a door to the backyard studio. This space is equal parts comfy office and guesthouse. The main area includes a sleeping loft above the private bath. It has its own small wet bar, too, and a stowable desk with a chalkboard.

Other conveniences of note: A dutch door at the entry, three washers and dryers (on the top floor, in the basement, and in the cottage), and heaters on the ceiling of the front porch.

Listing Fast Facts

606 15th Avenue E
Size: 3,430 square feet/3,444 square foot lot, 4 bedroom/4.5 bath 
List Date: 9/13/2023
List Price: $2,795,000
Listing Agent: Jay Kipp, RSIR