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Restoring a classic Craftsman

Michael Wheelden calls a side room off the living room the "napping room" in his 1910 Craftsman home.
(K.C. Alfred / U-T)
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Michael Wheelden has always been captivated by architecture.

Ordinary homes, often ones in his University Heights neighborhood, are the subjects of his colorful paintings that incorporate lines, angles and shapes to draw attention to a structure’s geometry.

That love of architecture is also evident in the 1910 Craftsman home that Wheelden has meticulously restored. Over the past 32 years, he has also turned the rest of his property into a creative sanctuary, from the spiky landscape of dragon and aloe trees in the front yard to a soaring artist studio in the back and a private Japanese garden and guest suite along the way.

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“The house speaks a statement back to you, reinforcing what you believe in,” said Wheelden, a noted local artist and retired art teacher who taught at Grossmont and MiraCosta colleges.

Wheelden inherited the two-bedroom, one-bathroom, 1,200-square-foot house in 1985 from his mentor, San Diego State University art professor William Bowne, who bought the house in 1965 and had no children of his own. The beauty of the Craftsman design was hidden under layers of paint and wallpaper, added arched doorways and an enclosed porch.

At first, Wheelden said, he had no idea of the gem underneath.

“The ’60s were not a great time for appreciating Arts and Crafts. They painted everything white,” he said. “Fortunately, I knew what had been here. The impressions were still in the walls and floors. It’s taken me 32 years to get it back to its original state. Whenever I sold a painting, I would do something.”

The kitchen of Wheelden's Craftsman home features a vintage stove.
(K.C. Alfred / U-T )

With the help of his friend Larry Word, a finish carpenter, the arches were removed from the doorways and built-in bookcases flanking the original fireplace were reconstructed. “None of this could have happened if it hadn’t been for him. He understood the style,” Wheelden said.

“The main thing was we always tried to make it look original,” said Word, who over the years helped with the garden and building the guest suite and art studio.

Wheelden also scoured swap meets for furnishings that match the home’s style. Finds include a Gustav Stickley chair and a 1930s Monterey-style dining set he bought in Portland.

A Monterey-style dining set purchased in Portland blends with the period decor of the dining room.
(K.C. Alfred / U-T )

“I knew immediately that it belonged in that space,” Wheelden said of the dining set.

The 68-year-old artist also added his own touches, such as the stained-glass window with an Arts and Crafts motif he designed for the side room off the living room he calls the “napping room.”

“I’ve always painted, and I’ve always taught. This house became my avocation. I love architecture and knew this would be the only piece of architecture I’d ever own. I grew up in a tract house that wasn’t inspiring. I saw what this house could be,” said Wheelden, who hails from Ontario, Calif.

His work on the front yard has earned recognition from the University Heights Community Association and the San Diego Horticultural Society. His idea to plant a drought-tolerant garden on the dirt lot was ahead of its time in 1985, but Wheelden said Bowne didn’t believe in lawns and “I wanted to honor his belief.”

Although Wheelden said he knew nothing about gardening, he liked the idea of growing dragon trees, so he bought some seeds. Eighteen of them sprouted, and they and their descendants are now growing all around the property, including a small grove that shades the sidewalk.

“The plants are tall enough that they create their own room,” Wheelden said. “You can really appreciate being surrounded by nature, that way you really feel their power.”

Succulents and large aloes fill out the garden, which is dissected by paths.

“It isn’t just a garden. It’s several spaces for different moods and experiences of nature,” he said.

The front yard with its dry creek bed and drought-tolerant plants earned recognition from the San Diego Horticultural Society.
(K.C. Alfred / U-T )

It’s an experience he wants to share with people walking by. “I realized the garden was part of the community,” Wheelden said. So he constructed a poetry post with the help of friend John McDavid, a metal artist who hand forges his pieces. The poems get changed every few days, and anyone can take a copy or add their own.

A poetry post in the front yard of the 1910 Craftsman house.
(K.C. Alfred / U-T )

“It changes their mood for the day,” Wheelden said of the pedestrians stopping to read the posted poem. “It contributes to a different consciousness.”

Wheelden also has extended the garden to the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street by adding a dry riverbed that flows out from the yard and continues on the other side of the sidewalk. That area also has stones that match the shape of planters in the garden, to help tie it to the property.

For the side yard and the back of the property, Wheelden used Frank Lloyd Wright’s idea of a series of transitions that leads from the public space by the sidewalk back to the Zen garden, the art studio and the guesthouse. The path goes through a gate he designed, past more dragon trees and a sitting area and then ends at the Japanese garden, which leads to the door of the guesthouse.

The guesthouse, which was built along with the art studio in 1989, comes with salvaged windows and Prairie School lights. Wheelden designed the door.

The one-bedroom suite has been a short-term rental for the past 15 years. And since his retirement in 2014, Wheelden also rents out the main house on Airbnb while he lives in the 1,200-square-foot art studio, a bright space with skylights, a 14-foot-high ceiling, a private suite and a kitchen area.

“All those things in the house, they’re like a painting, so I wanted to share it like my paintings,” he said.

Wheelden still paints daily and is working on a series of pieces called “Shadowland,” where he explores the effect of shadows on the ubiquitous Southern California homes he has always painted.

While the property is basically complete, Word said he’ll work on making the live-in suite in the artist studio more comfortable.

Wheelden “never runs out of ideas or projects,” Word said. “It’s been a labor of love for both of us.”

Schimitschek is a San Diego freelance writer.

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