833 19th St.

Built in 1905 by Philetus P. Dawson and his wife Delilah I. Dawson, this fully restored Colonial Revival American Foursquare has modern amenities, a new poured concrete foundation, finished basement with 9 foot ceilings, and updated mechanicals to accommodate families of today.

Philetus P. Dawson was a hardware merchant in Des Moines and owned the Dawson Hardware Co., a late 19th and early 20th century enterprise in downtown Des Moines.

After several years owned by the Dawson family, the Dawson House became a rental property and was occupied by a series of Drake University fraternities and sororities. Pictured above is a photo of the house from the 1926 Drake University yearbook, “Quax,” as it appeared as Drake sorority Delta Gamma’s winning entry in a homecoming house decorating contest.

In 2019, the Dawson House was transported from a neighborhood near Drake University to its current location in Sherman Hill, Des Moines’ oldest neighborhood. It is within walking distance of coffee houses, restaurants, shops, downtown offices, and more.

We dreamt up this space long before it came to life, and we couldn't be more grateful for Laneways Development for helping us make it happen.

1905

Present Day

The Process

Staying true to the traditional character of a Craftsman, we salvaged and restored natural elements of the home such as trim and flooring. We felt that the contrast of dark trim would seem more appealing and less heavy to the eye. Finishes were well thought out to be a mix of new and old. You will see a continuous and intentional mix of white, black and green and golds throughout the home. The more modern clean lights help bring a different style perspective with the woodwork. Decorating with a dash of Boho pieces helped bring all styles together.

Sitting Area

Dining + Kitchen

For the kitchen, we decided on this beautiful putty-colored cabinetry, meaning a creamy, off-white color on the surround. For the kitchen island, we needed something that felt different with a bit more saturation. We decided to go with this really deep green-olive color and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

Mudroom

Master Bedroom

Primary Bath

In choosing the finishes for the primary bathroom, we wanted to tie in unexpected details that would flow beautifully with the home. We knew we wanted the green tile to be the focal point of our bathroom. We love the look of it so much! It adds such a unique splash of color and texture and it totally completes this space.

Thank you for taking the tour! We will be sharing more of this project soon in later posts. A special thank you to Laneways Development for collaborating with us on this amazing project.