Nestled behind hedges on a corner lot in Spokane’s historic Rockwood district, the William and Margaret Solby House is the stuff of fairy tales: textured pink stucco accented by green-shuttered windows, and even what appears to be a thatched roof. Hollyhocks sway outside the entrance to the charming cottage, birds chirp, and it seems that to step over the threshold might be the start of something magical. For Richard (Dick) and Karen Dorn Steele, the Tudor-Revival Storybook home was indeed their happily-ever-after.
William Solby built the house in 1926 with the help of prominent Spokane design firm Bertelsen and Wells, in an effort to recreate the Copenhagen farmhouse of Solby’s childhood. As the daughter of a U.S. diplomat, Karen Steele had also lived with her family in Europe. It was no wonder, then, that to her the cottage immediately felt like home.
“It was definitely love at first sight,” she says. At the time she found the house, Karen and Dick, recently married, were navigating a long-distance relationship. Karen, already well-established in Spokane and with school-age children, was looking for a new home for a fresh start while Dick was busy founding a medical startup in Palo Alto. A real estate agent showed her the Solby House the day before it went on the market. She told Dick about it over the phone, and they made an offer the next day. The home was a perfect fit…