These days, Clare Fader is singing the praises of Winston-Salem’s West End. Living and working in the historic neighborhood, Fader has become an enthusiastic spokesperson for its pedestrian lifestyle and opportunities for preservation.

For Fader and her husband, Brad Cokendolpher, the opportunity to preserve a piece of local history materialized in the form of a 1920 Craftsman-style bungalow. After years of living in Sweden and enduring their fair share of dreary Scandinavian winters, the couple were completely taken by the bungalow’s liberal use of windows and the way natural light flooded its interior.

“Long, dark winters make you conscious of light,” says Fader. Case in point: In the master bedroom alone, where you might expect to find a window on each wall, the corner room boasts six large windows in sets of three. “The windows are what sold us on this house.”

Still, every house has its dark side — a shadowy past of shoddy maintenance, sub-par improvements, and all things required to be “up to code.”

A rental property since the 1960s, the couple’s “dream house” was in pretty rough shape and came with two unusual caveats. First, it was one of a pair of rentals — that’s right, serious homebuyers had to take on two homes. On top of that, they had to agree to let existing tenants remain in both houses for a minimum of two years after the closing date. Despite the obstacles, the bungalow had captured the couple’s imagination and inspired a vision of what “home” could be.

For the next three and a half years the couple resigned themselves to living in one of the single-bedroom apartments alongside their tenants while they made structural repairs to the two houses. With their investment secured and the tenants of one house relocated, the couple finally got down to the serious business of renovation: stripping the walls down to the studs.

Armed with historic tax credits and a network of talented craftsmen, the couple had two efficiency kitchens removed from the second floor, shored up sagging ceilings, and made minor changes to the floor plan. And, oh yes, the windows. “We wanted the windows to be the focal point of each room,” says Fader.

To that end, every window in the house was carefully removed, hand-scraped, professionally stripped, reglazed, and rehung. After successfully preserving all of the original trim work and as much of the original glass as possible, the windows truly became the architectural highlights of the home.

In a kitchen sorely in need of updating, the couple opened the adjoining pantry and integrated it more effectively into the room. Two original windows were replaced with French doors that lead to a planned porch. The windows were reused in the kitchen above the sink for a panoramic view of the backyard.

With less wall space to install fixed cabinetry, the couple introduced another European taste acquired while abroad: the affinity for free-standing kitchen furniture. Simple, out of the way, and highly versatile, rolling prep tables and plenty of space provide the kitchen with a light and airy atmosphere that is a pleasure to work in.

When it finally came time to decorate, Fader called on a friend — Anne Civitano — a professional home-stager. Together, they took advantage of the home’s natural light, introduced white and pale colors on the walls and moldings, and refurbished the floors in a natural satin finish. It was the perfect environment to highlight the pure, luminous look of the Swedish furniture the couple had collected over the years.

The result is a compilation of rooms that are clean and pared down — with a focus on items that are light, airy, and minimal, with splashes of color for added touches of whimsy and romance.

There is breathing space, room to let light in, and a respect for quality and good design. At a time of year when gray skies tend to bring us down, these West Enders are intent on shedding light on the amenities of a neighborhood where they clearly enjoy living the Swede life.