By LEAH WEATHERSBY

A couple of years ago, during that low-interest rate-inspired home-buying frenzy of 1999, my husband Larry and I became owners of what some politely described as a "fixer-upper" and others, less politely, described as a "tear-down."

We didn't tear down the house. Instead we decided to make it as nice as we could on our shoestring budget and so far it has worked. The abandoned appliances are out of the yard, the walls have been painted, and the roof is no longer leaking.

Sure, it was adventurous to fix up a house on a tight budget, but the other way looks fun, too. That's what I discovered last month as I took a walking tour of a home-remodeler's street of dreams: Stone Way, between N 45th Street and N 35th.

Stone Way has a well-deserved reputation as a home improvement row. It is a street where hardware, electrical supplies and fixtures - ever so many bathroom fixtures - are readily available.

Best Plumbing

In fact, Best Plumbing (4129 Stone Way N), one of the first businesses I visited on my trek, had one of the most amazing showers on display I've ever seen. Water came out of jets along the side of the wall - hot tub-style jets. This thing looked like it had enough water pressure to take the paint off a house. For around $10,000, I too could have been that clean.

One Best Plumbing employee, Michael Woolson, said the shop had been on Stone Way for about 10 years, and he'd witnessed the street draw-in more and more home-improvement-related businesses.

"This is the mecca," Woolson said of Stone Way. "It's becoming a design center."

Cabinetpak Kitchens

Nearby Best Plumbing is Cabinetpak Kitchens (4201 Stone Way N), a store which has reputedly been on Stone Way since the '80s. It, along with Aurora Kitchen & Bath down the street made me sigh for all the hours I spent sanding little pink flowers off my kitchen cabinets in an attempt to give them a face lift.

Cyphers & Kallander furniture refinishers

But as long as you have money to spend on Stone Way, there's no need to refurbish anything yourself. The biggest news I encountered during the day was about Cyphers & Kallander furniture refinishers (3517 Stone Way N). After over 40 years on Stone Way, Cyphers owner John Moran said he is moving his shop to Tacoma to escape Seattle's high rents. However, to keep serving his Seattle customers, Moran said Cyphers will be coming up to Seattle for regular pick-ups.

"We're not going to leave," said Moran. "We're just going to change locations. "

Hy-Lite Mirror & Glass

Nearby Cyphers is Hy-Lite Mirror & Glass (3815 Stone Way N), which makes custom-designed mirrors. According to Manger Dave Biggs, they've even worked on Street of Dreams Homes. Tragically, I forgot to ask Biggs if they can do a mirror that takes off 20 pounds.

Biggs did agree that having home improvement places concentrated in the area helps.

"It makes it more convenient for the customer," Biggs said.

Central Fabricators

By the time do-it-yourselfers make it down to the south end of Stone, they may be ready for some refreshment. My first recommendation for that is a stop at Central Fabricators (3621 Stone Way N). While most homeowners don't go as far as to pick out their own duct work, the guys did offer me free coffee, which would be a blessing after a long day of shopping. Owner Ed Gregersen also gave me an interesting historical tidbit about how his company came to be located on Stone Way about 40 years ago. Apparently the shop used to be on lower Queen Anne at 5th Avenue and Broad Street, but was displaced because the property was needed as a construction staging site while the Space Needle was being built.

Inside Out

However, since you now know the space needle story, you may decide to venture down to one of Stone Way's newest editions, Inside Out, garden relics etcetera (3510 Stone Way N), which will sell you an espresso at their coffee shop before you head into the showroom to browse for garden accessories. According to Jessica Freeman, who works at the shop, some of the "relics" are antiques, while others are the work of local artists.

Daly's Home Decorating

Of course, nothing sets off garden relics better than a brand new paint job on the side of your house. Rodda Paint (3633 Stone Way N) and Daly's Home Decorating Center (3525 Stone Way N) are both located on Stone Way.

Robin Daly, vice president of retail sales at Daly's, said, for her store, manufacturing their own line of finishes (which they also do in their Stone Way building), carrying high-end products and having a lot of expertise in their field has helped the independent, family-owned business survive along side the big box chains.

"Home Depot buys Daly's products now," Daly said. "We've had big box (stores) refer people to us."

Daly also said Stone Way is a good lacation for a home improvement business.

"We're surrounded by people renovating their homes," she said.

If you'd prefer not to do it yourself you can always walk back up the street and hire a company like RM Contracting (4115 Stone Way N) - but of course nothing beats spending a Saturday on a 30-foot ladder.

Stoneway Roofing Supply

One of the last stops on my home improvement tour was Stoneway Roofing Supply (3636 Stone Way N). While a new "bowl" style sink in the bathroom is fun, a roof is a necessity. If you like to look at shingles, Stoneway Roofing is a good place. But General Manager Lonnie Peterson said that most of their actual sales go to contractors who they refer their homeowner browsers to.

"Most homeowners won't do their own roof," Peterson explained. I smiled inwardly as I thought of my husband, going up on our roof every night for weeks on end to nail on our new shingles.

Most of the owners and employees involved in the home improvement industry on Stone Way seemed to think that having other similarly-oriented businesses around helps them in some way. Who knows, maybe localizing similar, small businesses in one area can provide some competition for big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes.

One last tidbit: I noticed in passing that there's a massage therapist located on Stone Way. If your home improvement experience is anything like mine, you'll need it. (