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[Oznell]

@Nonametoday,  did you notice that Arvin Olano has purchased an Eichler house in California!!   Knowing you, you have seen it already, ha.  Lucky, lucky.

Please do not feel pressured to go and look at it, if it's not your inclination.   If you do at any point,  I'd love to know your opinion, if you've seen the video tour of it, empty.  (Or anyone else interested, who'd care to comment, of course.)

It has an ATRIUM, yeah.    It has not been restored to midcentury authenticity, unfortunately.  But it has not been "destroyed", and the finishes are nice.  Arvin Olano says he is going to bring it back completely.

[mspatmac]

@Oznell 

@Nonametoday 

I am beyond excited!  I recognized the area and Mt. Diablo in the background  because that's where I used to live!  Walnut Creek CA.  My family did not live in an Eichler but many friends did and we spent a lot of time with them.  They were in walking distance for us. Was sorry to leave the area but was transferred.  This brought back so many wonderful memories.

[Oznell]

Oh, I'm glad, @mspatmac !    How neat that you got to see these California gems up close when you lived in that beautiful area!   I love many midcentury modern houses, but have never been in an Eichler.

We were very tempted once by a classic midcentury type house-- it was run-down and so was budget-friendly.  We ended up not putting in an offer.   I still think about it and mentally decorate it in my head...

I might be too eclectic to live in a perfect, period house.  As I recount to boredom to everyone, I'm so drawn to midcentury, but also traditional and Art Deco.  But my dominant strain is classic/traditional/cottage, with the others as essential, but more minor accents.

I do love to see others do an exalted, pure midcentury, with the true, 'luxe' midcentury look, not the weirdly "reduced", and distorted midcentury version I see so often in 21st century social media....

[Nonametoday]

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@Oznell wrote:

Oh, I'm glad, @mspatmac !    How neat that you got to see these California gems up close when you lived in that beautiful area!   I love many midcentury modern houses, but have never been in an Eichler.

We were very tempted once by a classic midcentury type house-- it was run-down and so was budget-friendly.  We ended up not putting in an offer.   I still think about it and mentally decorate it in my head...

I might be too eclectic to live in a perfect, period house.  As I recount to boredom to everyone, I'm so drawn to midcentury, but also traditional and Art Deco.  But my dominant strain is classic/traditional/cottage, with the others as essential, but more minor accents.

I do love to see others do an exalted, pure midcentury, with the true, 'luxe' midcentury look, not the weirdly "reduced", and distorted midcentury version I see so often in 21st century social media....

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@Oznell @mspatmac 

In the distant past, my childhood, we owned a lot of land.  A man came to my mother and said he wanted about 100 acres and would pay cash for it.  Well, I did say it was in the distant past.  He purchased the land.  First off, he began building a lake, then a pool, and a playground for his children, a swimming pool, a tennis court, and homes for the domestics they would hire.  They had a merry-to-round, jungle gym and slides of all kinds.  Finally, came the home.  It was totally FallingWater West.  As it turned out, the lady of the house studied with Frank L Wright in Arizona.  This was a Texas oil millionaire.  They had two daughters, one my age and one 18 months younger.  We became very good friends.  Their home was totally period (she incidentally was Swedish).  I loved being their friend.  Their home was gorgeous.  Yes, it was just like FallingWater West.  The younger one and I married besties.  We are still good friends.  The house has, long since, been sold.  The older girl lives in the PNW and the younger one (who married my DH best friend) lives in the Florida Panhandle.  We are still good friends.  We get to see each other infrequently now, based on our ages, but it was wonderful to know someone who could easily afford a total period house and one which was architecturally like a minted home.

[Nonametoday]

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@Oznell wrote:

@Nonametoday,  did you notice that Arvin Olano has purchased an Eichler house in California!!   Knowing you, you have seen it already, ha.  Lucky, lucky.

Please do not feel pressured to go and look at it, if it's not your inclination.   If you do at any point,  I'd love to know your opinion, if you've seen the video tour of it, empty.  (Or anyone else interested, who'd care to comment, of course.)

It has an ATRIUM, yeah.    It has not been restored to midcentury authenticity, unfortunately.  But it has not been "destroyed", and the finishes are nice.  Arvin Olano says he is going to bring it back completely.

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@Oznell 

Yes, I have seen it.  Aren't his parents Las Vegas (either club owners or big-time gamblers) or something like that who would be able to help him with that task.

[Nonametoday]

@mspatmac @Oznell 

I forgot to mention that the Texas oilman had sought land in many states and had not found what he wanted at a price he could afford or the setting of a forest look, that his wife was seeking to begin the project, so he ended up in Georgia (at the insistence of a relative of his).  My granddaddy asked him how he had found our land.  He said he drove around and found what he was looking for, went to the courthouse to see who owned it. It really was very reminiscent of Taliesen West.  They had a grand piano as she was not only very architecturally gifted, but a musician who same opera and who played the piano.  Following his death and the adulthood of the children, she became a very high-paid art critic in NYC.

[Oznell]

@Nonametoday,  what a nifty thing to have happen!  That must have been fabulous--  to see all the wonderful things taking shape on that land, then the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired house (imagine, the mother having studied with him!),  and most important, the lasting friendships that resulted.

I hope that house is still there.  Hate when gems like that get overlooked, and then pulled down....   history crumbling before our eyes.

I didn't know that about Arvin Olano's family--  interesting!

I'm glad I started this thread--  learned some fascinating things, courtesy of you and @mspatmac .

[Nonametoday]

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@Oznell wrote:

@Nonametoday,  what a nifty thing to have happen!  That must have been fabulous--  to see all the wonderful things taking shape on that land, then the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired house (imagine, the mother having studied with him!),  and most important, the lasting friendships that resulted.

I hope that house is still there.  Hate when gems like that get overlooked, and then pulled down....   history crumbling before our eyes.

I didn't know that about Arvin Olano's family--  interesting!

I'm glad I started this thread--  learned some fascinating things, courtesy of you and @mspatmac .

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@Oznell 

The mother ended up having Alzheimer's and the girls had to sell the house because they were unable to maintain it.  At the time, they both had young children and pressing issues (as you might imagine and one was a broadcast journalist in a large city).  They sold the house and it was being rehabbed by its new owner and a fire consumed it during the renovation and it was said to be due to painters and workers leaving oil that was used in the painting and paint removal process in an enclosed area.  I heard they had left the heating on but I don't know for a fact.  The house burned almost to the ground before firemen could reach it as it was in a secluded, forest-type setting with its own private access which required numbers to open the gate.  So, it is my past.  The owners rebuilt the house but it does not have the same ambience.  Our homeplace was sold in 2010 and I have only been back once to see it and it looked very nice.  The new owners have taken very good care in restoring it.  It was total farmhouse look.

[Oznell]

Oh, thanks for the postscript on the house's fate, @Nonametoday --  such a shame it's gone.  It's great that your house survived, going on into the new century.  It's always so interesting, seeing one's childhood haunts from the vantage point of adulthood!

Edited to add-- I should have said, it's a shame the Wright-influenced house is 'altered' (not "gone" as I originally said!) in a less-than-pleasing way.  I've been shorted on caffeine tonight...  

[Nonametoday]

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@Oznell wrote:

Oh, thanks for the postscript on the house's fate, @Nonametoday --  such a shame it's gone.  It's great that your house survived, going on into the new century.  It's always so interesting, seeing one's childhood haunts from the vantage point of adulthood!

Edited to add-- I should have said, it's a shame the Wright-influenced house is 'altered' (not "gone" as I originally said!) in a less-than-pleasing way.  I've been shorted on caffeine tonight...  

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@Oznell

Actually, the structure is mostly gone and the altered rendition is not like the original and I don't know that you could get craftspeople nowadays to do the work that was done to that house.