It really had its challenges.
Generally when we look at a project,
you can look past all of that.
Once I got up on top of the roof
and realized that there was a fabulous view here, all
of a sudden it started clicking.
This was one of the funnest projects we've attempted.
It was completely overgrown, empty.
And so Jim boldly came down the driveway
and found a window that he could tap,
and the latch fell open, and he climbed in
and let me in the front door.
And we looked around and were just amazed.
Just this hexagonal ness of the house
made every small room feel big
because of the no 90 degree corners.
Um, and so we just thought, wow, this would be in incre.
And it was totally original, which is
what you want when you find a mid-century house.
It's called the Carmichael House. And Mrs.
Carmichael had Ron build the home.
She was the owner occupier, uh,
when we purchased it from her.
Uh, she had to move into a nursing home and she was 92.
Uh, my wife and I, uh,
have no formal architectural experience.
She has a background in, in owning women's clothing store.
I'm a contractor.
I've owned various paving companies
and, uh, have done a lot
of renovations in building over my years.
But one thing we've enjoyed doing over the years
is doing something that everyone told us we couldn't do.
It's often cheaper to tear a house down
and rebuild the house
with current code than it is to renovate.
Um, we spent more time trying to visualize
what Ron would want to do
to bring this home into this century
and make it more viable,
because of course, a lot
of these homes don't really have any value
if you don't put an open plan into place to,
to make it, uh, uh, more usable
by everybody versus, you know,
a specific architectural buyer.
One thing I love about this home is it's not a home.
It's a piece of art. And we're preserving this piece of art.
You can see the, the angles and the grid
and the, you look at the plans and see the grid network.
The lack of 90 degree angles is intriguing.
Our favorite room is the office.
Of course, there's a six-sided base on a six-sided desk
and a six-sided room with a six-sided ceiling.
So some of these nuances, we didn't actually touch
anything in that office just because it's so special
and it is the jewel of the house.
I find this so rewarding, just spending time
with folks like you today.
You're only limited by your own imagination.
And people tell you things, and Jan
and I have done the exact opposite in a lot of these homes
that we've renovated.
Oh, it'll be a money pick. Tear it down.
You can't afford to do this rental.
And, you know, fortunately for us,
we've always done very well.
It's been a rewarding experience
and, uh, it only proves that just
because someone says they know better than you doesn't
necessarily mean that they do.