I served as a docent today at the "Eichler Home Tour and the Exotic Car Show", a fundraiser for Hospice By the Bay (www.hospicebythebay.org).
The house I was at is located in Locus Valley. One of the smallest model but sits on the 2nd largest lot in the area - originally a bit over 1300sf; after 2 remodels, it is now 2230sf.
The house took complete advantage of the original design of the Eichler home and totally transformed it.
The original atrium is now part of the interior with a retractable glass dorm over the opening. The owners love the atrium idea, so they converted the carport to a new atrium with pebble stones and a soothing fountain and beautiful maple tree and princess flowers; a scored concrete floor with acid washed top gives it a wonderful outdoor feeling. The original walkway is now a wall of closet and storage spaces. A totally remodeled master bath has a luxury feeling. An expanded wing has three bedrooms with one used as a sitting area for the kids; and what accomplished musicians they are!
Kitchen is another conversation point. Brushed stainless steel bartop draws instant attention to the beautiful remodeled kitchen - zebra wood cabinets, exotic looking granite has an illusion of depth, and beautiful stainless steel appliances rounds up the flawless design.
The back wall of glass was pushed 4 feet out, giving the house plenty of room for entertainment.
All the furniture is modern and tastefully selected to compliment the look of the house.
The outdoor setting is beautiful also, with sparkling pool surrounded by rolling hills, a true Eichler site which showcases the Eichlers!
The people I met are incredible also. The owners are just wonderful and very down to earth. They kept on going out and then kept on coming back and ended up answering tons of questions.
Tons of Eichler lovers came through the house, and many stayed a long, long time taking notes and pictures.
There was one couple from Chicago, a man from San Diego and most incredible, a young mother and her 10 year old son came from an Illinois town just for this event. Her son has the talent and interest in architecture design ever since he was 3 years old, so mom brought him here just for the tour. What a lucky child to have a mom like that, and how proud his mothers must be of him! Amazing!
Oh, don't forget about that $500,000 exotic car outside.
All in all, a wonderful experience for me. Hospice (www.hospicebythebay.org) helped my father during his last days and I am eternally grateful for them. I will definitely do this again next year!
Hi, Eichler, you did not leave your contact info, so I thought I'd reply to you here.
The site you mentioned is really a realtor's site with a lot of good information. Not to discount that, but the best site I personally found is www.eichlernetwork.com where the site you mentioned is a paid advertiser.
On www.eichlernetwork.com, there is a lot of information and resources for Eichler lovers, all the way from history of Eichler homes to a lot of articles about how to upgrade and remodel your Eichler homes.
In addition, this site has Eichler homes and resources from all over the places. I think it can help a broader audience.
Hope this helps.
Sylvia
I did enjoy your Post on Eichler Homes in California. We have lived in an Eichler Home in Texas for 20 years before we moved to the Texas Hill Country in 2004. The reason I can call it a Eichler Home is because I designed and built this home. I have also built a number of homes in the North Texas area. I guess I must have had some of the Eichler of California genes because all of my homes had a lot of things that were not being done at the time I was building. I also developed a subdivision that was considered unique.
Don (Joseph) Eichler
Hi Don (Joseph) Eichler:
You got me there for a while - trying to figure out your Eichler Home :-) I am glad you enjoyed my post. I was quite proud of the home where I was a docent the other day - seeing how many people enjoyed their experience there.
I lived in Plano, Tx for quite a few years - when I worked for Ross Perot in IT at EDS. Life took us to many places since then until we finally settled down in Marin.
Would love to see pictures of the houses you designed and built. Wonder how much similarity there is to the Joseph Eichler homes?
Sylvia