Morning in an Eichler
We live in an Eichler (pronounced I-cler), which is very much like living in a glass house.
Joseph Eichler was a merchant builder who built houses in the 1950s through the 1970s in California. There are many Eichlers in Palo Alto, but we do not live in Palo Alto. We live a little farther North, in a community that's made up of about 800 Eichlers.
Our Eichler is a single story and has some unique features including floor to ceiling glass windows with sliding doors in most of the rooms.
Our Eichler has been bastardized (remodeled in a way that does not hold true to the original design), therefore, half of our house has French doors and standard eight pane windows. A true Eichler afficionado would cry if he saw our house. At the very least he would shake his head and mutter, "what a shame."
Our home was bastardized before we bought it. Please know this.
Another unique feature of our Eichler is the fact that our washer and dryer are in our hallway. That's right. They're located directly outside the bedrooms where the clothes live. Isn't that clever?
In San Francisco I lived in Victorians and Edwardians and loved them. I loved crown molding and wainscotting and hardwood floors and art deco tile fireplaces; I still do.
Our Eichler does not have these things.
Our Eichler is what is known as "California Modern." It's made for easy breezy living and indoor/outdoor entertaining. It has clean lines, white space, utilitarian design, and makes a good backdrop for furniture from IKEA. I like my Eichler.
One thing I never want to forget is how Mike told me we had won the bidding war for our Eichler. I came home from a board meeting of my Mothers Club and he presented me with a book about Eichlers. I think I may have cried.
That is all. Oh, and Spanglemonkey lives in an Eichler, too, but not in our subdivision.
***
Technorati tag: Eichler
Joseph Eichler was a merchant builder who built houses in the 1950s through the 1970s in California. There are many Eichlers in Palo Alto, but we do not live in Palo Alto. We live a little farther North, in a community that's made up of about 800 Eichlers.
Our Eichler is a single story and has some unique features including floor to ceiling glass windows with sliding doors in most of the rooms.
Our Eichler has been bastardized (remodeled in a way that does not hold true to the original design), therefore, half of our house has French doors and standard eight pane windows. A true Eichler afficionado would cry if he saw our house. At the very least he would shake his head and mutter, "what a shame."
Our home was bastardized before we bought it. Please know this.
Another unique feature of our Eichler is the fact that our washer and dryer are in our hallway. That's right. They're located directly outside the bedrooms where the clothes live. Isn't that clever?
In San Francisco I lived in Victorians and Edwardians and loved them. I loved crown molding and wainscotting and hardwood floors and art deco tile fireplaces; I still do.
Our Eichler does not have these things.
Our Eichler is what is known as "California Modern." It's made for easy breezy living and indoor/outdoor entertaining. It has clean lines, white space, utilitarian design, and makes a good backdrop for furniture from IKEA. I like my Eichler.
One thing I never want to forget is how Mike told me we had won the bidding war for our Eichler. I came home from a board meeting of my Mothers Club and he presented me with a book about Eichlers. I think I may have cried.
That is all. Oh, and Spanglemonkey lives in an Eichler, too, but not in our subdivision.
***
Technorati tag: Eichler
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