Raiders of the Lost Architect - Page 2

"I think that the fact that Mrs. Ross was an artist really helps with the design, her artist's eye," Parker-Stanton said of the house, which she said was purchased from the couple by the current sellers in 2008 for $1 million.

"The house is an awe-inspiring composition of large plate glass windows, open-beamed ceilings and interior and exterior clerestory windows," wrote Robert Dismukes in his essay, in which he recalls helping clear the lot of rocks and weeds with his brother before construction. "It has large decks, one of which is over the carport, that extend the living area into the outdoors of the secluded site."

"I cannot tell you how much we have enjoyed living in the house," said Lynne Koplin, the seller, to the son. "It is truly a sanctuary filled with light and nature from every angle, and we have privacy and openness at the same time."

"They've painted and restored most everything in the house, but mostly restored," the realtor said of the Koplins, whom she said also remodeled the master bath and laundry. "The only thing they changed in the layout was the kitchen: they opened it up. It was kind of closed."

"It all starts with how it's sited on the lot," she suggested of the almost-third of an acre property. "It's so hidden that no one knows it's there!"

"Literally every person that walks through the door says, 'Wow!,'" Parker-Stanton said of the showings she has done so far. "It's really got this warm, light, open feeling."

"It's just a really captivating house," she effused. "I think it's a real architectural treasure."

The realtor of the lost architect says she also values the experience of doing research that brought her into contact with Dismukes' son, partly inspiring the profile of his father.

"It's really been touching," she admitted without embarrassment. "It's like a nice life circle."

Don't expect this treasure to stay lost for the ages. Parker-Stanton said the sellers will begin considering offers on the property this week.