Rare 'Roger Lee' Hits Market - Page 2

Indeed, the American Association of Architects in 1962 bestowed on Lee one of its highest honors, the Award of Merit, for this group of homes, including one at 10 Reed Place built for the widow of influential Bay Modern architect John Dinwiddie.

Today, the house at 20 Reed still has a bay view despite being shrouded in trees. Owners Heather Feng and Esdras Varagnolo, who bought it in 2012, have staged it themselves in line with Lee's sparse design, though he more often built single-story.

"It's minimally staged. There's no clutter in it," said Concus. "They're not architects, but they're people with a high level of artistic sensitivity." Likewise, the agent said, the flooring has been redone but is still cork and the kitchen and baths "were remodeled with great sensitivity to the house...It hasn't been abused.

"It's been gently used," she promised, noting, "All of the wood details look like they were just put on."

As for the best feature of the house, she cited the living room without hesitation, "a beautiful, landscaped enclave" that "seems very much larger."

"Everywhere you look there are trees. You don't get the sense of other houses," she marveled of the west-facing walls of windows and glass doors opening onto a wood deck. "It's just a tranquil setting. Once you're in there, you're transformed, and you feel you're in a very secure place."

"Many people are just awestruck by the space," Concus said frankly, admitting she herself finds the house "astonishing." She noted that a den with a folding door provides a potential third bedroom and said she has high expectations for the listing "because of who the architect is."

"They seem to be selling for more than the asking price," she said of comparable mid-century modern listings in the area, citing two recent sales for $1 million-plus that were listed for about the same price as 20 Reed Place, including another Roger Lee house on Creston Road.

Noting the many fans of the man some have called "one of the Bay Area's great forgotten architects," Concus said, "It's very exciting [that] there's a large following."