Don't Rush to Remodel - Page 2

"They haven't been educated on how to combine new modern with the old modern design," she explained. "They mix [in] contemporary a lot, which I think is wrong."

"We remodeled a bunch of them," said Laule, currently rehabilitating a 1960 Eichler in Orange's Fairhaven neighborhood. "These houses do something to you. It's just an excitement, a passion."

Laule said some of her Eichler buyers are still "figuring it out" and are willing to limit their initial remodel to maybe the kitchen and/or landscaping.

"They'll deal with what you can see," she observed. "I have some people who come in and they barely touch the house, and others have taken them to a whole [different] level....It's actually quite mind-blowing, the money that's going into these houses."

And when that money goes for expanding or irreparably changing what is modernist about the home, that's when it drives Lombardelli to distraction.

"Another issue is they want more square footage," she said, and some buyers think immediately that expanding an Eichler makes it worth more. "That's wrong, because they've ruined the design...The majority of them have been ruined."

For the most part, however, said Laule, "This generation that's buying [Eichlers] now is very design-conscious. This fits a specific need for them: the open concept, all the glass."

The Tustin native emphasizes the importance of resisting trendy styles and materials that reference non-modernist design.

"Over time, styles change," Laule said, noting that some types of flooring or siding will date the house in a period that it was not designed to reflect. "I'm not somebody who is a complete purist, but I do love timeless."

Both our realtor resources agree: to find a timeless look for your new Eichler, give yourself some time to grow into the space before you make it your own.

"You can go and see what other owners have done," Laule suggested of those initial months living in an Eichler. "You can pretty much see what would work for you, and what would work for your family. There are certain things you will do to make it more functional for you."