Network Finally Gets a Break!

2026 year of respite coincides with Eichler Network head’s retirement after 32-year run
By Adriene Biondo
Fridays on the Homefront
Eichler Network publisher Marty Arbunich (far right) recently entertained guests at the Eichler X-100 in the San Mateo Highlands. Pictured with Marty are his wife, Jane Blonien (far left); Network staffer Adriene Biondo (second from right); and her husband, photographer John Eng. Photo: John Eng

Following 32 years of continuous publishing supporting the owners of California's mid-century modern homes—with emphasis on Eichlers and Strengs—the Eichler Network is now taking a well-deserved break—in fact, an extended one, for all of 2026.

The Network's planned year off coincides with the recent retirement of publisher Marty Arbunich, who has managed the Network since he first launched it back in 1993.

"This move has been a long time coming," says Arbunich. "By making 2026 a transition year, it will allow the opportunity to dip further into personal retirement while giving us time to lay the groundwork for the Eichler Network of the future."

 

  Fridays on the Homefront
  

 

For 2026, the Eichler Network website will stay in place, continuing to make available the thousands of feature stories and blogs the Network has produced over the past three decades. Back issues of the Network's long-running print magazine, CA-Modern (2006-2023), will also remain available.

However, the Network website's forum, the 'Chatterbox Lounge,' has been converted to an archived information resource; and its 'Homes for Sale' resource deactivated. In addition, the Network's social media outlets and two new weekly e-mailed stories ('CA Modernist' and 'On the Homefront') will likely be paused, as will its other print publication, the annual Eichler Network Home Maintenance Directory.

 

  Fridays on the Homefront
Marty while celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Eichler Network, 2003. Photo: David Toerge
  

Arbunich took his first step towards personal retirement at the end of 2023, when he retired CA-Modern, a move that coincidentally arrived at the height of the print publication's popularity and business success.

Over the years, while Arbunich may have been viewed by some as a 'mystery man' who shied away from the spotlight, virtually everyone who followed the Network was well aware of who was attentively guiding the operation from behind the scenes.

Between 1993 and 2005, in addition to the Eichler Network website, Arbunich produced a number of Eichler-focused print publications, including its quarterly Eichler Network newsletter; the annual Home Maintenance Directory; and the House of Questions, a home-improvement Q&A publication. He continued to produce the print Directory each year through 2025.