Eichlers with ‘Attitude’

More than any other tract houses, Eichlers seem to be alive. Anyone who lives in one knows this. There's a personality in each home, and it is surprisingly varied. But of what sort?

To begin with, most every Eichler is coy. With their angular lines, sexy good looks, and eye-poppingly colorful front doors, they entice. But their windowless street-facing facades lend an air of mystery.

What wonders, you wonder, are inside?

The tasteful exterior might suggest a home that is suave and sophisticated, and indeed this proved so when we visited Dwight and Felicita Evard's home in Sunnyvale's Rancho San Souci, with its expanded living area focused around its brick fireplace, which now stands in the middle of the room.

Inside the Evard Eichler, classic Le Corbusier armchairs, which have defined high-modern furnishings since 1928, share space with an L-shaped, low-slung sectional that mirrors the color of the paneled wall. Throws and pillows add a touch of comfort. Best, though, is how the sectional sits on an almost neon golden shag carpet.

And one wall ties the art of the Italian Renaissance to 20th century modern design, showing a near life-size image of Leonardo's Vitruvian Man, whose proportions directly inspired Corbusier.

Alongside Eichlers that are suave sit those that must be called cool. In Palo Alto's Greenmeadow, Sabine and Stefan Nusser's interior with modern upholstered furniture in a range of grays plays off amusingly against abstract art on the wall and in the form of a carpet that shows panels of red and blue alongside diagonal stripes.

It doesn't take much for Eichlers in the cool school to evoke yet another mood: nostalgia. What can brighten up wood-paneled Eichler walls more than vintage, curvaceous table lamps with outer-space-styled shades? For our photo session, Mona San Filippo complemented the joyfulness of the furnishings in her Castro Valley Eichler by wearing vintage fashion.

'Retro'-fitting your Eichler with space-age or tiki artifacts from the mid-century isn't the only way to go bold and brash. Any number of Eichler models, particularly from later periods, are brash in and of themselves, including those with dual high-peaked gables to the front and rear of the atrium.

Not surprisingly, owners of these models often play up the brashness with eye-catching colored front doors that open onto the atrium. Bold use of colors works just as effectively indoors, as seen in the range of red, blue, and pickle-green found in the Diamond Heights, San Francisco Eichler of Jack Bernstine and Matt Ogden.

Their collection of glassware on the bar and an abstract painting suggestive of Hans Hofmann complete the picture.

For many people, going artistic with their Eichlers means a turn to the less is more aesthetic, which generally goes against the original Eichler look of contrasting textures, and darkness against light. While the minimalist trend can go too far, with deadly, dull, white-on-white color schemes, with care it can work.

In Burlingame some years back, we visited the home of Andrew Wolf, whose atrium artfully blended in with the rest of the interior with a stripped-down color scheme of grays and blacks.

Contrary to the minimalist aesthetic is the eclectic approach that some owners adopt, incorporating traditional furnishings and antiques into their homes.

For certain, it never pays to turn an Eichler into a Cotswold cottage. Yet, done with discretion eclecticism can work, especially when, as was the case in the San Mateo Highlands home of Fred and Jean Leonard, wingback chairs and stools with turned supports play off the textures and colors of Eichler paneling.

Matt Kahn, an artist and interior designer who worked with Joe Eichler on many projects and lived in an Eichler on Stanford campus, argued that Eichlers are "permissive," open to owners doing with them what they will. His home was a good example, filled with art, seashells and river stones, colors, and surprises.

Still, while we are considering the varying moods within Eichler homes, let's remember that Joe and all of his architects were moved deeply by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, by the Arts and Crafts architects of California, and by Japanese designs. All these emphasized warm wood, textures, openness, even quietism.

Eichlers that play up their rustic roots achieve a quiet, sustained appeal. The atrium in Nancy Mar's Palo Alto Eichler, with its Japanese-influenced retractable cover and wooden flooring, is a peaceful oasis.

Some Eichler models emphasize textural interest. For example, a split-level model we visited that used vertical quarter-sawn redwood siding in its entryway and throughout other portions of the house. It's adds to an inviting, relaxing look—very homey.

Hominess is a state that evolves naturally within a home, not something imported from a designer. For many years, the home that Joe Eichler had his original architects, Anshen and Allen, design for his own family in 1951, was owned by Paul Feder and Ginny Anderson.

The couple retained all the original architecture, save for some minor changes to the kitchen, and made the home their own by simply living there, spreading out, adding comforting places to sit and an array of objects that spoke to them. An Eichler with attitude can't get better than that.