Modern Eichler Remodel: Week 1

It’s official! We finally found the Eichler home of our dreams.

After 2 years of research, countless open houses, and convincing David this was a good idea, we were lucky enough to find a courtyard model Eichler, in the coveted Upper Lucas Valley neighborhood in Marin, California.

Disclaimer: the current interior decor of this Eichler is NOT original and is one of our biggest design challenges. We’ll find a way to bring back the mid-century modern design aesthetic.

Photos courtesy of Marin Modern Real Estate
 

Joseph Eichler and the Mid-Century Modern Design Movement

Here’s a little history about the developer Joseph Eichler and his famed mid-century modern homes…

Between 1949 and 1966, Joseph Eichler’s company, Eichler Homes, built over 11,000 homes in nine communities in Northern California and homes in three communities in Southern California. Later, other firms worked with Eichler’s company to build similar houses. Together, they all came to be known as Eichlers. During this period, Eichler became one of the nation’s most influential builders of modern homes. 

Joseph Eichler is considered by some to be a social visionary and commissioned designs primarily for middle-class Americans. One of his stated aims was to construct inclusive and diverse planned communities, ideally featuring integrated parks and community centers. Eichler established a non-discrimination policy and offered homes for sale to anyone of any religion or race. In 1958, he resigned from the National Association of Home Builders when they refused to support a non-discrimination policy.

Eichler homes are examples of Modernist architecture that has come to be known as “California Modern”, and typically feature glass walls, post-and-beam construction, and open floor plans in a style indebted to Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. 

(Source: Wikipedia)

 

Courtyard Model Eichler Floor plan

We were able to find an archived floor plan of our courtyard model online which is almost perfect, except our layout is mirrored. (E.g. the courtyard is on the left and the bedrooms are on the right side of the house.

Week 1:

We kick off design next week and we cannot wait!

Thanks for coming along our journey – and look for more blog posts soon.