Memorable Update RENOVATION TOOK GOOD BONES AND MADE THEM BETTER
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hen Susan and John Skinner purchased their 3,200-square-foot Carmichael ranch home in 1990, they knew they had a house with good bones. “It had been built in the 80s by a builder for his own father,” Susan says. “It was solid. There were no
CH By Cecily Hastings Photography by Aniko Kiezel OPEN HOUSE
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cut corners.” The house also had deep political roots: The owner was a Capitol lobbyist who loved to entertain. The newly married couple saw the immediate potential. “But the home was very dated inside with multitudes of conflicting patterned wallpapers and carpets. That was the first thing we changed,” Susan says. The Skinners installed oak hardwood floors, updated to a neutral carpet and added new neutral paint. “We always talked about more renovations, but a decade ago when John was diagnosed with Parkinson’s we decided just to live with it,” Susan says. John Skinner, a retired airline pilot and accomplished musician, died in August 2017. “Once I worked through
Ann Huntsman
