Open House

Calm & Collected LAND PARK HOME HAS MID-CENTURY STYLE WITHOUT THE KITSCH

Layers. That’s how Renée Carter business, embarked on remodeling the described her Land Park home 2,500-sqaure-foot home built in 1962, when she purchased the midshe obtained the original plans from the century-style abode in 2007. city. Carter learned the two-story home

“Over the years there were layers,” was built by renowned Sacramento Carter says. “It obviously went through developer Robert Powell, who created several phases of homeowners trying to Pavilions Shopping Center, Campus make it into something it wasn’t. Commons, Gold River and other high

“There was a layer of Asian end developments. Powell also built infl uence. Then someone did Tuscanthousands of local residences from the textured moldings.” The fl oors were 1960s to 2007. covered in white Berber carpet. “When “I wasn’t trying to go back to a purist you came in, you had to see past all of mid-century modern look,” Carter says. that—and see the bones—the beautiful “I wanted it to be more classic modern openness and all the light coming in.” so it would stand the test of time.”

Before Carter, who owns a She also did not want a “kitschy” look. Downtown technology consulting “There is no orange in this house.” To get started, Carter ripped out the

C R Berber carpet, replaced the carpeting on the second fl oor, scrapped the moldings and smoothed the wall texture. “The fi replace had a sloping design—which was original—so I squared that off to give it a more classic modern look.” By Cathryn Rakich A massive 15-foot-high front door Photography by Aniko Kiezel leads into the original wood-paneled OPEN HOUSE entryway accented by four elongated windows. The living room features an Pat impressive wall of nearly fl oor-to-ceiling

Renée Carter with her dog, Harry

windows with a sliding glass door to the front yard. “I purposely don’t have a television in here,” Carter says. “This is a place for good conversation. You can open everything up and it’s really lovely.”

Beyond the large living room windows is a front-yard swimming pool, a component of the original design. “It’s part of the ambiance of being in this room. It’s really relaxing to look out at water,” she says. At night, the pool lights up with “a beautiful Tahoe blue illumination.”

Part of the home’s charm is a small bar adjacent to the fi replace and next to a Dutch door—the top half swings open to the front yard. “I guess you can hand cocktails out to people swimming,” Carter laughs.

Scattered throughout the home is original artwork, including a polished stainless-steel sculpture by Sacramento artist Marc Foster. “When you are sitting in the living room, the other art is refl ected in it,” says Carter, who sits on the board of the Verge Center for the Arts.

Carter installed birch fl oors downstairs. But sunlight streaming in through the original windows turned the wood yellow. After installing UV-protected glass panes, she switched the fl oors to English oak. “They are easy to clean,” she says, which is important with her big dog Harry.

She replaced the steps on the fl oating staircase—another eye-catching feature— because they had been “carpeted and

re-carpeted so many times the nail holes were impossible to repair,” but kept the original steel supports.

“Thank goodness no one painted the stone work” behind the staircase, Carter says. “That would have been a tragic mistake.” The home’s smooth walls are painted various shades of gray, “which I think are calming.”

Carter gutted the galley kitchen and expanded the footprint by turning a full bath into a powder room. “There is no bedroom downstairs, so it didn’t make sense to have a double sink, shower, tub, the whole works. So I took space out of that bathroom to put into the kitchen.”

Kitchen cabinets and open shelving are a rich walnut. Countertops are black soapstone. Two square stainless-steel sinks—placed corner to corner—make an artistic statement. The island is topped with inch-thick glass. Backsplash tiles are by Heath Ceramics of Sausalito. The slate-like stone fl oors in the kitchen, powder room and hallway are by Blue Mountain.

Technically, the house has three bedrooms. Two guest bedrooms were divided by a plastic accordion door. “That was typical of the mid-century style,” explains Carter, who now enjoys one large open space—sans divider—as a sitting room-guest bedroom.

The generous master bedroom showcases another wall of windows with a sliding glass door to an outdoor balcony. “I love waking up to the light in the morning,” Carter says.

The formerly “hideous” master bathroom now features teak cabinets, side-by-side square vessel sinks and a freestanding soaking tub. The shower’s river rock fl oor compliments white subway tile walls.

The powder room has a black rectangle vessel sink nestled into a fl oating walnut cabinet. In the guest bath, “the sink, toilet and bathtub were all orange—and not in a good way,” Carter says. In their place are a large modern shower, wall-hung toilet and quartz countertops. The original cabinets were repainted. Carter kept the “fun stuff,” such as the cool chrome toilet paper holder and trash insert on the side of the cabinet, which are part of the home’s original charm.

The homeowner is quick to compliment contractor Ron Simms, “who cleaned up every single night before they left,” Carter says. “He had a whiteboard that said this is what we did today. This is what we’re doing tomorrow.”

Carter also enlisted the help of designer Macrina Rodriguez. “You have to work with someone who is a good listener. You have to fi nd the right person who understands your vision.”

To recommend a home or garden for Open House, contact Cathryn Rakich at crakich@surewest.net. More photography and previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n