Design Philosophy
I spent hours looking at mid-century homes while growing up — on social media, driving around the Bay Area, any chance I got. When I moved to Orange County for college, I spent weekends driving through neighborhoods in LA and Orange County, imagining what it would feel like to create something that was visually and structurally amazing.
Square footage and bedroom counts are on every listing. These are the things that aren't, and they're what I notice first when I walk through a door.
How light moves through a house over a day matters more to me than its size. Clerestory windows, glass that faces the right way, rooms that feel different at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The best mid-century homes treat the garden as another room: an atrium, a wall of glass onto a patio, a floor that seems to continue outside.
I like being able to see how a house is built: the beams, the posts, the rhythm of the roof. Renovations that cover the structure up usually lose something.
Few hallways, no dead-end rooms, a kitchen that's part of the house instead of hidden from it. You can feel a good plan within a minute of walking in.
Low rooflines from the street and ceilings that open up where it counts. A house can feel generous without being big.
Wood, brick, and stone that look better with time, used simply. I'd take one honest material over three trendy ones.
Mid-century modern was designed in the 1950s and 60s for a specific era. The post-and-beam construction, the walls of glass, the integration with the landscape — it was revolutionary. But it was designed for a world that no longer exists.
What's missing if you were building these homes today:
The walls of glass that make these homes beautiful are also where they lose the most heat in winter and gain it in summer. Many original roofs are thin, flat, and lightly insulated, with the ceiling exposed right underneath.
How it's being solved now
These homes were designed for mild California weather, often without air conditioning. Hotter summers, smoky days, and wildfire risk in hillside areas ask more of them.
How it's being solved now
Mid-century homes were built around one household: two parents and young kids. Today a home may hold adult children, aging parents, a home office, or a rental unit.
How it's being solved now
These homes were built before central air, home networks, or rooftop solar. Exposed ceilings and thin walls leave few places to hide wiring.
How it's being solved now
Original materials have reached the end of their life, and some older ones, like certain floor tiles and insulation, can contain asbestos or lead paint.
How it's being solved now
The gap is what mid-century homes got wrong for today. This is what they got right: the features I'd bring into a home built now, and how each one changes.
Keepcarry it forwardUpdatesame idea, built betterRethinksame goal, new solution
Then
Posts and beams carry the roof, so walls don't have to, and they can be glass.
Now
The same idea, built to today's codes. It keeps walls free for glass and makes a plan easier to change as a family does.
Then
Floor-to-ceiling glass facing the garden, usually a single pane.
Now
Dual-pane, low-E glass, placed by which way the house faces and shaded by deep overhangs, so the view doesn't cost comfort.
Then
An open-air courtyard at the center of the house, entered before the living space.
Now
A private outdoor room on a tighter lot, bringing light into the middle of the plan.
Then
A band of glass high on the wall, letting in light without giving up privacy.
Now
Daylight deep into the house from a street-facing side that stays private.
Then
A kitchen that opened onto where the family actually spent time.
Now
Still open, with more storage, a pantry, and a door you can close on a home office.
Then
Wood ceilings and Philippine mahogany paneling, left natural.
Now
Real wood where you touch and see it most, used simply and sourced responsibly.
Then
Warm-water pipes cast into the concrete slab: quiet, even heat with nothing on the walls.
Now
Keep the quiet, even warmth where the system is sound, and add cooling, or a system that can be repaired without breaking up the floor, where it isn't.
Then
An open carport, part of the home's low, horizontal profile from the street.
Now
Keep the low profile, and plan for EV charging, storage, or a studio later.
This is the part of the page that grows over time. Right now:
Homes I've walked through and what they taught me. I'll add to this as I go. No addresses, just what's worth learning.
June 2026
Portola Valley
One of the best homes I've walked through, on a private tour. What I noticed first was the light: it pours into the house, and the hills fill every window. The wood is used beautifully throughout.
It changed how I think about lighting. Good natural light keeps rooms bright all day, without the artificial light that brings a room's mood down.
I became a realtor because I wanted to learn homes from the inside. Real estate is the fastest way to see how homes are priced, how they fail, what buyers actually want, and where the gaps are between what's built and what should be.
The long-term vision is a design-build practice — designing and building mid-century-modern-inspired homes for how we live now. Not replicas. Not period pieces. Homes that take the thinking of mid-century modern and apply it to today's problems: energy, climate, family, technology, density.
This site is where I document the journey. If that resonates with you, stick around.
Explore Eichler & mid-century homesThis isn't a side interest. It's how I look at every home, and it's why I'm a good fit if you care about design.
I tour homes looking past the staging and the listing photos.
Design-minded buyers notice the details. I make sure they see them.
Monthly notes on what I'm learning about homes, design, and Silicon Valley real estate.
