“It was not the home that offered us,” recalls Sean Steimle. “It was the yard.” Initially his wife, Stacey, believed this midcentury modern house — built in 1962 by Joseph Eichler — was uninviting. Iconic Eichler houses don’t have front porches or many street-facing windows, often appearing closed off. “But once I walked through the atrium and watched the glass wall into the backyard, I was hooked,” Stacey says. “It’s the essence of California living — that fantastic indoor-outdoor feeling. I really don’t think I could ever return to a home with traditional walls and windows.”
in a Glance
Who lives here: Sean and Stacey Steimle; puppies Scoop and Dibs, cat Sylvester and tortoise Rigor
Location: Fairhaven tract of Orange, California
Size: 2,301 square feet, lot size about 14,000 square feet; 4 bedrooms, two baths
That’s interesting: A frame that hangs on a wall at the Steimles’ living area was purchased by Stacey’s mum at a Bowers Museum sale roughly 35 decades back. “It’s said to have once belonged to the Segerstrom family and is made from cubes that they found on visits to the beach,” says Stacey.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
The home reminded Sean of the ranches and modern homes on cul-de-sacs where he grew up in Northern California. Palo Alto, California, programmer Eichler constructed most of his tracts from the San Francisco Bay Area, but in the early 1960s he ventured south into Orange County to build the Fairhaven, Fairmeadow and Fairhills tracts.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Many Eichler Homes include an atrium, which blends the exterior and interior, provides access to additional parts of the home and creates cross ventilation. Shade-loving plants grow well in Eichler atriums, as do succulents.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Additional Eichler hallmarks include post and beam construction, floor-to-ceiling windows, few walls and a seamless indoor-outdoor transition. As soon as the Steimles moved into the home, the first thing they did was remove the 1970s shag carpet and put in laminate floors.
Meet Scoop and Dibs, the Steimles’ Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers.
Laminate floors: St. James Collection, Westminster Rosewood, Lumber Liquidators
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Stacey works part-time as an antiques dealer with a space at Country Roads Antiques, and she outfitted their living room with various collected items. Two white canvas slipcovered chairs and a couch are accented with an assortment of aqua, red and yellow throw pillows.
The celebrity fixture and cubes on the table are from flea markets.
Pillows: needlepoints commissioned by Stacey, colours and prints from HomeGoods; java table: Country Roads Antiques, Orange, California
Lisa Hallett Taylor
A rug can help delineate a room in an open, in-wall inside.
Rug: Home Depot; hardwood floors, Lumber Liquidators
Lisa Hallett Taylor
The Steimles enlisted the talents of household friends Erin and Dan Benedict of Benedict August to design a few rooms at the home. Originally a dining room, this area is currently a living area with shelving that showcases an eclectic show of antiques, art, chairs and Stacey’s shell crafts. Stacey’s third great-grandmother painted the framed seascapes in her cottage on the cliffs in Laguna Beach.
Architectural pillar: Country Roads Antiques
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Eichlers were one of the first tract homes of this era to feature kitchen countertops that are available and available to adjoining rooms. The first cabinets are produced from Philippine mahogany, although the countertops are a heat-resistant artificial material. Pipes are painted and used as architectural components. Stacey applies lemon oil to the cabinets to keep their luster.
Green pottery: vintage McCoy, Bauer and USA
Lisa Hallett Taylor
In the dining area, a bull head in the antiques store is flanked by 2 vintage vertical deer prints.
Stacey found that the assortment of sea urchin shells in a yard sale. The birdcage and iron foundation came from a friend, although the green pottery on the antique washstand is Catalina and USA. A rug from antiques store, a farmhouse dining table and chairs from a flea market complete the look.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Dan of Benedict August installed bamboo surfacing on an existing low wall. The glass globe light fixtures are original to the house.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
This den/media room offers a view of the atrium, while as a enclosed area creates an indoor-outdoor feeling.
The wall letters are a flea market find, and the gold bust was inherited from Stacey’s grandmother.
Wall paint: Deep Maroon 0072 satin, Sherwin-Williams; sectional: Ethan Allen
Lisa Hallett Taylor
After viewing what the Benedicts failed with Dan’s train collection, the Steimles asked them to change Sean’s messy man cave into a sophisticated space to exhibit his vintage collection. Sean has accumulated G.I. Joe action figures since childhood, and has approximately 150 of them.
“I have one room,” quips Sean. “Stacey got everything else”
Wall frames and closet doors: grass fabric; paint: Hot Sun, Dunn Edwards; seat: Zuo Modern
Lisa Hallett Taylor
In the guest room, a vintage peacock chenille bedspread in pristine state is the centerpiece. Stacey has a group of peacock bedspreads located at flea markets and antiques shops in California, Ohio and Kentucky.
The enjoyable wallpaper was motivated by the 1996 movie The Birdcage. Erin Benedict’s mum, a decorator, found it to get Stacey about 10 decades back. Stacey enjoys its bold pattern.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
The couple’s remodeled master bedroom features a sliding glass door that exits to a large side yard. A distressed cabinet holds a DVR, while above it a health TV is mounted onto the wall.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
The few remodeled the toilet, expanding it in an existing room. The Aquatic two-person whirlpool bath has a custom-built stained alder wood surround with Jerusalem gold limestone. Stacey created the coral and shell jar accesories.
Paint colour: Medieval Gold 300D-6 satin enamel, Behr; light fixtures, wall candleholder: Crate & Barrel (no longer accessible); sink fixtures: Grohe; tub: Serenity, Aquatic
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Figuring out where to put the toilet was hard, but Sean and Stacey decided to put it from the narrow alcove, with glass to split the space. An 1880s-era painting hangs above.
The shower design opens up the space, flowing light into the commode area.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
The large yard and pool were both selling things for Sean and Stacey. Sean, a middle school physical education instructor, was a lifeguard in Huntington Beach when the couple met at a pool party in the early 1990s. Stacey, who’s an occupational therapy assistant, enjoys the ample area to work on agility training with the puppies.
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Classic metal lounge chairs on wheels lie on a concrete-slab terrace with an Asian-inspired gazebo constructed by Sean overhead. A neighbor gave the couple the vintage bird fountain, while Stacey purchased the wrought iron chaises in a garage sale around the corner.
Green wisteria and Japanese walnut add colour to the outside seating area.
Patio Home blocks: Home Depot; lounge cushions: Target (no longer accessible)
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Dibs patrols the yard close to a hanging midcentury modern outdoor wire chair. The Steimles found that the seat in excellent condition at a neighbor’s trash. Sean refers to it Captain Kirk chair, turning into survey his “ship.”
Patio settee: East Lake sling conversation set, Target (no longer accessible)
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Two vintage extra-wide lounge chairs — another one of Stacey’s flea market finds — nestle under the cantilevered eaves from the backyard. Eichler architects designed cantilevered overhangs to provide protection from sunlight and include a striking visual element to the backyard terrace. The cast-aluminum tortoise is from Country Roads Antiques.
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