Architecture Wednesday: Restored Midcentury

I like this one because it’s Midcentury, because it’s in my old hometown, Sacramento, and because it was designed by local architect John Harvey Carter in 1968 for a family who went on to live there for fifty years. After hitting the market for the first time in 2020, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom 2,232 light-filled residence was restored and updated, with much of the original design still intact.

When you enter the home, you face the blue panel wall that shields the dining room from view. Down a hallway to the left is a sunken living room, anchored by a drop-down fireplace and features, not original, but appropriate, shag carpet, as well as floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a reflecting pool.

Yes, there’s a reflecting pool, ’all.

In fact, the formal living room, dining room, breakfast area, and family room all have stunning views of the side yard and the Zen courtyard reflecting pool. In addition to the courtyard, Carter was also influenced by other Japanese design influences, like the large overhanging eaves that shade the house from the California heat.

Past the dining room, with its own courtyard view, is the kitchen. Now, my one quibble might be the kitchen; while large, the double islands and overhead cabinetry, make it seem closed off in an otherwise incredibly open home. But, you know, a little remodel and the kitchen could still feel original.

Across from the kitchen, and across the reflecting pool from the living room is a more casual family room area. There are two bedrooms and a bath along one side of the home, while the primary suite and bath are along the other side.

I love the openness of the hose, and the quirky sunken living room; I also know the neighborhood where the house sits, and it is one of my favorites in Sacramento with large trees and wide lawns.

I think, and here’s another quibble, there’s no garage, that with a garage out front and with maybe a million or so in my bank account, I could really live in this house.

Dwell