Eric and Tara Benning spent years searching for the perfect midcentury modern home to buy and renovate. They targeted Arden-Arcade, where midcentury moderns abound. But they were not alone.
When they found the beauty of their dreams, they learned there were at least nine potential buyers chasing the same property.
No weed survives to spread seeds another day in my garden. Tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers overpopulate kitchen counters and fill refrigerator bins in summer. I wander the yard daily, hand pruners ready, to deadhead and shape annuals and perennials. This must stop in 2022.
Not one to declare New Year resolutions, reassessing garden duties recently struck me as a necessity. Following a year of distracted gardening because of home remodeling projects, COVID chaos and minor health challenges, it became obvious I needed to reconsider how I garden.
Tony and Teressa Estigoy live with their daughter Emery in an adorable D Street remodel. It took serendipity to turn the tiny home into a showplace.
“We really wanted that open-the-door wow factor,” Tony says. “This is a 1,000-square-foot home. How do you make it look bigger without having to blow out walls? You open it up as much as you can.”
Crazy weather and alarming environmental catastrophes suggest Sacramento gardeners may want to rethink old school strategies and practices. What worked a few years ago does not necessarily guarantee success today.
Gardeners and plants have been forced to deal with smoke and ash from wildfires, unusually hot stretches of summer heat, milder winters and strict water conservation because of persistent drought. Not yet apocalyptical threats, but reason to tweak things in your favor.
Stroll up the walkway toward an enthusiastically red front door and you know there’s something fun and funky going on inside. The clue is five extra-large round panels, mounted along the exterior pathway, displaying 1950s artwork from a book on how to date, each with a chuckle-worthy caption.
That’s just a teaser of what’s to come. Get ready for an explosion of color, whimsy and humor decorating almost every square inch of this artfully wacky home.
Tony and Donna Natsoulas, both avid art collectors and mid-century modern enthusiasts, had their hearts set on a retro house when they stumbled upon this 1,563-square-foot Streng Bros. home built in 1963.
A self-described “bratty teenager,” Lori Ann Asmus saved her best attitude for houseplants.
“My mom was an avid gardener, but I really wasn’t interested in working with her,” Asmus says. “I would buy these little indoor plants and then kill them in short order by being uber-responsible, watering them every day, sometimes twice a day. I didn’t have success with houseplants until I went to college, where I didn’t have time to love them to death.”
All grown up, Asmus owns The Emerald City Interior Landscape Services. Chances are you have gazed upon her “interiorscapes” in Sacramento businesses such as The Citizen Hotel, Eskaton Village, and lobbyist, attorney and doctor offices. She designs and maintains indoor plants for mostly business clients
