When Tommy and Susan Poirier began thinking about the next chapter of their lives, they didn’t go searching for a smaller house. They wanted a different way to live.
For more than two decades, the couple lived on a sprawling property in Carmichael. Filled with gardens, the homestead stretched for nearly an acre. It was meant to be their forever place.
But time found a way to reshape their priorities.
“As the kids grew up and moved away, the house just became too much,” Susan says. “We loved it, but there comes a point where you realize you’re taking care of the property more than enjoying it.”
The decision to downsize didn’t come easily. Tommy, a retired physician, wasn’t eager to move. Susan, a retired nurse who became an artist, watched her aging mother struggle with leaving her longtime home.
The experience led to a new perspective.
“I realized older people have such a hard time moving because they don’t have time to make memories in the new place,” Susan says. “I wanted us to make that transition while we still had the energy and excitement for it.”
Cracked stucco and a paint color dilemma helped launch the journey.
The couple spent weeks testing paint shades on their old house. A friend suggested they visit a model home in Loomis to see a color scheme that might work.
“We walked into that model and didn’t even get past the entryway,” Susan says. “We looked at each other and instantly knew—this is what we need to do.”
The model home became the inspiration for the custom residence they built in Carmichael. But finding the right lot was difficult.
Determined to stay in Carmichael, Tommy studied parcel maps. The couple wrote heartfelt letters to property owners introducing themselves as “the Carmichael couple,” hoping someone might consider selling.
They hand-delivered about eight letters. “We got two responses,” Susan says. “One person was just curious. The other said they weren’t interested.”
One day their real estate agent mentioned an elusive parcel. Susan drove the neighborhood searching for the address without success. She figured the lot didn’t really exist.
Eventually she discovered a hidden private lane that led to the property, a secluded parcel surrounded by trees in a tiny enclave of about nine homes.
The couple was ready to buy a different property when fate intervened. Vacationing in Hawaii, they learned the owner of the hidden property had lowered the price.
They bought the lot remotely from Hawaii and began to plan their future home, hiring the architect connected to the Loomis model.
“We could feel the space because we had walked through the model,” Susan says. “You understood the ceiling heights, the proportions, the flow.”
Piece by piece, they customized the Loomis design to fit their Carmichael lives. The new home—just under 4,000 square feet with a detached 700-square-foot studio for Susan—was finished in 2015.
“We were both extremely hands-on,” she says. “Tommy handled the financial aspects. I focused on how everything would look.”
The architecture blends contemporary farmhouse style with a more contemporary interior. Despite the thoughtful design and elegant finishes, Susan believes the greatest feature is beyond the walls.
“It’s the neighborhood,” she says.
Along their small lane, longtime residents knew each other but rarely gathered socially. The couple changed that dynamic.
Since moving in, they organized neighborhood events such as “Pizza in the Pit,” casual evenings where neighbors gather among olive trees and share pizza, wine and appetizers.
From Memorial Day through Fourth of July, the lane is lined with roughly 250 American flags placed by neighbors who work in choreographed teams.
“It only takes about two hours now,” Susan says. “Everybody participates in some way.”
At Christmas, the neighborhood hosts luminaria displays lining the lane. Sense of community has become the couple’s biggest reward.
“We built around the oak trees,” Susan says, noting the property contains 29 mature oaks. “But really, we also built around a way of life.”
The home reflects not only thoughtful architecture and retirement downsizing, but the creation of something harder to design—connection.
“It’s funny,” Susan says. “You think you’re building a house. But what you’re really building is a life.”
Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. To recommend a home or garden, contact cecily@insidepublications.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
