Open House

Gwenna and Dan Howard didn’t plan to move. They lived in a lovely, updated home Gwenna bought more than four decades ago. Dan moved in when they married more than 20 years ago.

The couple made many improvements over the years, even during the pandemic. “Dan owned a family steel company, and he kept his crews busy with the work on our home during the lockdowns,” Gwenna says.

But Gwenna liked to check Zillow for trends. When she saw the listing for a stylish Carmichael home on a bluff overlooking the American River, she was smitten. They went to the open house and realized the place was a hot property.

As a resident of Livermore, Kathy Nolan liked to visit Sacramento. When her daughter and family settled in North Natomas, Nolan felt the gentle pull to move closer to them.

Widowed and retired, she wasn’t in a rush. “My timeline was maybe five years out,” Nolan says.

But when a midcentury modern house in South Land Park hit the market, urgency struck. “I found it on Zillow and fell in love with it. There were multiple offers and luckily, I was the top bidder,” she says.

Driving down 42nd Street in East Sacramento five years ago, I noticed a home under construction that seemed less traditional and more like a modern sculpture.

I was impressed by the contemporary lines that integrated into the traditional Fab 40s neighborhood. Design details were captivating.

Last month, I finally toured this masterpiece and met the owners, Wes and Sonya Davis, and their architects, Paul Almond and Pam Whitehead of Sage Architects.

Vibrant and active professionals getting close to retirement, Jane and Jeffrey Einhorn weren’t obvious candidates for a big new home. Most of their friends are downsizing.

But when Jane saw the 4,560-square-foot home in Sierra Oaks Vista, she knew it was special.
“Everybody thinks I was crazy to move into such a large home at this time in my life,” she says.

But the home is perfect.

When Jennifer Mata-Tayamen and Mar Tayamen married four years ago, both were widowed for many years. They had six children between them and a large home in Elk Grove.

But East Sac kept calling. “My daughters attended St. Francis High School, so I was in East Sac frequently transporting them to and from school and to the homes of their friends,” Jennifer says. “The sense of community was awesome and quite different than Elk Grove.”

After house hunting for several months, the couple closed last year on an unusual home on 46th Street. Built in 1970, it was the newest house on a stately street. The design is modern compared to the Tudors and Spanish styles that surround it.

Over time, previous owners upgraded and added Craftsman details. They also liked a color that didn’t agree with the Tayamens. “The house had a lot of yellow, which we decided to change right away,” Jennifer says.