Open House

It’s good to have friends. That’s what Dr. Patrick Browning came to embrace when he committed to the daunting task of designing, constructing and decorating his new abode. “I had this great complementary group of friends who each had their own skill set that was perfect for building this place,” Browning says.

Built in 1931 in one of Sacramento’s most celebrated neighborhoods, the brick Tudor exhibited a footprint typical of that bygone era.
The kitchen was small. The rooms were segregated. Storage space was scarce. But homeowner Katherine Bardis, who saw past the bright blue fuzzy carpet from a long-ago update, knew she could turn the two-story structure into a show-stopping place to call home. “The craftwork in the home was phenomenal,” Bardis says. “You could tell the bones had a lot of room for greatness. The house gave us a really good foundation to be creative.”She knows what she’s talking about. As co-founder of Bardis Homes, a company launched in 2012, Bardis is experienced in home construction, land development and interior design. She was born to the business. Her father Chris Bardis built thousands of homes in Sacramento and around the West.

“High and low” is how interior designer Elizabeth Lake describes her style for remodeling her two-bedroom, one-bath home in East Sacramento. For example, she replaced the cabinets on one side of the kitchen with inexpensive open shelving from IKEA. But in the dining room, she went big with a modern, statement-making crystal chandelier by Baccarat.
“Buy quality when necessary, but be smart about it,” says Lake. “There are places you don’t need the best of the best and places you probably do.”

Gerald Walburg is a gentle, unassuming man with an extremely large perspective on life. His multiple homes, backyard art studios and sophisticated gardens are proof. But nothing conveys this man’s vast talent for great endeavors more than his art—his really big art. Examples include the 40-foot-tall corten steel “Indo Arch,” installed in 1980 outside of Macy’s on the K Street Mall, and a striking bronze sculpture at the entrance of the Crocker Art Museum. While art lovers can access Walburg’s public creations at any time, the community now has the opportunity to view his private collection during this year’s Urban Renaissance Home Tour on Sunday, Sept. 23.

It is not unusual for people to stop in front of Carla Serra and Gary Ackerman’s home in Wilhaggin just to admire the corner lot’s lush landscape. Elegant Japanese maples dot a curving berm edged with decorative rock. Showy, colorful annuals and perennials, in varying heights and textures, take turns blossoming with each season. Grapevines twist up a white arbor that frames a stately row of windows, bedecking a comfortably appointed porch.