Open House

Home Cooking This love story starts in the kitchen By Cecily Hastings August 2022 Al Striplen was remodeling his Carmichael home in 2008 when he met his future wife Connie. While getting to know each other, Al invited Connie over for a visit. She walked...

When Susan and John Skinner purchased their 3,200-square-foot Carmichael ranch home in 1990, they knew they had a house with good bones.

“It had been built in the 80s by a builder for his own father,” Susan says. “It was solid. There were no cut corners.” The house also had deep political roots: The owner was a Capitol lobbyist who loved to entertain. The newly married couple saw the immediate potential.

“But the home was very dated inside with multitudes of conflicting patterned wallpapers and carpets. That was the first thing we changed,” Susan says. The Skinners installed oak hardwood floors, updated to a neutral carpet and added new neutral paint.

Third Time’s a Charm This couple’s Sierra Oaks home is just right By Cecily Hastings June 2022 Kellie and Jeff Randle’s housing history sounds a bit like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” The sprawling Sierra Oaks Vista home they lived in for 16 years...

Ann Huntsman made a bold, life-changing decision in 2017. Turning 80, she decided to uproot from Cupertino and move to Sacramento to be near her only grandchild.

“I had lived for decades in a two-story, six-bedroom Spanish-style home where we raised our family,” Huntsman says. “It was very traditional, a job to maintain, and I had accumulated years of possessions. But it was time for me to start again in a whole new style of living.”

Huntsman is a retired nurse and investor in health care technology. Her daughter and family live a mile away. She could not be happier.

The Woodside condominium complex in Arden is a hidden gem. It’s a gated community on Howe Avenue between Sierra Boulevard and Northrup Avenue, and features a park setting with mature trees and gardens. The 725-unit planned apartment complex was developed in the 1960s and converted to condominiums around 1980.

Homeowner Lyn Efken has been a resident since 1982, when she purchased a Woodside townhouse. After she retired as a speech pathologist and program administrator, she managed other Woodside properties for homeowners who rented their units.

Allyson and Rich Carlson are good at making and executing plans. When the empty nesters decided to downsize a couple years ago, they made a mutually beneficial plan with their daughter and son-in-law, then house hunting for their own family.

“When we decided to move from our large traditional bungalow in East Sac, we worked with them to find a home that could accommodate a newly built ADU in the backyard,” Allyson says.

In 2020, the young couple found a sprawling 1970s Arden ranch with a huge yard and pool. “It was perfect for what we wanted to do,” Allyson says. Her accessory dwelling unit plan was set in motion.