Living in a Joseph Eichler: An interview with Michelle Sarjeant Kaufman

Joseph Eichler designed and built homes from 1950 to 1974.  He was a visionary in the post war housing boom.  His homes were post and beam structure, meaning they could have walls of glass.  This structure was unlike the more traditional homes being built at the time, which were supported by the walls of the house.  Eichler’s aesthetic was inspired by mid-century modern design and blurred the line between indoor and outdoor space.  Joseph Eichler was also a social visionary and built beautiful, well-made homes for middle class families. 

Eichler relied on efficiency and creative design to keep prices in an affordable range for middle class families.  He never sacrificed the quality of the materials to keep prices low.  Eichler also wanted his communities to be inclusive and diverse.  This was a very radical philosophy at the time, as segregation was still the norm throughout the country.  Eichler established a non-discrimination policy for his own company and offered homes for sale to anyone of any religion or race.

Today, Eichler has a cult like following, and since Marin has many Eichler homes, it is no surprise there are many local residents who see Eichler as an American treasure. One such resident is Catherine Munson who has been specializing in Eichler real estate ever since she went to work for Joe Eichler as his first female salesperson back in 1958.  Munson will be giving a lecture at the Marin History Museum’s History Center, located at 1026 Court Street in San Rafael, on March 12 at 6pm.  Munson will provide a unique glimpse into the life Joseph Eichler created and why it found such a strong footing in the American way of life.   

In honor of our upcoming lecture on Joseph Eichler, we have interviewed the museum’s own Executive Director, Michelle Sarjeant Kaufman, on what it is like to live in an Eichler home.

How long have you been living in your Eichler home?

We have lived in our current Eichler since 2007 but moved into our first Eichler in 2000. 

What made you want to live in an Eichler?

My husband grew up in an Eichler, so he was familiar with them.  I didn’t know much about them before we purchased our first one, but since then I have learned a lot!  They are very unique and can present some challenges when doing home repairs. 

What is your favorite part of this house/ community?

I love Joseph Eichler’s concept of the indoor/outdoor experience.  Typically when you come through the front door of an Eichler you can see through the living room and through the giant glass windows to the outside again.  The use of open living space and oversized windows exaggerates the blur between inside and out.  I also love the warm wood walls combined with the Japanese architectural influence.

Michelle’s living room.
 It shows the outdoor/indoor blending typical of Eichlers.    

Our neighborhood is entirely Eichler houses with a combination of original owners from the late 1950s and others are new young families.  It’s a really wonderful mix of people – all of whom “speak Eichler.”  When we were making changes to our house it was nice to be able to talk with neighbors and friends about the idiosyncrasies of owning and modifying an Eichler.  We also learned a lot about how the houses were originally built and why.  

This is an image of the only remaining pair

of original closet doors in Michelle’s house.  

Note the shoji styling and the grass mats

 Eichler particularly liked.

Have you made any updates to the house?  If so, how have you kept the spirit of Eichler designs in your renovations?

Many changes had been made to our current Eichler by the time we purchased it, so we spent a year or so retro-fitting it.  For example, we pulled off the mahogany wood panels that had been painted and replaced them with new panels.  We also rebuilt the dividing wall between the kitchen and living room according to the original specs. We also put in cork floors – which have saved more than one glass from breaking!  More recently we built closet doors that embody the style of the originals although we modified them a bit.  Specifically, the originals included grass mat material, but over time the grass mats fade and show wear, so we used mahogany panels and ended up with a more durable, but similar, look.

      

 
This image also shows how long and narrow
Eichler hallways are- half the space is the
depth of the closet itself! 

Has living in an Eichler house affected your design aesthetic?  

If so, how?

I grew up with a more traditional house aesthetic, Victorian and English Tudor, so moving into an Eichler was a big switch.   But the Contemporary Modern look is easy to adjust to and I was happy to embrace it because it meant de-cluttering our lives.  Eichlers don’t have a lot of storage – not only are there few closets, but they have flat roofs without attics and are built on cement slabs so basements are nonexistent.  As a result you have to be pretty circumspect about what you own because almost everything is on display!  This has been very handy with kids because the architecture itself demands a certain amount of self restraint.  As a result have to carefully consider what we keep and what we give away as they get older.