PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 115 for a bit of personal solitude in the common area. Other popular additions include a powder room, storage near the entry point, built-ins and expanded lighting options. Whether renovating while honoring design intent, or treasuring original paneling and fixtures, many homeowners work to perpetuate the Eichler legacy. Safeguarding the aesthetic look reaches beyond the glassy walls of individual homes. Many Eichler enthusiasts seek to keep the authentic feel to their streets, preventing “McMansions” that tower over neighboring rooftops, blocking light, creating shadows and visual discord. ALL-IN WITH EICHLERS The Eichler Home Tour, staged five times since 2007, most recently showcased 12 Eichlers in San Mateo Highlands for its October 2023 event. Local Mid-Century Modern fans eagerly anticipate this rare-access opportunity and the chance to ask builders, architects and designers renovation and remodeling questions. Now known as the “Eichler Lady,” Monique hosted the kickoff VIP party for the 2023 Eichler Home Tour. After founding Modern Homes Realty in 2012, she continued to go all-in with MCM. She even poured her ample knowledge into a 2019 documentary, People in Glass Houses: The Legacy of Joseph Eichler, sharing history, ideology and the growing yen for MCM vibes. Her weekly podcast, “MidCentury Modernism with Monique,” hosts guest speakers ranging from architectural historians to journalists and interior designers. Eichler homes’ leitmotif—simplicity with proximity to nature and neighbors—often elicits the designation “dream home” from owners. They see Eichlers as personal havens offering daily space for breathing deeply, imagining and reframing life. “When I discovered Eichlers,” Monique reflects, “I found more of myself.” PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF DENNIS MAYER EICHLER - DID YOU KNOW? + Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak grew up in an Eichler. + Atherton and Hillsborough boast a handful of the largest, most creative Eichler homes. + Some Eichler designs are one-offs, customized for an end lot after the rest of the tract was built out. + Palo Alto, home to Eichler Homes’ headquarters, holds the record for the city with the most of these iconic houses at 2,700. + The largest contiguous Eichler grouping, 700 homes, was built in San Mateo’s Highlands between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s. Bigger lots there allowed construction of some Super Eichlers. + Two of Palo Alto’s Eichler neighborhoods, Green Gables and Greenmeadow, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. + At least 20 California developers imitated Eichler designs. They examined the “great for ’58” construction and updated it with double-pane windows and slim blinds to mute bright light and reduce interior temps. Count them fans of the “modern technologies that make these kinds of homes even more beautiful to live in.” Likewise, “committed modernist” Kristen fuses past and present in her Eichler remodels, where practicality supersedes the “time capsule.” Instead she asks, “What would Eichler and the architects who worked for him do today?” In her own 2,400-square-foot Super Eichler, she swapped the radiant heat system for new radiant heat while retaining the ground-to-roof glass, essential to a seamless indoor-outdoor experience. Kristen notes that the most common renovation is to open up original enclosed galley kitchens to the rest of the communal space and replace appliances with more efficient ones. She creates pockets
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