Arapahoe Acres

Home: Arapahoe Acres- for sale

It has been ages since I have photographed a home in our old neighborhood.  Arapahoe Acres, if you don’t already know, is the first post 1950’s neighborhood to gain historic status.  Once you see a few of the exterior and interiors of the homes, you will see why.  I have several homes highlighted in my Arapahoe Acres category.

This home has been owned and inhabited by a sculptor and his wife, an esthetician.  They have created a haven in their backyard and the home itself has so many unique features for an AA home.  A mud room/laundry and an attached garage are just a couple details that may only be appreciated by those of us who didn’t have these amenities.  Also, they blew insulation into their cinder block.  Huge!  I only wish we could move back.  We miss our MCM hood and home.

mid century modern exterior, yellow door, brick and wood

mid century modern yard

This yard is a haven. So green and lush.

mid century modern yard

small but mighty, these two adorned trees give much needed mid-summer shade.

mid century modern exterior, paint and brick

I am so drawn to the lines and scale of Mid Century Modern home.

mid century modern kitchen

I really like the creative way they kept the original ceiling while adding task lighting to the kitchen. bravo.

mid century modern bedroom

mid century modern bathroom, mosaic tile, mahogany bathroom vanity

This original mahogany below sink cupboard can be found in many, if not all, of the homes in Arapahoe Acres. I refinished ours. It is a detail worth saving or adding if your AA slanted cupboard has been removed.

mid century modern furniture and front room

mid century modern fireplace, brick fireplace

Someone Else’s Beautiful House

These are the after shots of my neighbors’ home. They added about 900 sq ft to their AA home and I think Chris Craver at C2 Architect did a wonderful job with the design. Lesley and Tim know what a cool house Ed Hawkins designed and built, they just needed a little extra space. Sometimes 900 sq ft just isn’t enough room for a modern family.
You know when you head downstairs in some 70’s ranch and find yourself in a wood paneled world of hell? Yes, we’ve all been there. When you see wood paneling done right it is so amazing. It sings. Makes me want to add reams and reams of wood paneling in our house. Ahhhh.

This is the original front room. You can see the stairwell on the right. This used to have waist high rod iron railing separating the living and family room. Now the family room is an extra bedroom. They also used this stairwell as a model for their’s.


The living room opens to the kitchen, as it always did. Minus the bar, which would have been smacking into my lens from this angle. Now the kitchen opens to the new family and dining room. The entire west wall of this room opens, thanks to a giant Nana Wall, to an expansive patio (still under construction, come on L and T keep lifting those pavers!) and kitchen garden. You can see Lesley and Tim at work here on their blog. There are probably a few before shots somewhere on there too.


Nana Wall.


Family and dining room looking in from the patio.


Kitchen with it’s green slider cupboards and the boy who lives here.

Decompressing

Ahhhhhhhhhh…………………….
The Home Tour is over!! It was a great success! We still are counting up the numbers, but I know we surpassed last year’s donation to the school by nearly double. Did you come? Did you enjoy it?
I heard lots of folks heading to their cars saying things like “That was the most amazing tour ever”. I’m so happy that people enjoyed Arapahoe Acres. Thank you to every homeowner who shared their home’s unique beauty and simplicity with the masses. I hope events like this will help to preserve this neighborhood. Could you imagine one of these homes being demolished? Oh, it would be a tragedy.
If you missed the tour and would like a commemorative book, they are still available here.

Now that the tour is over, I can concentrate on my own home. Some asked if we’d be opening our house this year. With a toddler making messes every time I try to clean one up, I knew we couldn’t do it. Not to mention the time it took to plan this event.
Now that the tour is over, I’m ready to make a to do list so our home can be a happier, more beautiful place. Our family room needs lots of help. I’m hoping to get it painted and maybe even do something with the floor (it has carpet remnants over painted concrete slab, any suggestions?). But then there’s the single paned casement windows that freeze over every winter. Oh and the mangy carpet in the kids’ rooms…. and have you seen our master bathroom? Ok, the list is eternal and funds are limited. Hopefully I can choose a few things that will make us happy without breaking the bank. A lot of the changes will seem like spring cleaning being done in the fall. I have my car’s trunk full of clothes to take to the donation center. Check!
This is how I decompress. Or is it? I know I’ll be looking for another project to distract me from cleaning my house. I really don’t like housework.

Home Tour 2010

The next Arapahoe Acres Home Tour is scheduled for Saturday, August 28th 1-5pm. Head over to the site for more information.

This is the latest home I was honored to photograph in the Arapahoe Acres neighborhood.

Young House- Arapahoe Acres Flagship Home

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I call this the “flagship home” simply because it is often the first home seen in Arapahoe Acres. Ironically it was one of the last homes to be built in the neighborhood. With its Asian lines and details, this home represents Hawkin’s influence from his trip to Japan.


The beauty and uniqueness to this home is not only in the architecture. The current homeowner is quite the collector, with vintage pieces carefully placed throughout the home. Beautiful paintings and even a vintage tube television add beauty and charm. Who would have thought that a pink sofa could look so good in this space?


I was struck by how all the furnishings and details of this home just sing. From the restored grass wallpaper to the copper fireplace to the cork floors, this home is a perfect example of a proper restoration. Being a 1950’s split level home, with the bedrooms and office on the south “wing”, allows the kitchen, living and dining room ample space. The home is small, as so many homes are in this neighborhood, and has two bedrooms upstairs a third on the lowest level along with a den.


The use of exterior materials on the inside of AA homes is prevalent. In the Young House, the window sills are exterior bricks, the ceiling planks extend to the patio outside. The brick on the fireplace is the same as found on the home’s exterior. I love that Hawkins used copper for many of his fireplaces, this was my first to see and photograph.

I am so happy to live in one of these beautiful homes and experience my neighbors’ living spaces. Thank you so much for allowing me to photograph them.