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The vibrant iron and mahogany-hued exterior is enough to turn heads on a street full of houses in varying shades of white, but Mike and Lisa Ryan are laid-back about the design of their house; they weren’t trying to make a statement. For them, the house is just a reflection of long-held aesthetics and some budget considerations.
While the initial house-hunting goal was to find space for a growing family of four, the Ryans decided to build their own house in Belmont, working with local design build firm Latitude 38, owned by Jeff Erkelens. “When it was over, we said it was the biggest art project we’d ever done,” says Lisa.
The house has surprising details at every turn—artfully tangled light fixtures in the stairway, dark bathroom tiles that act as faux bathmats, ceiling panels of birch plywood on the main floor—but the most striking feature is the large, circular open doorway between the living room and the kitchen. “Because it’s open and such an angular house, this is a great, organic shape,” says Mike.
The main floor has quickly become the central nerve of the house: “We spend so much time down here that we sometimes have to force [the kids] upstairs,” laughs Lisa.—Lucy Kim
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Mike: “I’ve always wanted a modern aesthetic to a house, but wasn’t sure about how it would work in the context of this neighborhood. I mean, just today I saw a cyclist go past our house, then put the brakes on to get a better look.”
Lisa: “We expected it would stand out but we weren’t trying to be exhibitionists or anything.”
Mike: “My dad suggested buying a kit house a while back…I was entertaining the idea of something like that until I saw Jeff Erkelens’ house on sale on MLS…It was only on sale for about a day but it caught my eye. I called him, took him out to lunch—that was about two years ago. I basically wanted to know, what does it take to build that kind of house? She must have thought I was crazy.”
Lisa: “No, I didn’t think you were crazy. We thought that we would end up having to get a brick rancher and fix it up—then we realized that this was affordable and his aesthetic was attractive to us. The biggest thing we thought he’d nix was the circular doorway. I kind of had my heart set on it.”
Mike: “We used to be Dwell magazine subscribers and there was this picture of an old Chinese restaurant in San Francisco that a couple fixed up, but they saved the round doorway. We saved and scrap-booked that picture. When we brought it up with Jeff, I remember he just smiled and said, ‘I’m up for it. Every house needs a challenge.’ We thought it was cool enough to take one of our magic tokens.”
Lisa: “I was surprised by how much location makes a difference. We’re downtown, so we have access to the goings on in the city. Mike bikes with Gray or I’ll walk to the library with the kids. We’re more connected to the community and I feel like more of a city resident.”
Mike: “One thing I’m surprised by is the view. It wasn’t until later I realized we had views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Southwest Mountains, Montalto…We bought a flat piece of land and realized we’re at the top of the city. The best part is not the design, it isn’t the house, it’s living downtown.”