FOR THE LOVE OF EICHLER ARCHITECTURE
Eichler homes are examples of Modernist architecture that has come to be known as "California Modern", and typically feature glass walls, post-and-beam construction, and open floorplans in a style indebted to Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe.
Eichler home exteriors featured flat and/or low-sloping A-framed roofs, vertical 2-inch pattern wood siding, and spartan facades with clean geometric lines.
One of Eichler's signature concepts was to bring the outside in using
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skylights
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floor-to-ceiling windows with glass transoms
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patios
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atriums
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gardens
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swimming pools
Also of note is that most Eichler homes feature few, if any, windows facing the street. Those windows that did face the street where either small and set at ceiling-level windows or small rectangular windows with frosted glass. Many other architectural designs have large windows on all front-facing rooms.Rod Abdolhosseini Walnut Creek Realtor
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The interiors had numerous unusual and innovative features for the time such as
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exposed post-and-beam construction
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tongue and groove decking for the ceilings following the roofline
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concrete slab floors with integral radiant heating
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Philippine mahogany paneling (Luana)
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sliding doors for rooms, closets, and cabinets
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typically a second bathroom located in the master bedroom
Later models introduced the distinctive Eichler entry atriums, an open-air, enclosed entrance foyer designed to further advance the concept of integrating outdoor and indoor spaces.
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Eichler homes were airy and modern in comparison to most of the mass-produced, middle-class, postwar homes built in the 1950s. At first, potential home buyers, many of whom were war-weary ex-servicemen and women seeking convention rather than innovation, were resistant to the innovative homes.
