Willo and more

We walked to the Willo neighborhood open house this morning. It's a delightfully varied and well maintained area of modest-looking homes built during the 1930s and 40s. I've shown some photos before and here are a few more. The neighbors had an extensive street fair going, a trolley to shuttle visitors around the ten open homes, food and potties. All you could want.

The weather was clear and warming into the '70s. The most memorable home was extensively decorated with Mexican folk and contemporary art (Botero), European paintings and drawings, sculpture and more. The art work covered nearly every wall and, coupled with the paint treatments and vintage furnishings, gave the place a warm and intimate feel.

Another place, a modest Craftsman bungalow on the outside, had ballooned into a six-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath, 3800 square foot dormitory. This one was for sale and on display by the brokers. Price was down from $1 million a year ago to $750,000 or so this year. The work was very nice, except that they had installed laminate flooring throughout. At least it all matched.

Visiting a half dozen homes made for a lot of walking that made my right hip sore. Back home we rested a bit, then headed to Heather and Mark's to see their baby, Ula, and their great 1969 modern-style home. It's been on the Modern Phoenix homes tour and for good reason: they've done a superb job of furnishing and updating the home, while sticking with its spare style.

Here is a shot of Pamela's cousin Debbie with Ula, two photos of Willo homes, and pix of the interior of Ula's home. I'll post photos of the exterior in the future.