September/October 2014 Omaha Home

September/October 2014

Always Local, Always Beautiful

The Best View

in Omaha

At Home With Christina Mackiewicz and Scott Kroeker

DIY The $5 Fire Pit Going With the Flow

Architect Jack Savage’s Missouri River Home

Florence Boulevard “Fixer-Upper” omaha magazine • september/october 2014 omaha magazine • july/august 2014

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September/October 2014 VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 5

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september/october • 2014

OmahaHome: contents

september/october 2014

features

departments

H16 Walk of Life

Heirloom Plants, Heirloom Traditions

H23 Restoration Exchange

Uniting Omaha in the Battle for Historic Preservation

H7 Editor’s Letter H8 History

Florence Boulevard “Fixer-Upper”

H16 Going With the Flow

H12 DIY

H36 The Best View in Omaha

H14 Architectural Styles

Architect Jack Savage’s Missouri River Home At Home With Christine Mackiewicz and Scott Kroeker

The $5 Fire Pit Art Deco Gem

H24 Home Décor Makeover Shabby Chic Redo

H30 Neighborhood Profile Legacy: Lakeside Luxury in West Omaha

H42 Room

Outdoor Living Jewel

H44 Hot Products

Boo! Time to scare up a little Halloween fun.

H46 Transformations

Bring Nature Indoors

september/october • 2014 H5

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H6

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september/october • 2014

WE CARE ABOUT YOUR HOME

OmahaHome: from the editor

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"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." garage doors

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ORG E OUS L E AV E S, SHORTER DAYS, cooler

weather, warm soup, thrilling football, cozy sweaters, and sitting by a campfire. All the little joys we get living in the Midwest this time of year.

Many people in Nebraska look forward to the cooler temperatures of autumn. For me, this time brings to mind childhood memories of going back to school. I couldn’t wait to get all my new school supplies and clothes, and then later in life helping my three children prepare for school. Later in life… Yikes. Now I’m helping my youngest daughter, a junior in college, move into the next stage of life—moving into her very first apartment. How exciting for her! We all remember how fun it is to make our first place a home away from home. But, maybe she’ll miss home just a little? I’d like to think a little touch from mom—a few little special things made just so—can give her the feeling of that warm sweater in the autumn air.

We all have things we send along that we are not using or even help purchase some furnishings for them, so I figured why not kill two birds with one “feather” and make this issue’s Home project my contribution to her new place? For any of you that just enjoy a simple project on the weekend and want a quick little makeover, reviving an old piece of furniture (that’s maybe waiting for the next load to Goodwill?) with paint and stencil work might be right up your alley.

Or as the weather gets colder, bring some warmth into your home with some fall colors!

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september/october • 2014 H7

OmahaHome: history feature by lindsey anne baker • photography by sarah lemke

100 Years and Counting

Florence Boulevard “Fixer-Upper”

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I

N 1914, THE STATELY home at 6129 Florence Blvd. was brand new. Built by Laura D. and Edward Cackley, owner of Cackley Bros. wine and liquor house, it was a Prairie Style home for its time, brickwalled, hipped-roofed and tucked alongside what was known at the time as the Prettiest Mile in Omaha.

The home changed hands frequently over the years, and by 1935 it was the home of U.S. Senator Edward R. Burke.

By 2010, 6129 Florence Blvd. wasn’t quite so brand new. > september/october • 2014 H9

OmahaHome: history feature

Historical reenactor Thom Wood is shown above in the guise of Col. Henry Leavenworth, the role he plays at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park.

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< “When I drove up to it,” says Thomas Wood, “I looked at the listing and thought, ‘Is this the right address?’ The front door was a slab. There was no heating or air-conditioning. The plumbing was shot. A lot had to be done. Everything had to be done.”

So Wood bought it.

“It had Thom Wood written all over it,” he adds.

In July that year, Wood’s 18-year-old son, Eddie, was killed in Afghanistan. Eddie had been home on leave in June; Wood went with him to the airport on June 30. On July 5, U.S. Army officials came to Wood’s door with the news.

A former contractor, Wood was an auto dealer at the time. He’d been living in an apartment and had been considering buying a condo. He’d restored old homes in the past and swore he’d never do it again—he’d sold his tools to prove it.

But Eddie is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in North Omaha, and Wood wanted to be close. The home seemed like a project he could “kind of do on the side,” something he’d work on for six months or a year as a way to clear his head.

The day after he bought the house, Wood started working on the garage and roof,

which had both collapsed. Later, snow and ice were blowing in through the house’s 60 windows. It took a couple of weeks to get the heat up and running. Wood “just kind of camped out” inside.

He gutted whole parts of 6129 Florence Blvd. He restored it from the inside out.

Today, the house’s floor plan is the same as it was 100 years ago. The entryway offers two doors—one to the family living area and one to a business office, where Edward Cackley probably met with clients and where Wood does his own office work today. The oak molding in the office—which had been walled off when Wood bought the house—was gone, and was also missing in places in the front family room. Wood rebuilt it. The pale wood floor, which Wood was once advised to replace entirely, is mostly original.

He preserved a large mantle in the front room and a built-in sideboard in the dining room as well as built-in shelves in the sunroom, some of which he moved into the office. A three-season porch off the dining room—still as it was when Wood bought the house—lets in ample light.

In the kitchen, Wood created new built-in cabinets with sides that extend from the walls, offering the illusion of individual pieces of

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Upstairs is the master bedroom, Wood’s daughter’s bedroom, his second son’s bedroom, the master bath and a sewing room.

Wood, a longtime historical reenactor, makes period clothing—for himself, his daughter (who sometimes joins him for reenactments) and for other enthusiasts. He portrays Col. Henry Leavenworth at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park.

“In Omaha,” he adds, “people tend to think a house is something you buy and then use it up and get rid of it. But if it’s taken care of and fixed, it can last indefinitely. You’ve got to stick with it.”

As for Wood, he’s sticking with 6129 Florence Blvd.

“I like it here,” he says. “The front door is squeaky. But a dog has to have some fleas to be reminded it’s a dog. An old house has to have squeaky doors. But it’s a solid thing.” OmahaHome

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OmahaHome: d.i.y. by robert nelson • photography by keith binder

The $5 Fire Pit

A Little Web Surfing…A Lot of Muscle

M

Y QUEST FOR FIRE began

with a quick perusal of Craigslist. Nothing free that day, but in the “materials” section, I found limestone offered for essentially free: “$10 a truckload.” My mostly shelled-out 1997 Chevy Tahoe can haul some rock, so I called the number.

The fellow had a pile from an old building foundation in the back corner of his sprawling salvage lot a little north of the old Stockyards. When I arrived, he opened his gate and directed me about 100 yards back to a weed-covered pile of rock and dirt about 100 feet from railroad tracks.

It was heavy work loading the rock. We negotiated a deal: Since my Tahoe didn’t haul as much as a half-ton, I got each load for $5.

I hauled four loads. The retaining wall I was building used three loads. The firepit only required one of the loads of rock.

So, this is a $5 fire pit. If you keep a sharp eye on Craigslist and are willing to do some heavy lifting, you could easily build your own fire pit for free. For me, the hunt for the rock was an adventure. Also, I’m cheap. I love a good deal. And this is perhaps the best deal I’ve ever landed.

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september/october • 2014

• After hunting down and hauling the rock or bricks you desire, determine the size and location of your pit. I used the round top of our outdoor table as a template.

Its 5-foot circumference seemed about right. When picking your site, make sure you’re not too close to structures or trees.

It’s a fire, after all.

• Dig a circular pit about 12 inches deep.

I filled my pit with about two inches of white limestone gravel. Once I leveled everything, I lined the pit with firebrick I had picked up earlier for—you guessed it —free on Craigslist.

• Here is the hard part, depending on how uneven or mismatched your limestone chunks are. Although fairly substantial with an interesting texture and color, my blocks were varying heights and widths. It may take you several tries to get your two or three layers of stones even (or relatively so) and secure.

• Finally, go back to the “free” section of Omaha Craigslist. There’s almost always somebody offering free firewood somewhere in the city. OmahaHome

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september/october • 2014 H13

OmahaHome: architectural styles by david williams • photography by bill sitzmann

Art Deco

Celebrating the Machine Age

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HIS BEGINS A NEW series in OmahaHome magazine where we tour the city looking for great examples of different architectural genres.

Our first entry is this Art Deco gem on the corner of N. 53rd Street and Country Club Avenue owned by Janice Snyder, who grew up in the home. It was built in 1933 by the Jaycees as “The House of Tomorrow,” a showcase of modernity at a time when Art Deco was at the apex of its popularity.

The design style was born in France in the years following WWI and later became popular in the states before waning by the end of WWII.

ART DECO FIELD GUIDE

• The main distinguishing characteristic of Art Deco is a streamlined vibe boasting vivd geometric patterns and often lavish ornamentation.

• Almost all homes in this style feature a flat roof, but they are not to be confused with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School of design that was popular at the same time.

The eclectic style may also be differentiated from Art Nouveau in that it embraces a less organic, more Machine-Age celebration of technology.

• Note the “stair step” means of connecting the garage to the main structure.

This home was built in the same year that King Kong scaled a similarly stairstepped building in New York City that had opened just two years earlier.

• Art Deco homes often—as this example certainly does—evoke a sense of

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movement. Think here of the sleek ocean liners and gleaming trains that also borrowed heavily from this style in an era when the promise of technological and social progress seemed limitless.

• Quiz Time: What element is out of place in this picture? The shutters were a later add-on and are not true to the Art Deco aesthetic.

• Commercial examples of Art Deco (think Empire State Building or Chrysler Building) pulled out all the stops when it came to embellishments, but most residential examples of the genre were decidedly more reserved. The subtle striping atop the chimney and at the rear of the home is just the right touch to accent the clean lines of this 81-year-old landmark. OmahaHome

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OmahaHome: feature by jennifer litton • photography by bill sitzmann

Walk of Life

This garden keeps family tradition alive by showcasing an array of heirloom plants.

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W

E ALL HAVE THAT one special rela-

tive in our lives whose powerful influence forever alters our being. Whether it’s an eclectic taste in music or a fondness for French Impressionism, that enthusiasm is contagious and makes us all unique in our proclivities. > september/october • 2014 H17

OmahaHome: feature

< In the case of Terry Price, whose decadent Fairacres garden was one of six featured in the 2014 Munroe-Meyer Garden Walk, that one person was her Great Aunt Ruby Hall.

“She was an old maid, as they say, school teacher in Boone, Iowa,” Price says. “We always loved her gardens.”

So when Aunt Ruby reached the ripe age of 82 back in 1987, she gifted her famous gardens, plant-by-plant, to Terry and her husband, Tom. “We were ecstatic beyond words. We took the two cars we had, a station wagon and a Honda Accord, and the two kids. There was barely enough room for us to sit in the cars to get back,” Terry says.

She describes an old photo of her Aunt Ruby. “She’s standing at the back of the station wagon. You can see it’s just loaded with plants. And she’s kind of waving. It’s cute.”

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To prepare for the transfer, Aunt Ruby helped Terry and Tom compile a chart describing each plant. “We sat for the longest time one afternoon. You know, here’s a Phlox. It likes sun. They get tall. There’s pink and purple and white.”

They also received some plants from other relatives, as well. “I think the fact that there are family plants in here make it really special,” says Tom. Nebraska’s clay-like soil posed a problem at first. So they took a tip from one of their horticulturist friends by adding playground sand on top of the garden. > september/october • 2014 H19

OmahaHome: feature

< Nearly 30 years later, and thanks to the sand and decaying mulch, their soil is win good shape.

“It’s amazing,” Terry says, “how a grain of sand can work its way down through clay.”

Their garden features an intoxicating array of peonies, hostas, phlox, coral bells, sedum and daisies. Let’s not forget lady’s mantle, astilbe, hydrangeas and several ornamental trees. The list of species is endless, and those who are lucky to visit are treated to a gardener’s delight.

The Prices add their own surprising touches, like an old gate from a bank purchased at an antique store. A piece of a broken clay pot planted on its side peeks out from the soil like a Roman ruin. Their walkway features a bit of Omaha history with cobblestones and pavers from the Jobber’s Canyon historic district in the Old Market.

The Garden Walk is hosted annually by the Munroe-Meyer Guild, a group whose mission is to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities through fundraising for the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute.

The Price’s passion for gardening is simple.

“It’s just nice to be outside and dig in the dirt,” Terry says. “The old commune-withmother-nature-thing.” OmahaHome H20

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september/october • 2014 H21

OmahaHome: feature by lindsey anne baker • photography by bill sitzmann

Restoration Exchange Uniting Omaha in the Battle for Historic Preservation

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september/october • 2014

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Thanks for voting us Best of Omaha 2006-2014 ALFWAY THROUGH MY CON V E R SAT ION with

Kristine Gerber, she says two words that sum up why we’re here.

“Buildings matter,” says the founding executive director of Restoration Exchange Omaha, a local architectural preservation and restoration organization.

It’s a simple sentence. And for Restoration Exchange, a solid foundation.

Established a year ago, Restoration Exchange Omaha is a sort of united front formed by several groups of people who believe, as Gerber does, buildings matter.

One of those groups was Landmarks Inc., formed in 1965 to try to save one of the city’s historical post offices. It didn’t save the building, but it did go on to successfully advocate for the preservation of many Omaha spaces, including Union Station (now the Durham Museum), Joslyn Castle, and the Dundee Theater. A second group was Restore Omaha, of which Gerber was one of the founders.

A partnership of architects, city planners, and preservation professionals and enthusiasts, Restore Omaha acted as a resource for people restoring historic homes around the city. And a third association, the oneman-run Omaha Urban Neighborhoods, brought Vince Furlong, a longtime advocate for the revitalization of Omaha’s business districts, on board.

“We decided we’re all small and we all know each other and we all know what’s not happening,” Gerber says. “There was no one out there advocating, trying to get changes made to laws. We needed to merge and form one preservation force, and we did that with Restoration Exchange Omaha.”

Together today, they’re a super-group.

Restoration Exchange fights for city buildings with the spirit of Landmarks Inc., including involvement in a recent battle to keep the midtown Omaha Clarinda-Page apartment buildings’ landmark designation—and thus, the buildings—intact.

It connects homeowners with restorers and craftspeople who specialize in the intricacies of old buildings—plaster and tile roofing and finicky windows. The annual Restore Omaha Conference, originally a Restore Omaha project where home-lovers

and restorers could meet and make connections, was staged again this year under the Restoration Exchange umbrella.

And the group hosts neighborhood tours, like the ones Furlong led along old streetcar stops via Omaha Urban Neighborhoods, in an effort to introduce Omahans to their city.

Furlong still leads tours along North and South 24th streets and Vinton Street. On Oct. 5, the five-hour Florence Boulevard/Minne Lusa Neighborhood and Preservation Tour will take a look at 11 homes, as well as the Minne Lusa House and Miller Park Pavilion.

For more on one of the featured homes, see the story on page H10.

“When Florence Boulevard first started to form, it was kind of the place to live,” Gerber explains. “People would take their Model T’s and go and drive the boulevard. People would sit on the porch stoops and visit. If you had a house on the boulevard, you had made it. But those homes, over the years, fell into disrepair.”

The homes on the tour, Gerber said, are all owned by “people who’ve gone in and said we need to save these buildings.”

That kind of saving can be intimidating.

Gerber says she introduces homeowners considering restoration projects with Restoration Exchange volunteers who’ve already restored homes to talk them through the process.

Restoration Exchange can also help homeowners apply for landmark status, if applicable, to qualify for tax credits.

“We want to make the whole process easier because our whole goal is to get these great old homes restored and preserved and back on the tax rolls,” Gerber says.

Not every venture Restore Exchange undertakes is successful—the Omaha City Council on July 1 voted unanimously to revoke the Clarinda-Page apartments’ landmark status.

But still, buildings matter.

“Old homes are your sense of your history,” Gerber says. “Think of the old homes you had as a kid, the memories and character. Plus, the craftsmanship that was used years ago was so well done—we can’t build homes like they did. Rather than take that away, we want to save our history from the demolition pile.” OmahaHome

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402.718.9408 september/october • 2014 H23

OmahaHome: home decor makeover by sandy besch-matson • photography by bill sitzmann

SUPPLIES:

Ordinary Meets Extraordinary

• An old piece of wooden, painted furniture • Paint (two colors) • Two additional craft colors for the feather on the door • Top coat • Sandpaper • Stencil

in the Shabby Chic Redo!

D

ISTRESSING IS EVERYWHERE YOU look anymore.

Don’t be distressed: There are tons of tutorials on how to do the job if you need a little help.

This project gives you the chance to look at what is in your basement or garage in a completely different light. Certainly, it’s a chance to make a dusty wallflower into something worthwhile again. I decided this little gem (collecting dust in the garage) needed a new look and a new space!

after

DIRECTIONS:

1. Find any wooden piece of furniture you have on hand, or pick up an inexpensive piece at a thrift store or garage sale.

2. Sand it down with sandpaper.

3. Paint it the base color, because whatever base you paint first will be the color coming through once you sand off the top color (give this color some thought).

4. Paint the top coat using a latex satin paint. I painted a second coat and let that dry overnight.

5. Take a sand block with fine-grit paper and sand only in the areas you want the base coat to show through. If you take too much off, repaint and sand again.

You can choose to show as little or as much as you like.

H24

september/october • 2014

6. Take a stencil (I chose a peacock feather) and apply that to the cabinet doors. I went with three colors.

7. I chose to use gold as my first color. Then I waited for that to dry a bit and moved the stencil just enough to where I could stencil in another color in smaller areas.

8. Wait for that to dry and then go with a shiny topcoat to seal and protect and give it a nice shine.

I decided to go with colors and a design that I thought my daughter would like.

You’ll want to let your own imagination run wild when designing your own project.

When you’re finished, you have something absolutely unique and personal to cherish for years to come. OmahaHome

before

Granite: White Thunder

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september/october • 2014 H25

OmahaHome: feature by robert nelson • photography by bill sitzmann

Going with the Flow

Noted architect Jack Savage’s unique home on the Missouri River has been a long-time work in progress.

S

OUTHEAST OF TEKAMAH, NEB., Jack Savage

savors a chunk of watermelon as he peers out over the Missouri River from his picture window. Prairie grass and sapling cottonwoods undulate in the foreground. Just above eye level, purple martins flitter around a Colonial-style birdhouse. That roiling, fickle river flows deceptively placid through the middle ground. Farmland and a stand of mature cottonwoods in the riparian plain of Iowa take the eye to the Loess Hills far beyond. >

H26

september/october • 2014

september/october • 2014 H27

OmahaHome: feature

< This is a vantage point he designed more than two decades ago and, with occasional help from Nature, one that has been evolving ever since. The noted architect, arguably the biggest single influence on the skyline of Omaha, designed his dream home in his dream space fully expecting that Change would visit.

Retired now, Savage’s more than half-century career helped nudge Omaha from bigshouldered market town to budding metropolis. Woodman Tower, Omaha Douglas Civic Center, ConAgra Twin Towers, Union Pacific Headquarters, the Mutual of Omaha Dome Addition. He’s had a hand in dozens more iconic structures. In 1975, Savage even led the groundbreaking renovation of the Orpheum Theater.

Drive the lonely gravel road for several miles from Highway 75, wind in through cottonwoods along the river and you arrive at a structure that, knowing some of his groundbreaking work, is almost anti-climactic at first glance. It looks like a farmhouse with common ag-land out buildings.

The mastery is in the details, for one, in the crafted open-space livability and flexibility, absolutely paramount in Savage’s mind when he thought of his ideal living space. Openness.

Light. Views in all directions. A connection to this land, now a federally designated conservation easement. A place he could decorate in tune with his wildly eclectic tastes and penchant for whim buys and new hobbies.

H28

september/october • 2014

This is not a modern masterpiece of design.

It’s a place that fits this particular guy and his peculiar menagerie of interests.

“When you’re younger, you’re trying to make your name and impress people with new things and bold ideas,” he says. “I wanted a Nebraska feel here, something comfortable that fit this place and fit me. I don’t have to impress anyone out here. It’s just my little corner of the world.”

Eclectic and evolving. Early on, Savage went on a bit of a salvaging binge. The carriage house brags a cupola from a fallen barn, for one. Most notably, perhaps, visitors pass through the dark oak doorway and dual coat closets that once graced the entry to the law offices of William Jennings Bryan.

Next to the small antique table where Savage eats his breakfast sits both a banjo and a ukulele. The furniture throughout the house comes from myriad design eras. Look closely, though, and you realize many of the pieces (and works of art) could just as easily be displayed in a museum.

His reading chair, which also looks out over the river, is surrounded by books that range from beginning music guides to the grand tomes of literature. Currently, Savage says, he is using the solitude of this perch to “try to figure out” Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. “I think I’m getting some of it,” he says sheepishly.

“There’s a big difference between solitude and loneliness,” he says. “Solitude is peace.

This is my place of solitude.” As part of that solitude, Savage has cultivated a preserve.

“With that Conservation Easement designation, this will be a lovely habitat for birds, animals, and fish forever.”

This refuge, both for the architect and fauna, was always designed to evolve. It weathered the great flood of 2011. (The house stayed dry. The road to the property had to be rebuilt, utilities restored. Savage still is chain-sawing downed and dead trees). The work has had unintended benefits, he says.

“You haul a chainsaw around a lot, you get in shape.” (Savage even whips out his bicep for his guest. Pretty dang buff for an 83-year-old).

A side room designed as a small theater has morphed into a first-story bedroom. He has increasingly lost interest in television. At the same time, he wanted a sleeping space on the first floor. He has reconfigured several spaces for the enjoyment of his grandkids.

His favorite space all along, though, has been the picture-window view of the river.

Savage even purchased land across the river so “it couldn’t become a dump I had to look at." When he first saw this piece of land while hunting back in the late 1980s, this spot was where he imagined himself at sunset reading a book, ham-handing a new instrument, or chewing on concepts of space/time.

“I love it,” he says. “Lovely solitude. It just feels right.” OmahaHome

KAREN JENNINGS

Standing Tall For You!

Top Producing Team [Jennings Team] in 2013 Top Individual Producer for

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Bel Air Plaza #704, 12100 W Center Rd. september/october • 2014 H29

OmahaHome: neighborhood profile by jennifer litton • photography by sarah lemke

H30

september/october • 2014

Living a Legacy Lakeside Luxury in West Omaha

O

N A HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION website

tucked away under the seventh tab marked “Contact Us” is an innocuous picture of a United States Postal Service van making its first mail delivery in 2008 to a new neighborhood in postal zip code 68130. >

september/october • 2014 H31

OmahaHome: neighborhood profile

< Six years later, the mailman delivers letters to some of Nebraska’s most important movers and shakers. Fortune 500 CEO’s, an NFL football star, and top doctors live along tree-lined boulevards and winding cul-de-sacs in the area known as Legacy. It’s a luxury community located at South 173rd Street just off West Center Road.

A proximity to all that is grand gives Legacy residents a taste of the good life, whether they fancy a lakeside stroll or a spin through a shopper’s paradise.

The tranquil, yet inviting area, all roughly 70 lots of it, was once home to a H32

september/october • 2014

grand mansion nestled among 100 wooded acres belonging to Crossroads developer John A Wiebe.

It’s not a stretch to say that Wiebe left his own legacy, the gift of nature’s beauty in the form of trees and a lake, to the future residents of Omaha’s Legacy neighborhood.

“He had his own private airstrip and his own private lake, so we benefitted from the pre-existing, dammed lake,” says the president of the Legacy Homeowners Association, Greg Scaglione. “He also planted all of these trees on the perimeter of his lot, so we benefitted from that” as well.

Scaglione appreciates the privacy and beauty that the older trees provide. “The beauty of having those existing 20-year-old trees to then build your house behind, you don’t really have that in Omaha that frequently.”

He also points to the interesting design created by developer Jeff Johnson of the Cormac Company. “Professional office buildings are contiguous to our neighborhood. That’s the way the developer wanted it. It’s called high density,” he says. “Once you get on the other side of the hill, you don’t see any of that. You don’t see Life Time Fitness. You don’t see

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West Center Road. You don’t see the office buildings. It’s like all of a sudden you’re in this little community.”

The Wiebe Reservoir is a popular spot for fishing, and bass, bluegill, and crappie are stocked by the association. “The neighbors are very engaging. You’ll go down to the lake and there will be families fishing.

The whole family is out there with the rods and reels,” he says.

The residents meet annually at a pot-luck picnic by the lake. But impromptu gatherings happen frequently. “Everyone is very welcoming. There’s a lot of parties,” Scaglione says. >

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OmahaHome: neighborhood profile

< With the neighborhood’s proximity to Zorinsky Lake and its trails, it is not uncommon to spot wild turkeys, deer, and the occasional butterfly or two. But should you decide to walk just a few minutes toward West Center Road, you can snag a Venti Latte from your favorite barista.

“The uniqueness of the neighborhood is that you feel like you live in the country amongst trees,” says Sallie Elliott, a Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Ambassador and a Legacy resident. You live away from the city, but you can walk to Starbucks. You’re within two minutes of everything. You can walk everywhere.” She enjoys dining at Baby Blue H34

september/october • 2014

Sushi Sake Grille and frequents her favorite design store, Pearson & Company, located in the adjoining Shops of Legacy, an area of high-end specialty stores. “It has unique furniture accessories for staging, new construction, and my personal home,” the real estate professional explains.

Elliott says the spacious acre-plus lots at Legacy are unique to Omaha. “There’s a mix of styles in the neighborhood, from Mediterranean to French to more contemporary lines.”

The homes, all upwards of $1 million properties, vary in construction between brick and stone. “Real stone is classic and timeless,”

Elliott says. “I’ve mixed stone and brick to try to be more classic.”

As a testament to the area’s thriving development, Scaglione says there are only two or three available lots left. CEO’s of Omaha, take note.

Elliott’s favorite part of living at Legacy is walking along the Zorinsky trail and seeing her neighbors. “Everybody’s out walking.

With a big lot like this, you are separated from your neighbors and you don’t see them as much…unless you’re out walking.”

Legacy Homeowners Association Secretary Clay Cox says that he loves the great schools and opportunities available in the area.

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“My son started working at Immanuel’s Pacific Springs Retirement Community when he was 14, and it has been a wonderful opportunity for him to learn responsibility and the value of a dollar and the value of hard work.”

He also appreciates his neighbors. “We watch out for each other’s kids and property.

We love that our kids can go out to bike, ride, or fish and feel safe,” Cox says.

“It’s active,” says Scaglione. “People are active in their business. They’re active in their recreational lives, so it’s a lively community.

It’s not a sleepy community.” OmahaHome

4315 S. 120th Street 402-334-4900 www.echosystemsomaha.com september/october • 2014 H35

OmahaHome: at home by jennifer litton • photography by bill sitzmann

The Best View

in Omaha

At Home With Christina Mackiewicz and Scott Kroeker

H36

september/october • 2014

Scan the page with the LayAR app to view a gallery slider from our shoot of the CO2 Building.

U

PON ENTERING THE SPACIOUS penthouse

apartment of the C02 building, one is greeted by a ginormous yet unassuming bowl of Skittles.

Besides getting to “taste the rainbow,” visitors also get an upclose view of any rainbows that should happen to be hanging out in the Omaha skyline, thanks to the many windows and seemingly endless expanses of outdoor living spaces. > september/october • 2014 H37

OmahaHome: at home < The story behind the welcoming candy dish? “I got it for one holiday and everybody just loved it so much that now when people come over that’s the first thing they go to,” says Christine Mackiewicz, manager of a trucking company and one half of the environmentally-conscious duo that resides in these LEED-certified digs.

She has been happily unmarried to Scott Kroeker, director of International Sales at the Lindsay Corporation, for 13 years. The couple takes delight in sharing their 3,500 square-foot space with their creatively likeminded group of design-savvy friends, many of whom happen to be redesigning their own homes. “We exchange parties,” Mackiewicz says. “We go from house to house.”

The CO2 building, completed in 2013 and designed by RDG Planning, is a new anchor of the historic 10th Street corridor south of the Old Market.

LEED Certification stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. The standard is recognized globally as the premier mark of achievement in green building.

Kroeker says that it takes considerable effort to build something that meets LEED certifications. “That’s something that I’m sure the builders will attest to. It’s an open design, modern, with lots of light.”

The couple admits the million-dollar view afforded by all of those windows can be rather distracting at times. “We try to watch television,” Mackiewicz says, “and I can’t tell you how many times we end up looking outside at something. You can’t help but be constantly distracted by what’s going on outside.”

The industrial-themed space has concrete flooring and features the wireless Hi-Fi sound system, SONOS. Mackiewicz says the tough part about having a big space is making it comfortable. “We always want someone to come in and be at home. You can sit anywhere you’d like. There’s nothing off-limits.”

The couple makes it comfortable with personal touches of artwork created by various family members, yet manages to keep it offbeat and interesting with a hint of the unexpected.

One wall houses nearly 50 of Mackiewicz’s pairs of sunglasses hung strategically on a metal frame. Besides provoking conversation, the eyewear also provides function by way of added protection after her LASIK surgery.

Kroeker got the inspiration for the sunglass H38

july/august • 2014 september/october • 2014

wall after watching CBS’s Elementary, a TV show based on Sherlock Holmes. “He had a wall of padlocks and he practices picking the padlocks,” Kroeker says.

The two bedrooms feature “freedomRail” closets that maximize space using essential design features that last. Luckily for Mackiewicz, the closets are perfect for housing her shoe collection—one that rivals that of Imelda Marcos.

She has a terrarium that has run amuk, thanks to the large amount of natural light streaming into the space.“When I was a little girl, my grandmother had one of these and she’d hide little gnomes inside,” she says. Just like her grandma, Mackiewicz’s terrarium also features a little friend —a paper snail from Mexico.

Their kitchen has an herb garden, six gas burners, and a massive pantry with an extra refrigerator to exclusively house their many wines. The room is grounded by a beautiful marble center island and includes an industrial dining table. A glass piece by Omaha mixed-media artist John Prouty (whose own home was featured in our Nov/Dec 2013 issue) hangs near the island next to a minicollection of abstract paintings by Kroeker.

To many, the contemporary building is a welcome addition to Omaha’s Little Italy neighborhood and just one facet of a multitude of regrowth occurring in >

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OmahaHome: at home

The CO2 Building gardens prepare for their winter slumber.

< the areas surrounding 10th Street south of the Old Market.

“The neighborhood is really starting to change,” says Kroeker.

Construction is also underway at 10th and Pacific streets for the new Bluebarn Theatre.

And KETV’s work on the majestic Burlington Station continues nearby. “Right across from the Boxcar,” Mackiewicz adds, “they’re going to have that indoor farmer’s market.

How exciting!”

H40

september/october • 2014

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The couple grows beets and brussel sprouts in the adjacent, professionally landscaped gardens. “They did a wonderful job,” Kroeker says. “Everything is supposed to be drought-resistant and low maintenance,” Mackiewicz adds.

Kroeker’s passions are simple—wine, cooking, art, and entertaining.

“That’s the nice part about having a space like this,” he says. “You can do all of that stuff here.” OmahaHome september/october • 2014 H41

OmahaHome: room by sally shepherd • photography by tom kessler

Outdoor Living Jewel So winter is approaching? No problem!

H42

september/october • 2014

T

HE FIRST HINT OF a nip in the air this fall will be a harbinger of welcome news for more than just football fans. The homeowners of this outdoor living space say the season is when they are most active in entertaining—and just relaxing—in this cleverly conceived room.

Organic hues dominate the décor of the casually appointed space where the viewer blends with the view from this earthy perch overlooking a golf course in West Omaha.

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And if the warmth of the color scheme isn’t enough, a rustic fireplace and auxiliary heaters promise to chase away the chill as Mother Nature begins hers steady march toward winter.

The homeowners are also avid wine aficionados, so it’s no surprise that this space adjoins a tasting room, which then leads to a sprawling, 3,000-bottle wine cellar housing treasures from around the globe.

The project is the work of interior designer

Diane Luxford, who took home a 2013 NE/ IA Chapter of ASID Award for her efforts.

A calendar is a stubborn thing, but these homeowners know how to cheat the elements. Any precipitous drop in the temperate is accompanied by a corresponding drop of the space’s roll-up cladding, making this beauty just about as close as one can get to year-round outdoor living in these climes. OmahaHome

Since 1963

402.331.8920

www.normsdoor.com september/october • 2014 H43

OmahaHome: hot products story by sandy besch-matson • photography by bill sitzmann

Boo!

Autumnal hues and Halloween delights await in this issue’s Hot Products guide.

Hobgoblins of all ages will be delighted to be confronted with these playful pieces when Trick-or-Treating at your place.

Halloween Party Hat $8.95 Squash-Face Pumpkin $19.95 Jim Shore's Pint Halloween Cat $22.95 Jim Shore's Grim Reaper $61.95 Jim Shore's Graveyard Diorama $55.95 Candy Corn Nesting Bowls $19.95 “Witch is In” whimsical hanger $33.95 Tannenbaum Christmas Shop 1007 Howard St. In the Old Market 402.345.9627 otannenbaum.com

H44

september/october • 2014

Nature’s bounty is evoked in this clever series of organic beauties. Watering not required.

Large Gourd Pitcher $89.95 Orange Gourd Pitcher $59.95 Red Ceramic Pomegranate $24.95 Faux Book with Carrot Motif $24.95 Beyond the Vine 2520 S. 130th Ave. 402.397.4585 gobeyondthevine.com

Life, it is said, is all about the details. These warmest of accents will warm any autumnal chill at your next seasonal party.

Tall Candle Holder $35.00 Short Candle Holder $25.00 Zimbali Candle Large (burnt orange) $32.00 Zimbali Small (burnt orange) Wine Cork Holder 16x4 $80.00 Green Pom-Pom Pillow $59.00 Table Runner (Black and multi, 16x58”) $95.00 Orange Ceramic Vase $39.00 House of J 12965 West Center Rd. Montclair Center 402.778-0650 houseofj.com

september/october • 2014 H45

OmahaHome: transformations by anita wiechman, asid • photography by tom grady

meet the designer Anita Wiechman, ASID The Designers

H46

september/october • 2014

Bringing Nature Indoors Just Add Windows

A

H O M E OW N E R VISION AND

WITH

great taste. An expert contractor with experienced subcontractors. A home with “great bones.” Bring them all together and you get an interior designer’s dream! > september/october • 2014 H47

OmahaHome: transformations

before

after before

before

before < The client imagined the almost 30-yearold home nestled in pine trees near Springfield, Neb., in a new light—one with updated amenities, including an amazing kitchen situated in an open floor plan to accommodate H48

september/october • 2014

after her frequent entertaining. We saw the potential of additional windows to blend the home’s interior with the surrounding, picturesque vistas.

The contractor, ADC Homes, removed the

raised floor and walls of the hexagon-shaped dining room, as well as the entry closet in executing the spacious plan. An additional oversized window created a continuous window wall running the length of the back of the >

september/october • 2014 H49

Omaha Home: transformations

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< house, further complementing the open plan. The new, professional-style kitchen includes Subzero appliances as well as a Professional Wolf Range and microwave drawer. As an expert cook, the homeowner opted not to build in wall ovens, but decided instead to utilize the oven of the 48” range and a 30” single oven set in a secondary island.

Together we chose two granites and two cabinet finishes for the kitchen space.

New plumbing fixtures, granite, and tile were selected for the entire home. Showers were updated and enlarged while doorways were repositioned to create larger bath spaces.

Carpeting was removed in the public areas of the home, and the existing wood floor was

expanded and refinished in a darker, richer stain. Neutral wool carpeting was used in the bedroom wing of the home, while a leopardprint carpet was employed both on the steps leading to the lower level and in the lowerlevel family room.

New furniture now mingles with the client’s favorite existing furnishings to create separate spaces in serving the aims of an open plan that allows for an easy flow of movement among family and friends.

Guests now feel cozy and comfortable in settings that are intimate yet integrated into an overall scheme that makes this space great for parties. OmahaHome

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