Wayne Wilson was Head of the Department of Landscape Architecture. Thus he and Phil were colleagues in the College of Arts and Architecture. The Wilsons acquired a somewhat narrow lot on Nimitz Avenue to build their home, up the hill a bit from Pugh Street. They wanted a reasonably spacious living room for entertaining, but also wanted to have a view of a landscaped garden, all on a somewhat constrained budget.
Phil’s solution was to turn the house sideways and put the living room across the back, with the sleeping rooms raised in the front. The kitchen and dining areas were placed in the center. This does lead to a quite unusual entry system. The sidewalk leads past a wing wall first to the entry to the kitchen and then to the main entry to the living room. There are dual roofs connecting the carport to the house, one for each entry.
The home was constructed pretty much per Hallock’s initial sketch. Changes were made in the window treatments and a “pattern of squares” finish for the wing walls.
The rearmost main entry door has a ripple glass window to the left. The kitchen window is visible to the right.
The kitchen entry door has a “pattern of squares” wall of windows to the right. The abstract painting was added later.
The interior paneling and woodwork match the inside of the “front” door.
On the inside wall of the living room, built-in shelves allow for display of objets d'art.
A dominant fireplace with a raised hearth is a typical Hallock feature, as shown above.
Wall sconces were a popular fixture for lighting rooms in the period. These fixtures were original to the house.
Blinds have been drawn on the window wall to dim the late afternoon sun.
When open, the view is to the rear garden; it’s just like being in the country.
A new entrance has been added to the lower level for a professional office.
A detail of the wing wall shows the raised and indented “pattern of squares.”
The double-roofed breezeway is illustrated, with the garden beyond.
On the opposite side of the house, a second patio opens off of the kitchen-dining area.
Inside the first (kitchen? Service?) door, a “pattern of squares” wall of windows dominates the area. Stairs lead down and up to the front levels, and straight ahead from the door is the kitchen-dining area.
The top cupboards hold Fiesta Ware from the period. The steel cabinets are native to the house, but were originally white.
The riot of color in the kitchen is the epitome of Mid-Twentieth Century Style. However, the kitchen ceiling was not originally opened up. The folding step-stool is a period piece.
With an architect-designed home, owners often get bonus storage, here in the form of a half closet which would otherwise be unused space.
On the lower level, Hallock again incorporates a “pattern of squares” into the side windows. This area has now been adapted into professional office space.
