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Built for the Generations
A well-considered home for an extended family

Reprinted with permission from Su Casa Magazine, Winter 1998

Story by Susan Craig

Photography by Jerry Rabinowitz

Planning for the home was motivated by a desire to share family life,
and the need for loving child care.

     Once upon a time, not so very long ago, families lived close together and children grew up surrounded by aunts and uncles and grandparents. It wasn’t uncommon to find several generations living under one roof. Whatever happened to that concept?
     Christine and David Eisenberg, their children Mandolin and Kateri, and Christine’s parents, Dennis and Lucy Baca, are living that concept today. Their home in Rio Rancho grew out of a dynamic partnership between themselves, their designer, and builder John Kaltenbach. For all, it has been a labor of love.
     Christine and David Eisenberg both grew up in family communities: Christine in a large family closely knit family in the South Valley and David in Taos Pueblo. “Living multi-generationally is not a new concept for us,” says David. Dennis Baca recalls his “huge family, all living in a compound on a large piece of land.” Planning for the home was motivated by a desire to share family life, and the need for loving child care while Christine, a teacher at West Mesa High School, and David, an attorney with the public defenders office have to be away.
      "I myself lived in a large family house when I was young," says designer Anthony Wegrzynek, "so I enjoyed designing that concept into this home. The dynamite one-acre site offers room to place the house to fit the environment and take advantage of the mountain view. The staked elevation mimics the look of the pueblo, creating strong patterns of light and shadow."
     The house is wrapped around a courtyard, the floor of which was laid by David and Dennis. "We decided to make the courtyard formal and personalized," David says, "so we installed a fountain and rose bushes. The punched tin light fixtures on either side of the front door came from Taos."
     One of the most unusual features of the exterior is a three-car carport, built of wood and trimmed with corbels. "We just didn't think we needed a garage," David says. He dislikes the blocky look given to houses by large garages, and as a bonus, the carport forms a covered outdoor space for family gatherings.
     "I've been seeing a bit of a trend toward homes built with the contingency of adding family members," says Kaltenbach, who has a finance degree from New Mexico State University and has been in construction since his teens. “We built in certain features for adaptability to any future aging needs, like three-foot-wide doors and lowered light switches. The Eisenbergs and Bacas and I spent a lot of time together as I learned just what they wanted. At first I was worried about working with twice the usual number of clients, but it was certainly no problem.”
     Everyone had something strongly in mind. David wanted a great room: "I didn't want any closing off. I do a lot of the cooking and I like to be in the middle of things." The plans included a radial design, as seen in the 16-foot circular living area ceiling with radiating vigas and a barrel vaulted archway linking kitchen and living areas. Christine wanted the two parts of the house to be interchangeably private and communal, and rooms that would grow with the family. The Bacas desired "something small, not too much to take care of."
     It's all there, and everyone is delighted. The great room contains kitchen, living and dining areas focused on an impressive corner fireplace and a wall of windows overlooking the mountains and sky. (Outside those windows is the place where David will build a patio with an horno . He has plans for "perfecting horno pizza.") Kitchen counters, cooking island and meal bar are tiled on soft blue selected, says Christine, to complement their dishware. Her brilliant idea of facing the islands with corrugated galvanized steel, originally meant as a way to eliminate scuff marks, gives a one-of-a-kind- look to this area. Everything is kid-proof and maintenance-free. And David definitely will be in the middle of things as he cooks.
      Furnishings are simple, made of handsome woods and chosen to blend with the carved woodwork throughout the house, created by cabinetmaker Max Tesellas. The wood blinds in the sunny office are of the same dark honey tone.
     The second floor of the 2300-square foot Eisenberg portion of the house, reached by a graceful curving stairway, is taken up by the master bedroom and bath, all curves and unexpected spaces and a rounded wall of windows facing east.
     The girls, four and two, currently share a bedroom in their wing, with the second bedroom used as a guest room. Eventually they will have their own rooms, each with its own link but linked by a common bath/shower called by Kaltenbach a "Jack and Jill bathroom." They have a playroom too, a delightful bright space just off the great room. Christine has painted the floor with handprints and splashes of primary colors and installed table and chairs and shelves for toys and books. Always planning for the future, she sees this room one day becoming a sewing room or office.
     The two sections of the house are connected by the utility room, which can be left open on both sides for communality or closed off for privacy. "When it's time for Christine to 'drop of the girls' in the morning, she just opens the doors and they run in," says Lucy Baca cheerfully. The Baca portion of the home is 1,050 square feet, a small great room, one bedroom, bath and big walk-in closet. Like the rest of the house, it's a Southwest space, splendidly light and airy and having its own private porch and courtyard. Here, too, light wood furniture complements the beautiful woodwork.
     The Eisenbergs’ and Bacas' vision, creative design and Kaltenbach’s masterful construction came together to revive a traditional way of life.
     “The whole process was very interactive,” say David and Christine, “with the goal of accomplishing the lifestyle we want.”