3345 North Park Boulevard (1992)

Built in 1989, this large owner-designed house is a rare example of contemporary architecture in Cleveland Heights. Situated on a heavily wooded lot retaining many native Ohio plants, it features a distinctive open design to enhance and accommodate the varied talents and interests of its owners.

The living room has a vaulted shed ceiling and Ohio creekstone fireplace. Windows here are without treatments, heightening the open airiness of the room. A fountain and plant pit are located next to an exterior door, and a convenient faucet was installed for indoor gardening. The dining room table has a twin near the kitchen area, allowing for ample seating for large dinner parties.

The white oak flooring is continued to the next open room, comprised of areas devoted to a diversity of interests and activities. Cherry built-ins and a stone fireplace highlight one end set apart for reading and TV; the "communications center" is a large desk placed in the middle of the area, with phone jack and outlet installed in the floor below; places for weaving and computing round out the room.

Owner ingenuity is showcased in the sliding appliance drawers in the adjacent kitchen. The primary color tile pattern in the center island was also owner designed, and coordinates with the handpainted Quimper pottery collection displayed throughout the kitchen.

A major design consideration was that the house be handicapped accessible; wide doorways and appropriate door handles are used exclusively throughout. The first floor bedroom is also consistent with that aspect. The upper part of the bedroom wall is open to the bathroom, floored with Mexican tile.

Bookcases line the open staircase. Upstairs, the office/guest room opens to a balcony/catwalk overlooking and spanning most of the room below. The twin beds in the main guest room are made up with the owner's grandmother's quilts, and the blue guest bathroom is the only room in the house painted a color other than white.

The expansive deck on the back of the house can be accessed from three rooms. A hot tub enjoys the wooded seclusion of the yard at one end. Between the garage and kitchen side door, a handy storage closet is accessible from inside and out for package delivery and pickup.