Midlanders embrace dream of living in Alden B. Dow-designed house

The new owner of an Alden B. Dow-designed home says the 82-year-old structure doesn’t feel old-fashioned.

“This house feels more suited to modern life than a house built five years ago,” said Lance Rynearson, who along with his wife Jamie recently purchased the Heath House at 1505 W. St. Andrews Road in Midland.

The Rynearsons and their daughter, Rory, recently moved in to what was Dow’s first “Unit Block” house. The architect used hollow rhomboid blocks made of cinder ash from The Dow Chemical Co. processes.

“He was an early recycler,” Rynearson said. “I love the Unit Block – something about it just jumps out at me.”

Dow and Robert Goodall, a former draftsman for Frank Lloyd Wright, eventually received a patent for the Unit Block in 1938.

The home marked a departure for Dow as he largely embraced the International Style known for its geometric planes, open spaces and lack of ornamentation.

Lance, an entrepreneur who has been running a disc jockey business since he was a teenager and also has his own web design and app development business, said he became aware of Alden B. Dow’s architecture about 10 years ago and has been fascinated ever since. He even volunteers as a docent at the Alden B. Dow Home & Studio.

When the Heath House came on the market – for the first time since the mid-1980s – he and his wife (an operations director for Planet Fitness) were eager to obtain it.

“It was a lot of ‘Is it going to happen?’ right until the end,” Lance said.

He added that he isn’t sure where he gained his fascination with Dow’s architecture, although he said his mom was once an interior decorator and he appreciates bold design.

“I’ve always had an eye for the arts,” he said.

While modern fixtures such as television and stereo are in evidence, the couple is attempting to restore some features of the house and to furnish it in keeping with Dow’s vision.

They removed opaque inside shutters from the living room windows to return to the abundant light envisioned by Dow. The inescapable centerpiece of the room is the fireplace (one of three in the house), made more intriguing by the adjoining skylight.

“The lighting in the house is great,” Lance said. “It feels different at different times of the day.”

On a recent late afternoon, the waning outdoor light caused shifts in the living room’s lighting, heightened by the white-painted rhomboid blocks. The fireplace mantel is painted the same bright red used by the architect in the bridges of Dow Gardens.

(Lance noted that he and Jamie “enjoy the pop of that specific red” so much that they got married in front of one of the bridges in 2012.)

The Rynearsons are slowly purchasing furniture and fixtures in keeping with the design of the home. Lance recently replaced the kitchen lighting with two large George Nelson bubble lamps, and they bought and plan to refurbish a Herman Miller Chadwick sectional sofa for the living room.

“We are looking at the home as a long-term project ... working slowly to achieve the intended feel while incorporating modern conveniences,” Lance said.

The impressive bubble lamps are the first thing that grabs the attention in the kitchen – which Lance said has been renovated a couple of times through the years – but the Douglas fir cabinets are also striking. The Rynearsons have chosen bright red dishware and countertop appliances, such as a mixer and coffeemaker, in keeping with the architect’s love of bold primary colors.

Ceilings are lower in “pass-through” spaces and higher in areas where Dow intended the residents to spend more time.

“He was really good at manipulating space,” Lance said.

There are interesting touches throughout the home, including opaque blocks or skylights that allow natural light to filter into many of the closets.

Although it’s not obvious from the street, the white house with green trim has four levels. A half-flight of stairs leads up from the main level to two bedrooms and a bathroom, and a half-flight down leads to another bathroom and pair of bedrooms. Another half-flight down leads to a fully finished living area, including a laundry area and what appears to be a 1950s-era safe room.

Outside, a sunken garden is on the east side of the house. At some point a door was installed in the dining room with a staircase leading into the garden. The Rynearsons hope to eventually remove the staircase and the door, replacing it with large windows as in the original design.

Lance pointed out that some of the trim currently covered by green paint – such as that outside the dining room – was originally copper. A small spot where the paint had flecked off revealed a bit of the original copper.

Built in 1934 for Sheldon and Mary Heath (Sheldon was a chemist for the Dow), the home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Lance said he recently was told by the U.S. Postal Service that the mailbox attached to the front of the house will have to be replaced by a mailbox beside the street. He is thinking about putting up a plaque with the historic place designation on the wall where the current mailbox is located.

He said in a recent e-mail that he continues to be excited by discovering the “whys” behind Alden B. Dow’s design.

“There is more to the structure than art, there is reason behind all the decisions and it is exciting to find out that the structure and design has the ability to manipulate your feelings and behaviors ... It is a playful home and our family is excited to bring some of Mr. Dow’s vibrant colors to life inside!”