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The exterior of the Brady residence features several of Mandy’s metalwork projects, including a new steel gate that she installed around the patio “to keep the javelinas out of the geraniums.”
When they first saw the house, Jane and Mandy appreciated the character of the original slump block walls, which are highlighted in the living room interior and set off by neutral white walls in the rest of the house.
The custom cabinetry that Doug and Rhonda Forsha built for the homeowners’ living room includes laquered shelving to display collectibles, plus enclosed storage areas and sliding doors to hide the television.
Jane and Mandy’s eclectic art collection ranges from Native American baskets to a lion sculpture they’ve nicknamed “Kitty Baby,” which also serves as a side table.
The mix of furniture at the Brady residence includes several mid-century pieces ranging from a floor lamp that Jane’s Aunt Mabel purchased in the late 1940’s to the ottoman, which was a recent thrift store find.
Small side tables scattered around the house represent some of Mandy’s first metalworking projects. The tables are topped with sample tiles from a flooring store.
Seeking a way to keep the office entrance from constricting the hallway, cabinetmaker Doug Forsha built a bifold door that creates a corner when closed. The veneer, made of figured koa wood, provides a dramatic contrast with the white walls.
When fully opened, the office doors fold flat against the interior wall, creating as much space as possible in the small room. The daybed provides a reading nook and offers file storage in the lower drawers.
Throughout the Brady residence, floor-to-ceiling doors built by woodworkers Doug and Rhonda Forsha create an illusion of height despite the home’s standard eight-foot ceilings.
By removing several interior walls, the homeowners were able to create a large, bright space for the kitchen and dining room. The concrete floors, now polished and left uncovered, retain the marks of the original room divisions, which the homeowners appreciate as part of the home’s history.
Doug and Rhonda Forsha of De La Madera studio provided custom woodwork throughout the house, including kitchen cabinets made with figured American walnut. Space-saving touches include the cabinets on the end of the kitchen island, which store table linens and other items.
Nicknamed the “vice corner,” the vestibule between the kitchen and pantry holds the coffee supplies and espresso maker on one side, and a wine refrigerator on the other.
Custom cabinetry in the Brady residence includes shelves to stash running and gardening shoes near the side door as well as two deep “school locker” drawers that provide hidden storage for purses, mail, and other clutter.
The dining table is one of Mandy’s creations, combining a welded steel base with an old security door and a piece of ordinary plywood from the hardware store. The flat screen TV hidden against the side of the cabinet can pivot out to face the kitchen island.
An old cowboy figurine, which the homeowners found in the garage after they moved in, has become a bit of a mascot for the house. They make a game of moving it to different places from time to time.
Jane enjoys sewing, but lacks the space for a dedicated sewing room, so cabinetmaker Doug Forsha added a fold-out table to the bedroom cabinets, which also feature shelves for fabric and supplies.
Seeking a comfortable space for outdoor entertaining, Mandy and Jane added terraced patios in the backyard that lead gradually down to the informal gardens.
When the homeowners purchased the residence in 2007, much of the one-and-a-half acre lot had been stripped of vegetation. Since then, Jane has planted an estimated 50 trees and hundreds of cacti and shrubs to recreate a naturalistic landscape that welcomes birds and native wildlife.
Mandy fabricated outdoor benches from recycled materials including scrap metal, donated ceramic tiles, and the slump block columns that once supported the original patio roof. Choosing where to site the benches, said Jane, was a process of “carrying around a lawn chair and a glass of wine” to find ideal view spots.
As a screen for the air-conditioning compressor, Mandy built a steel frame that holds repurposed concrete pavers. The resulting structure is nicknamed the “Elephant Wall” because, as Jane points out, no elephants have ever gotten past it.
In order to hide the trash and recycling bins from the street view, Mandy fabricated a perforated steel screen from scrap metal.
The homeowners added an outbuilding next to the main house. In turn, Mandy built a custom steel railing for the deck. A staircase on the side leads to a rooftop seating area perfect for watching sunsets over nearby Black Mountain.
The metal pavers between the driveway and the front walkway of the Brady residence were cut out of salvaged steel plates. Varying the size of the circles helped minimize the amount of waste and provides visual contrast with the straight lines of the concrete surfaces.
Jane and Mandy, owners of the Brady residence, relax on their patio in Carefree.
Mandy and Jane Brady wanted the house as soon as they saw it.
This was in 2007, and the ranch hadn't been updated since it was built in 1973. It was still filled with the previous owners' furniture — and the original harvest gold appliances.
The rooms were tiny and wood-paneled; the lot was large and nearly barren. But they loved the location, tucked away in Carefree near Black Mountain. And they loved the bones of the house — the slump block walls, the big windows, the casual ranch layout. They knew they'd need to renovate, but decided to move in before making any major changes.
"We took our time," Mandy explained, "and figured out how we wanted to live in the space. It was like having a conversation with the house."
The conversation included friends, co-workers, and architects but had recurring themes: modernize the interior while respecting the history of the house and the surrounding landscape. After two years of talking, the pair launched into remodeling in 2009.
Removing a few interior walls created a more contemporary flow to the kitchen, dining, and living areas. Cutting back the eaves on the north side added light — as did skylights. Wide glass doors along the dining room wall opened onto newly terraced patios. And neutral white paint on the interior walls focused more attention on the much-loved slump block on the sides.
The original flooring, however — a sea of dated tile — had to go. It was so hard to pry up that it required a Zamboni-like machine normally used in shopping malls. But the underlying concrete so much like terrazzo that it only had to be patched, polished, and left alone.
The front door was a different challenge. Hidden on the north side, the awkward entrance stymied the renovation team until the homeowners mentioned it to a friend, architect Jan Mittelstaedt. One pencil sketch later and he offered a solution: move the door to the south side.
Mandy credits Mittelstaedt and Tyler Green, their primary architect, with solving the problem together.
"I think it's a tribute to them, not just as architects, but as good human beings that they weren't interested in their egos," she said, "but in figuring out how to help people best live in their homes."
Among the many other people who helped, the homeowners agree that Doug and Rhonda Forsha were also integral. The Forshas, owners of De La Madera woodworking studio in Scottsdale, built custom cabinetry, doors, and other creative solutions that brought the house to life.
"We didn't have an interior designer," Mandy joked, "we had Doug and Rhonda."
Since the house measures 2,400 square feet, storage was a major concern. The living room features a wall of open shelving and sliding doors. Kitchen cabinets stretch from floor to ceiling. And a vestibule between the kitchen and pantry — nicknamed "vice corner" — holds the espresso machine and the wine cooler, plus drawers for stashing purses and other clutter.
For Jane, Doug built a sewing table that folds into the bedroom cabinets, and for Mandy he mounted a small television that swivels out from behind the kitchen cabinets so she can watch basketball while cooking dinner.
Doug also raised all the doorways to ceiling height, creating a sense of space in the low-slung house. For the office, tucked into a nook behind the living room, he built a bifold door that unfolds into an L-shape to enclose the room without blocking the narrow hallway. In the master bedroom, he customized a ceiling fan with makore wood blades that match the door frame, making the small space more harmonious.
"The Forshas really got what we were going for," Mandy said. "They understood about clean lines and working with the rest of the house."
The woodwork features little ornamentation other than the veneers themselves, which include figured American walnut for the kitchen and decorative koa on the double-wide office door.
In addition to the Forshas' craftsmanship, the house showcases Mandy's metal creations. Although she works in an administrative job, she took a class in metalworking a few years ago and has since built furniture, deck railings, and a patio gate that Jane requested to "keep the javelinas out of the geraniums."
For her part, Jane has been slowly revegetating the property from its formerly neglected state. A dedicated gardener, she has planted more than 50 trees and hundreds of shrubs and cacti to create a naturalistic landscape on the 1.5 acre lot. As a result, Gambel's quail and mule deer wander through the yard.
Throughout the renovation, the homeowners have reused many orginal materials from the house. Columns from the patio roof — removed to accommodate the new front door — have been repurposed for garden benches, and concrete pavers have turned into steel-framed stepping stones.
A similar aesthetic prevails inside the house, where Mandy's handmade metal tables mix with mid-century furniture from Jane's Aunt Melba or local thrift stores. The artwork tends toward the humorous, with waltzing bronze rabbits inside the front door and a painting of jelly doughnuts in the dining room.
"Everything we have," Jane said, "has a story."
Even now, the home continues to evolve. One recent addition is a roof deck above the small outbuilding — complete with decorative railings. The new perch was devised after Mandy climbed on top of the house to fix a leak and was struck by the fabulous views.
It's just further proof that, as she noted, "it takes a while to see what a house is all about."