When Susanne and Brent Nicholls decided to return to Omaha from the Denver area 10 years ago, they knew they wanted to live in Indian Hills, near Brent’s childhood home.
“I used to walk through the Arboretum to go to school at Swanson Elementary, and I wanted my sons to experience the same childhood memories that I did growing up in this neighborhood,” Brent explains.
From his office on one end of the house, Brent has a clear view through the living room and into the kitchen on the opposite as his boys—one in sixth grade at Swanson and the other a sophomore at Westside High School—wander in and out of the rooms in preparation for their after-school activities.
Designed by esteemed Omaha architect Stanley J. How, Jr. for himself and his family, the Nicholls’ 1963 ranch is a monument to the Mid-Century Modern suburban lifestyle and its many aesthetic traditions, including an open floor plan and floor-to-ceiling windows, that still endure today.
However, as idyllic as this case study in family life is, the Nicholls happened into their light-filled home almost by accident. While house-hunting, Brent ran into a former Westside classmate at a Husker game. His friend was in the process of purchasing the home, but the sale fell through due to water in the basement.
An energetic DIY guy, Brent was not one to be deterred by the dampness. It doesn’t hurt that Susanne, an engineer by trade, is not only supportive of his (sometimes) guerrilla handyman efforts, she is his partner in priming. “He likes to do the math,” she says of their synergistic reno strategy. “I’ve got the patience for multiple coats of poly.”
While the couple clearly delight in the updates they’ve made (in the basement, Brent points out that he had to drill through four to six inches of concrete to install wi-fi), they’re also ever mindful of the responsibility that comes with living in an iconic home.
Fortunately, just as the Nicholls began the challenging work of modernizing their 'modern,' they came into possession of archived Architectural Digests magazines from the era. The magazines, as well as a resource list of skilled craftsmen and contractors that the previous owners left behind, became a blueprint of sorts for preserving the home’s stylistic integrity while making it practical for modern life.
This is borne out in two of the couple’s biggest projects: the newly laid bamboo flooring that unifies the main floor and the master bath, which includes a marble sink that they ordered online from Italy; and slate floors that pick up on the black color scheme, which threads throughout the house.
“Our former home was arts and crafts style, and it was almost like each room had its own personality,” says Susanne. “Here, it’s nice to see continuity.”
