Two families connect through White Rock Valley home

A family home is more than just a house.

It’s the venue that remains constant even as the people within change and grow older. Memories of baby showers, family meals, homework, movie nights, prom pictures, engagement parties and retirement celebrations are all made in a family home and remain even after the house is sold.

That’s probably what made it so special when Christie Lipschitz connected with the previous owners of her White Rock Valley mid-century modern home. Johnny and Joanie Williams lived in the house for over 50 years and raised their children there. Lipschitz bought the home from the Williams children after Johnny and Joanie’s passing, and when her real estate agent told her the family would like to meet her and her husband, she jumped at the opportunity.

“It was really, really special. You just tell right away that they were very warm, they were very loving,” Lipschitz says. “And they told us how much this home had meant to them, because John and Joanie lived here for 50 years, and so they told us a little bit about them. Since we’ve lived here, though, we’ve heard so many stories about John and Joanie.”

Mr. and Mrs. Williams were apparently the heartbeat of the street, hosting cocktail parties, putting out reindeer food come Christmastime and taking younger families under their wing as they aged. But Lipschitz didn’t just hear stories about their predecessors.

She saw them in her basement.

A box of home movies had been left in the home’s basement when the Williamses moved out. Lipschitz called the family to hand over the footage. Having heard all the stories about Johnny and Joanie made her next meeting with the Williams family all the more special, she says.

“We started to learn that it was just a very special, loving family. And so the next time that the Williamses came over so we could give them the film, it was just so special,” Lipschitz says. “We were able to say just how many stories we’d heard about their mom and their dad, and that we just think that the love in the house is something that doesn’t go away, right? And I think it was very special to them too, even though we changed a lot.”

‘A lot’ is an apt way of putting it. After moving in in 2018, Lipschitz and her husband gradually transformed the home with a series of renovations to its exterior and interior. Walls were knocked down, carpets ripped up and even a pickleball court was added to the home’s expansive backyard.

“I’m glad that we didn’t jump as soon as we moved in to make all of the changes, because we didn’t really know what we wanted or needed yet,” she says. “Every year we do a few projects, and every year, the house changes a little bit, but we’re able to kind of grow with the house.”

One of the biggest changes was opening up the home’s living area. A small sunroom had previously separated it from the back patio before it was opened up to expand the living room. Another wall, facing the kitchen, was knocked down, creating a breathable, open living area bounded by large windows.

The four-bed home is split-level, with a small basement used as a media room, living area and bedrooms, dining room and a loft all stacked together. Lipschitz, an interior designer herself, has decorated the home to match its mid-century look. Alongside some modern and reproduction items, she’s also brought in vintage pieces to brighten the space. A number of antique rugs and runners line most floors.

“I think this is true even especially in a new home, if you bring in some old things, like vintage rugs, older furniture, it just helps kind of lend this sense of authenticity to it.”

Since moving in, Lipschitz has updated lighting fixtures in the kitchen and hallways to include hanging lights to replace recessed lighting. The home also came with built-in wall lights, which she has restored and added mirrored copper glass to.

The living room features preexisting wooden cabinets, shelves and even a bookcase that serves as a media console. Its terrazzo floors were one of the main draws, Lipschitz says.

“When we bought the house, people were asking, ‘Oh, are you gonna, you know, tear them all out?’ And we’re like, ‘No, we have a vision for it.’ But they’re so fun. Our kids skate on them.”

Outside, Lipschitz replaced the patio’s stucco floor with saltillo tile, which helps in the hotter months, when the family enjoys the pool.

Most of the left side of the home’s backyard was originally occupied by a large storage shed. She and her husband demolished the shed, expanded the existing slab and added a net and playing surface to create a backyard pickleball court.

“Whenever there’s nice weather and we’re not working, we’re like, ‘Okay, let’s go play pickleball,’ and we can go play for 15 minutes. It’s so much fun. And we never would have had that experience if we kept the shed up. When we moved in, we hadn’t even heard of pickleball.”

Lipschitz says she and her husband plan on staying in the home for the long haul. It will become her family home just as it was for the Williamses, her encounter with whom she recalls fondly.

“We’re just very grateful for them too, for showing us that they appreciated the changes that we had made while still honoring the home. Even things like those geckos out there that are on the trees. Those are some things that I think Joanie just loved things like that, and so we thought they were cool. So we’re gonna keep them. Kind of all these little things that were part of that family’s history and story here in this house for 50 years, it’s really neat to still see some of those things. So it’s the things that live on.”