Saturday’s delightful tour of Chris and Tom North’s renovated midcentury modern home in Western Hills was a case study of how love at first sight can sometimes be mistaken for Love at First Bite. As the Norths told a healthy crowd of Lawrence Modern attendees, the forever home they purchased “on the spot” in 2022 was, as they later discovered, a former chow hall for an army of hungry termites.
“I ended up literally stripping every square inch of drywall down to the bare studs just to expose all the damage,” said Tom, a structural engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There was so much termite damage and wood rot that entire walls, structural members, and ceiling joists had to be replaced, requiring parts of the house to be jacked up, he said.
The little money-eating monsters demanded total surrender to the renovation gods, with a full gut on the inside, 90 percent gut on the outside, and nearly everything else needing replacement or repair. Despite all the problems, the Norths doubled down their resolve to preserve as much of the original 1961 house as possible.
“We want people to feel like this home started at another time and keep it true to its intent,” said Chris, an artist and designer.
To the extent the Norths have successfully maintained the MCM vibe is in no small part due to its layout, which architect Jim Williams described to the group as a “Big G”: you enter the house from the attached single-car garage below and wind your way up to the kitchen and living room like in a G pattern. This way you don’t have to walk out in the rain or the snow to get to the garage, he said. The rest is the familiar open plan—contemporary then as it is today.
“This concept is all over town,” Williams said.
According to Tom, 4010 West 13th St. is possibly the work of builder Donald Scholz of Toledo, who, like many other builders of the era, cribbed California contemporary into their house plans. The theory goes that one of Scholz’s offices was in Overland Park and a local builder purchased the plans for a spec house with the intention of selling lots in the newly established Western Hills neighborhood. Another theory is that former KU architecture professor and Sunset Magazine editor Curtis Besinger was somehow involved in the design. As often happens when no drawings are left behind and no records exist downtown, the imagination runs wild.
But no matter who was involved, the termites will need to be tamed.
Thanks to all who attended and got to experience this fabulous house and hallelujah to the Norths, architect Chris Fein, and contractor Steve Koester for saving this light-filled cathedral of modern living for future generations to enjoy!
—Tom, Bill, Dennis & Tim
Lawrence Modern home 