Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Light touch is just the right touch in old Phoenix home

[Source: Jaimee Rose, Arizona Republic] -- Lew Gallo and Brad Plumley live together, own stores together and spend weekends knocking down walls, pouring concrete and renovating their 1937 home together. They're still speaking. "We're either very compatible or very crazy," says Gallo, 42. Gallo and Plumley, along with friend Gregory Gordon, own decor hot spot Haus Modern Living in Scottsdale and Phoenix, and for eight years let their own home languish while they helped everyone else achieve insanely cool rooms.

Naturally, people wanted to know where they lived. Customers imagined a perfectly pared-down abode filled with Gallo's handmade furniture and piles of Jonathan Adler goodies. Invitations were hinted at, magazine spreads expected. "People would get offended we didn't invite them over," Gallo says. The house was in "before" mode, so last summer, they dug in. The big news: The bathroom and master suite are nearly finished, and we have a sneak peek here today. They still have the rest of the house to go, but we can testify that many, many magazines will come calling when it's through. The home is a vintage adobe in the Phoenix Homestead Historic District near 28th Street and Osborn Road. "Eleanor Roosevelt built this neighborhood for farmers that lost their land after the Depression," Gallo says.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Baxter Imaging.]