Explore famous Sacramento mid-century modern home: ‘Hits all the right notes’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- 1963 John Harvey Carter-designed Nittler Residence retains nearly all original finishes.
- 2,700 sq ft U-shaped home on half-acre hillside lot links indoors to mature landscape.
- Available off-market to qualified buyers, underscoring its rarity and significance.
An iconic house built in 1963 by renowned architect John Harvey Carter is available off market, offering discerning buyers a rare chance to acquire one of the Sacramento area’s most exceptional mid-century modern homes.
The 2,700-square-foot home in Carmichael is known as the Nittler Residence. Local physician Milo Nittler commissioned Carter to design a nearby medical office and the iconic five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence on Lambeth Way near the American River.
“This property is really special,” real estate agent Bernadette Augustine of Nick Sadek Sotheby’s International Realty said. “I don’t think there’s anything like it in Sacramento.”
She and her son Andrew Augustine, both of Augustine & Associates, are representing the sellers.
The house, tucked into a nearly half-acre hillside lot, is surrounded by mature trees. Inside, nearly all of the original finishes remain, from custom millwork to terrazzo slab floors, from clerestory windows to striking copper-clad floating fireplaces.
“We have the original floor plans, the spec book with all the finishes, and the original landscape drawings, so it’s highly original to the 1963 version,” owner Karen Benouar told The Sacramento Bee.
As a senior architect at California State Parks, Benouar knows something about historic properties herself.
“With these houses, you want to see people not do things to ruin the good stuff — and no one had ruined the good stuff here,” she said. “The improvements that previous owners made were thoughtful, consistent with the original design.”
‘This house stands out’
Gaby Moreira of Mod Real Estate, an expert in mid-century modern architecture, recognizes the significance of the Nittler Residence.
“In the landscape of Sacramento mid-century modernism, the Nittler Residence is truly in a class of its own,” Moreira said. “While the city is lucky to have iconic tracts of Eichler and Streng homes, this house stands out because it is a custom John Harvey Carter commission that has remained completely unspoiled design-wise. You really see the difference in the high-end finishes, particularly the extensive use of wood, which is much more substantial and custom than what you would find in a typical mid-century modern tract home.”
Carter, who graduated from USC, left an indelible mark on the city and region with more than 400 buildings to his name. A leading mid-century modernist, he created both refined custom homes and major commercial and civic work, including the Sacramento County Administration Center and Sacramento County Public Works building.
The Nittler Residence makes a bold visual statement and combines architectural flair with a sense of playfulness. The home’s charming U-shaped configuration and wrap-around deck embraces family living and opens up to the natural landscape.
The home immediately signals its mid-century pedigree with a dramatic entry: A spiral metal staircase inside a courtyard leads upstairs to twin front doors and large windows. If one wants to avoid having to walk up a winding staircase to go inside, then a second entrance was added at ground level on the side of the house not far from the driveway.
Fabulous layout, symmetry
Once inside, a sense of careful preservation and living history is palpable. The symmetrical layout places living and dining spaces on one side of the house and a family room and kitchen on the other, all with access to outdoor patios, a lawn, remodeled pool and a pathway that winds up and around the hillside in the backyard.
Original millwork highlights every room. Clerestory and floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural light to flood the interior. There are two cantilevered fireplaces with copper hoods.
“The Nittler house is breathtaking,” real estate agent Paloma Begin of Compass, who represented the previous owners, said. “Usonian-influenced, with graceful visual and physical connections to the outdoors, and richly textured with smooth terrazzo floors, unpainted basalite walls, warm wood paneling, and dramatic copper hoods on the fireplaces hit all the right notes.”
Karen Benouar and her husband Najib were looking for a flexible floor plan that accommodates the needs of a family of five when they purchased the property in 2019.
“The first time we walked through it, we had very young kids, new little babies, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is not a family’s house,’” Benouar recalled. “There’s glass everywhere. You have to go up a spiral stairway. Why would anyone with kids ever live here?
“And then, it just stuck in my head more and more. We went back again to see it, and realized the layout is absolutely for our family. There’s this whole children’s wing set up for maximum child efficiency.”
On top of that, the home came with a 400-square-foot bonus room.
The children’s wing
The kids’ wing groups bathroom facilities and three bedrooms. The bedrooms include built-in desks, perfect for doing homework, facing windows.
“And the yard is a kid’s dream — room to roam, play, explore,” Benouar added.
Perhaps what distinguishes the Nittler Residence most is its seamless connection to the landscape — a half-acre parcel with tree-canopy privacy, custom landscape design, a renewed pool with a fast, safe retractable cover, and outdoor dining and entertaining spaces that honor the home’s era.
“You can’t really build a landscape like this from scratch,” Benouar said. “When spring comes — it’s so lush. I can’t see or hear anyone around me. I can bird-watch; it’s just a really peaceful place.”
Paths traversing the hillside, a wraparound porch and leafy terraces are integral to outside living at the Nittler Residence.
“The owner has done a fantastic job renovating the home and garden,” Begin said.
Although the residence isn’t listed on the open market, it is available to qualified buyers. A price has not been announced.
Benouar specializes in historic architecture at her job and shares a connection with John Harvey Carter’s work. The mid-century modern style of home is “classic and special,” she said, but “I love any style of house — I just like style.”
The Nittler Residence has that in abundance.
“Not everything can be pristine in a place like this, and that’s OK,” Benouar said. “It’s about character, history and design intent. This house has that in every direction.”
A walking neighborhood
Near Shelfield Park, the quiet neighborhood not too far off Fair Oaks Boulevard is nature-oriented, ideal for walking dogs and close to the river and bike trail.
Parting with the Nittler Residence is bittersweet for Benouar and her family.
“It’s hard to give this place up,” she said. “It has been such a special home — for our family, and as a piece of mid-century architectural history.”
